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INTRODUCTION: The aim of undergraduate dental education is to provide competent dentists to serve societal needs and improve population oral healthcare. Competency-based education has influenced the development of dental education for decades but this term is problematic. This article explores components of competency-based undergraduate health professional education in order to help the dental profession have a better understanding of the context and purposes of undergraduate dental education. METHODS: This is a discussion paper based on a wide reading of the literature on the education of health professionals with a specific focus on competency-based undergraduate education. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Competence comprises an integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes indicating a capability to perform professional tasks safely and ethically. The process of becoming a competent practitioner is complex. Four characteristics of competency-based education are: curriculum components and content shaped by societal needs; focused on student-centred learning; learning achievement; and limited attention to time-based training and numerical targets. Alongside a competency-based approach, undergraduate dental education can be influenced by institutional features and external factors but these receive little consideration in the literature. CONCLUSION: Understanding competence, competency-based education, and institutional and external factors will help to improve educational quality, define roles and professional development for the dental educator, and inform further research.
Chuenjitwongsa et al. (Wed,) studied this question.