Page 26 - Dentistry Magazine 2022

Students share research expertise at ADEA
26 DENTISTRY 2022
Three School of Dentistry students showcased their expertise and flexed their research and presentation skills this March when they presented post- ers at the American Dental Education Association’s annual meeting.
Fourth-year students Jessica Lettelleir and Neha Sethi co-presented, while third-year student Arpun Johal presented her own work.
Lettelleir and Sethi’s presentation came from their passion for research and their desire to engage in scientific discovery while pursuing their dental degrees. “I have always been interested in teaching and dentistry,” said Lettelleir, DDS ’25. “I know research is a big part of being involved in educational dentistry, and I wanted to experience that first hand.”
Sethi sees research as “a meaningful way to push the current boundaries of knowledge in a way that magnifies my impact as a future provider and educator.”
Their idea came about when Sethi and Lettelleir themselves were studying for boards together. They recognized the need for updated materials to reflect the new integrated examinations, and saw a space where they could help out.
With support from Dean Keith Mays, DDS, MS, PhD, they decided to put together a podcast and see if it helped their fellow students. Their poster presentation, Podcast as study material for the national board examination: Preliminary findings, explored that question.
Sethi and Lettelleir produced and published seven podcasts under the title “Dental Study Bites,” attaching a survey to each episode to determine efficacy. Respondents reported that the
ARPUN JOHAL
JESSICA LETTELLEIR AND NEHA SETHI
podcast was a helpful additional tool, though the need for additional visual content and methods of helping with informational recall were necessary.
Johal’s inspiration to present at ADEA stemmed from her desire to share the School of Dentistry’s efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion while also learning from other dental programs. She used her poster presentation to detail the School of Dentistry’s response to the murder of George Floyd in 2020
and the subsequent formation of Better Together.
“Better Together aims to create a more inclusive environment at the School of Dentistry for BIPOC patients and students by teaching dental students how they can be better allies to their BIPOC patients and colleagues,” Johal explained.
Her poster, entitled George Floyd: A Grassroots Response of a Dental School, detailed the school’s formal response as well as students’ mobiliza- tion efforts to combat racism and bias. She concluded that a grassroots student response in collaboration with faculty and staff “promotes a sus- tainable model of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion
culture in dental school.” In addition to Johal’s poster, she worked with former Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Naty Lopez, PhD, MEd, Clinical Associate Professor Angela Hastings, DMD, and Clinical Associate Professor Drew Christianson, MDT, who also presented on Better Together and the school’s anti-racism work.
All three students found their time at ADEA and their presentation experiences valuable.
Sethi shared, “It was incredibly motivating to be sur- rounded by trailblazers and innovators at the conference. It was interesting to see the efforts surrounding our dental education.”
“It was an amazing experience sharing the work that we are doing at the University of Minnesota with dental students and educators across the country, while discussing what strategies and DEI efforts have been successful at their schools,” Johal said. “It was inspiring to be able to meet and connect with other dental students and educators that are passionate about this work.”