Healthc Inform Res.  2022 Oct;28(4):387-393. 10.4258/hir.2022.28.4.387.

Development of a Secondary Dental-Specific Database for Active Learning of Genetics in Dentistry Programs

• Sharmin N
• Chow AK
• Govia S

• KMID: 2535813
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2022.28.4.387

Abstract

Objectives
Dental students study the genetics of tooth and facial development through didactic lectures only. Meanwhile, scientists’ knowledge of genetics is rapidly expanding, over and above what is commonly found in textbooks. Therefore, students studying dentistry are often unfamiliar with the burgeoning field of genetic data and biological databases. There is also a growing interest in applying active learning strategies to teach genetics in higher education. We developed a secondary database called “Genetics for Dentistry” to use as an active learning tool for teaching genetics in dentistry programs. The database archives genomic and proteomic data related to enamel and dentin formation.
Methods
We took a systematic approach to identify, collect, and organize genomic and proteomic tooth development data from primary databases and literature searches. The data were checked for accuracy and exported to Ragic to create an interactive secondary database.
Results
“Genetics for Dentistry,” which is in its initial phase, contains information on all the human genes involved in enamel and dentin formation. Users can search the database by gene name, protein sequence, chromosomal location, and other keywords related to protein and gene function.
Conclusions
“Genetics for Dentistry” will be introduced as an active learning tool for teaching genetics at the School of Dentistry of the University of Alberta. Activities using the database will supplement lectures on genetics in the dentistry program. We hope that incorporating this database as an active learning tool will reduce students’ cognitive load in learning genetics and stimulate interest in new branches of science, including bioinformatics and precision dentistry.

Keyword

Genetics; Database; Learning; Teaching; Dental Education

Figure

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  Figure 1 Schematic overview of the steps to build the secondary database “Genetics for Dentistry.”

• 

  Figure 2 Flowchart representing the overall research plan. This manuscript describes the initial stage of database development (phase 1) (highlighted in red).

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  Figure 3 Snapshot from the “Genetics for Dentistry” database. (A) The database enables users to search data by cellular process (enamel or dentin formation), gene name, protein sequence, protein function, or chromosome number. (B) The home page of the database, with the search options on the left (red box). (C) Selecting an individual gene will open its page, showing details of all the information. Protein sequences are shown in a red box. This page also provides external links to the gene sequence, protein page from NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), original literature, metabolic pathways, and the three-dimensional structure of the protein. The access to the external links is enlarged and shown in (D).

Reference

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