Should prospective dental students be screened for colour vision deficits?

• Published in: British dental journal Vol. 221; no. 5; pp. 227 - 228
• Main Authors: Mushtaq, F., Baraas, R. C., Al-Saud, L. M., Mirghani, I., van der Zee, C., Yates, E., Keeling, A., Mon-Williams, M. A., Manogue, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.09.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/698/1688/512/2613/2141; 692/699/3161/3178; 692/700/3032/3053/3058; Color Vision; Dentistry; Dentists; Depth Perception; Education, Dental; Humans; Medical screening; Medicine; Motor ability; opinion; Prospective Studies; Skills; Students; Students, Dental; Teeth; Visual perception; Norway
• ISSN: 0007-0610; 1476-5373
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.633

Key Points Describes the issues inherent in assessing prospective dental students Outlines one specific problem encountered in recent assessment-colour vision deficiency (CVD). Provides a comprehensive overview of the role of CVD in dentistry. Discusses compensatory strategies for practising clinicians. A perennial question in dental education is: what skills and aptitudes should be assessed in prospective dental students? Intellectual capacity and manual dexterity understandably rank highly, but are there minimum thresholds for visual perception that applicants need be able to demonstrate before they enter the profession? We have recently flagged this issue with regard to the thresholds of stereoscopic acuity required for a dentist when operating on teeth. In the present article, we highlight the issue of identifying a minimum acceptable level of colour vision.