Table 5. Summary of published research articles identified in the scoping review (2011 onward).

Author; Year/ Country	University/ Institution	Type of publications	Program description	Outcome variable/ Measurement instrument	Results
Bhayat A, et al.; 2011/ South Africa [67]	University of Witwatersrand	Original research project report	Final year dental students were enrolled in two groups for outreach: Phelophepa train, a mobile primary health care Public oral health facility	Dental students’ competencies/ Mixed method (qualitative and quantitative questionnaires)	Improved clinical skills and efficiency and understanding of the community needs Problems: High patient input and long working hours on the train, and inadequate and non-functioning equipment in public oral health facility
Summerfelt FF; 2011/ USA [64]	University of Northern Arizona	Original research	Pilot teledentistry program having dental hygiene students as mid-level practitioners in rural areas	Pedodontist’s acceptance during initial field trial/Opinion Evaluation of diagnostic efficacy of patients’ digital X-rays taken by dental hygiene students at two remote locations/ Descriptive measurement Faculty and students’ opinion/Survey questionnaires	Pedodontist identified project as successful No significant difference between diagnostic efficacy at two remote sites Hygiene students rated digital X-ray training as ‘excellent’ Hygiene students and faculty members rated value of inclusion of teledentistry skills into dental hygiene curriculum as ‘excellent’
Martinez-Mier, et al.; 2011/ USA [43]	Indiana University	Original research	Hidalgo International Service-learning programme with multidisciplinary students and faculty- dental, medical, nursing, public health and social work	Students’ and faculty opinion about program development/ Questionnaires and SWOT analysis	Students acquired better clinical skills and appreciated rural culture and barriers to access to care Faculty reported better understanding of students’ learning and better communication skills among team members
Parlani S, et al; 2011/ India [71]	Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University	Original research	Awareness programs of prosthodontics among aging rural population	Evaluate awareness among study population/Interview and quantitative assessment	Increased awareness of ageing population
Bulgarelli AF, et al.; 2012/ Brazil [50]	University of São Paulo	Original Research	Huka-Katu (beautiful smile) culturally adapted outreach programs in an Indigenous community for final year dental students	Dental students’ competencies and experiences/Qualitative interview	Improved students’ understanding of primary oral health care Students developed sense of cultural respect and social perspective
Glassman P, et al.; 2012/ USA [85]	University of Pacific	Original research (First phase of demonstration project)	Virtual Dental Home program (Expansion of dental home concept with use of advanced telehealth technology by teamwork between registered dental auxiliaries and distant dentists	Impact of implementation of project’s first phase/Descriptive analysis and feedback	750 patients received preventive and early intervention dental treatments Staff, caregiver, and parent education led to increased dental literacy and compliance with daily oral health practices, treatments, and referrals
Author; Year/ Country	University/ Institution	Type of publications	Program description	Outcome variable/ Measurement instrument	Results
Macnab A, et al., 2012/ Uganda [72]	Joint Ugandan/ Canadian university (University of British Columbia and Makerere University)	Original research intervention study (project report)	‘Many voices, one song’: oral health model of health promoting schools based on Brighter Smiles program for the Aboriginal community in Canada. It included health education by local teachers and the university team and daily in-school tooth brushing	Change in oral health knowledge and oral health status after four years’ evaluation/Qualitative and quantitative methods (questionnaire and interviews of teachers)	Improved oral health and health-related knowledge among children Positively influenced university faculty and students
Parker EJ, et al.; 2012/ Australia [63]	University of Adelaide	Original research evaluation study	Aboriginal children’s Dental Program in Port Augusta by dental therapists and dentists; Integrated health project involving health promotion by conducting a workshop for Aboriginal health workers by dental students with key role of local primary health care provider (in collaboration with Pika Wiya Aboriginal Health Service)	Change in participation rate after 3.5 years and identified challenges/Documented data and interviews	Increased rate of participation for dental care for Aboriginal children from 53% to 70%. Main challenges: Difficult to contact patients, communicate with parents or guardians, missed appointments, and consent-related issues
Tandon S, et al.; 2012/ India [73]	Manipal College of Dental Sciences	Original research	Mobile dental health care services in rural areas	Knowledge, attitude, practice, and satisfaction among rural people after three months/Questionnaire	Improved oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices High patient satisfaction
Vashisth S, et al.; 2012/ India [77]	Swami Devi Dayal Dental College	Original research (retrospective study)	Various outreach programs in rural areas	Type of patients, diseases, and services at outreach for three months/Descriptive measurement	Dental caries was prevalent mostly curative services were provided recommended development of need-based programs
Johnson G, et al.; 2011/ Australia [27]	University of Sydney	Original research	1-month duration of Rural Placement Program was initiated for 4th-year dental students.	Students’ competencies and experience/Pre-and post-questionnaires	Positive rural experience Improved clinical skills Increased chances for considering rural practice after graduation
Johnson G, et al.; 2012/ Australia [1]				Competencies of placement students compared to non-placement students/Pre-and post-questionnaires	Positive attitude and improved clinical skills compared to non-placement group
Johnson G, et al.; 2013/ Australia [28]				Staff and supervisors’ attitude/Interviews	Supervisors recognized students’ positive clinical and personal development and identified the program as feasible
Johnson G, et al.; 2013/ Australia [29]				Follow up for rural recruitment after three years/Descriptive measurement	Higher proportion of graduates worked in rural location compared to non-placement group
Author; Year/ Country	University/ Institution	Type of publications	Program description	Outcome variable/ Measurement instrument	Results
Dawkins E, et al.; 2013/ USA [86]	University of Western Kentucky	Original research	Free dental sealant and oral examination program through mobile dental unit for school children since 2001[86].	Compare sociodemographic characteristics between caries and non-caries group and explore factors responsible for non-treated caries in children from 2006-2011/Descriptive measurement	More non-treated caries were observed in children living in rural areas, without private insurance and having older ages
Ibiyemi O, et al.; 2013/ Nigeria [40]	University of Ibadan	Original research project report	Ibarapa Community Oral Health Programme: 6-week rural posting program for fifth-year dental students at Igboora	Dental students’ attitude/Reports	Students’ expectations from the program were fulfilled Students became sensitized to community needs Enhanced teamwork skills
Lalloo R, et al.; 2013/ Australia [30]	Griffith University	Original Research	Remote rural clinical placement in Indigenous Community over three years from 2009 to 2011	Audited reports of services provided/Descriptive measurement	Primarily offered clinical examination, restorative, and oral surgical services and provided fewer preventive and periodontal services
Lalloo R, et al; 2013/ Australia [31]				Students’ perception and competencies/Online questionnaire survey	Students had positive experience, improved clinical competencies, gained knowledge and developed cultural sensitivity
Lalloo R, et al.; 2013/ Australia [32]				Auditing of expenditure/ Cost analysis	Factors related to financial support overshadowed benefits to students and local community, e.g. additional cost for salary incentives, travel, accommodation and meals
Chandrashekar B, et al.; 2014/ India [70]	Kamineni Institute of Dental Sciences	Original research (intervention study)	Oral health promotion intervention study for six months with children divided into four groups: 1: Control group: no subsequent education 2: Education by a qualified dentist at every three months 3: Education by the trained school teachers with oral hygiene screening 4: Intervention 3 + children were given the oral hygiene aids	Pre- and post-oral health status using oral health indices/Descriptive measurement	Improvement in children’s’ oral hygiene status in oral hygiene aids group Regular dental education sessions by school teachers were more efficient compared to an occasional meeting by dentists
Goel P, et al.; 2014/ India [92]	Rajasthan Dental College	Original research	Indigenously fabricated mobile portable dental unit	Measurement of cost efficiency after seven years’ evaluation/ Descriptive method	Cost-effective, easy to transport and feasible Required additional space and time for set up
Author; Year/ Country	University/ Institution	Type of publications	Program description	Outcome variable/ Measurement instrument	Results
Naidu A, et al.; 2014/ Canada [80]	McGill University	Original research	Community-based participatory research to promote oral health of school children in a rural Aboriginal community	Explore oral health practices and development of oral health promotion activities/Semi-structured interviews	Successfully developed culturally appropriate methods for oral health promotion by engaging children with their parents
Nayar P, et al.; 2014/ US [46]	University of Nebraska	Original research	Rural community- based dental education program for dental students to improve their competencies.	Attitude of supervising dentists regarding program effectiveness for improving student’s competencies/ Electronic survey questionnaire	Enhanced dental students’ skills while experiencing the real-world situations Supervising dentists considered program as successful and rated it as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’
Anderson VR, et al.; 2015/ New Zealand [34]	University of Otago, New Zealand	Original research report	Oranga Niho dental student outplacement project for final year dental students	Attitude of students, supervisors and clients and their caregivers/Mixed method (quantitative by pre- and post-questionnaires for dental students and qualitative by paper questionnaire for adult’s clients and caregivers)	Students showed readiness for the outplacement and willingness to work for Maori communities Majority of supervisors expressed students’ readiness for working in remote areas Most patients and their caregivers had positive attitudes about students’ care
Asawa K, et al.; 2015/ India [87]	Pacific Dental College and Hospital	Original research (retrospective study)	Dental outreach programs for rural population through mobile dental units	Number of patients, diseases, services in outreach as well as the effectiveness of referral from 2 years’ data/Descriptive measurement	Dental caries, periodontal disease, and dental fluorosis were prevalent Generally curative services were provided Increased effectiveness of referral system
Okeigbemen SA, et al.; 2015/ Nigeria [78]	University of Benin	Original research (retrospective study)	Rural outreach dental clinic	Dental service utilization and trends of patients attending this program/Descriptive measurement	Lower utilization of dental services Recommended the need for oral health promotion and preventive services through frequent outreach activities
Vashishtha V, et al.; 2015/ India [76]	D.J. College of Dental Sciences and Research	Original research (cross-sectional study)	Community dental outreach programs for the 1-month duration	Patient satisfaction/ Questionnaire	High patient satisfaction
Abuzar MA, et al.; 2016/ Australia [26]	University of Melbourne	Original research (case study)	Aboriginal community oral health placement for final year DDS and BOH (Bachelor of Oral Health)	Students’ experience towards program from 2008-2014/Questionnaire survey	Students valued Aboriginal culture Increased chances for recruitment Students appreciated clinical supervisors and staff
Author; Year/ Country	University/ Institution	Type of publications	Program description	Outcome variable/ Measurement instrument	Results
Okeigbemen SA; 2016/ Nigeria [48]	University of Benin	Case study	Clinic-based curriculum for the dental students	Effect of community- based services on rural dental services/Quantitative and qualitative methods	Improvement in community-based dental services for rural residents such as awareness, screening, and referral services.
Shannon CK, et al.; 2016/USA [36]	University of West Virginia	Original research (survey)	6-week community-based rotations for senior dental students from 2001–2012	Students’ assessment of predictors for practicing in rural areas and intention for rural recruitment/Online pre- and post-survey questionnaires	Students identified significant predictors before rotations: expectations for rural practice, rural hometown, and more practice accessibility to poor patients Increased likelihood of rural practice after rural rotations
Verma A, et al.; 2016/ India [39]	M.R. Ambedkar Dental College, V.S. Dental College, and M.S. Ramaiah Dental College	Original research (Non-randomized trial)	Outreach program where dental interns were divided into outreach group and dental school-based group	Pre-and post-evaluation of students’ confidence and communication skills/Questionnaire	Higher confidence and communication skills among outreach group students