Pre-clinical undergraduate students' perspectives on the adoption of virtual and augmented reality to their dental learning experience: A one-group pre- and post-test design protocol

Background: We live in a time where traditional education has rapidly incorporated online modalities due to the recent SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) safety measures such as social distancing. Regardless of these challenges, health education constantly strives to implement the best technologies available for an effective student deep learning outcome. Virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in the dental pre-clinical stage may help stimulate students to better understand the foundation material prescribed in the curriculum. Most visual material available for students is still mainly based on 2D graphics. Thus, this study will attempt to evaluate the students' perceptions about implementing VR/AR technologies in the learning setting. Methods: A single-group pretest-posttest design will be implemented where students will be exposed to VR/AR and fill out two questionnaires, one before and one after the exposure. Conclusions: This project is intended to start once the institutional ethical approval is obtained. It is expected that the analysis from the current project will provide recommendations to improve the students' academic curriculum pre-clinical experience. The recommendations will be provided in the form of at least three scientific publications, with one publication for each subject area intended to be evaluated (i.e., head and neck anatomy, dental anatomy, and removable prosthodontics).

Dental Students' Attitudes and Perspectives regarding Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Cross-sectional, Multi-university Study

Objectives

The aim of the study was to evaluate the attitude and perspectives of dental students of four Croatian universities towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material and methods

An anonymous internet-based survey was administered to undergraduate dental medicine students at the Universities of Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek. The 29-item questionnaire collected data on students' demographics, online learning organization and management, and perception of online classes.

Results

Five hundred and four participants (85.1% female) took part in the survey. The majority of the participants (63.5%) were from the University of Zagreb. 39.6% of students reported agreement regarding online learning satisfaction. Individual university satisfaction ratings on overall online learning were: Osijek 3.69, Zagreb 3.22, Split 3.05 and Rijeka 2.64. Most students considered that lectures (82.9%) and seminars (78.9%) could be successfully delivered in an online learning format. The online learning format cannot successfully deliver laboratory, preclinical, clinical practicals or clinical clerkship, as agreed by more than 80% of the total student sample. 60% of students consider online learning a valuable alternative to face-to-face instruction.

Conclusion

Online learning was highly praised for educational formats such as lectures and seminars, and was considered a useful substitute for conventional learning. Conventional practical courses cannot be substituted with online learning. Overall perspective about online learning was mixed among the students of four universities. The findings of the present study can serve to help individual universities address the shortcomings and reinforce the strengths of their OL programs.

Effectiveness of The Wikipedia Collaboration of Dental Schools' Training Programme: a new Paradigm for Teaching and Learning of Evidence-Based Dentistry

BACKGROUND

The Wikipedia Collaboration of Dental Schools (WCODS) is a student-led initiative that aims to publish high quality scientific, evidence-based dental content on the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia by equipping its members to use research, critical appraisal and writing skills to create accurate content. In 2019, the Collaboration launched a standardised training programme developed by Wikimedia-trained committee members, academic dental school staff and the Cochrane Oral Health global community.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of this training programme in ensuring WCODS editors follow the processes underpinning Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD).

METHOD

A cohort of dental students and staff (n=136) from six dental schools in the UK and Malaysia took part in a standardised and structured training programme at the annual WCODS training meeting. Participants' abilities and their perceived levels of confidence in carrying out critical analysis of the literature were measured using pre- and post-training surveys, and competency assessments.

RESULTS

Participants' skills in conducting literature searches, critical appraisal of the findings and creating and editing a Wikipedia page improved after training.

CONCLUSION

The training programme provided participants with the skill set and confidence to apply best practice to create and edit Wikipedia entries. This Collaboration intends to recruit more contributors to improve global oral health literacy using the free online Wikipedia encyclopaedia.

New Internship Course at Health Centers for Dental Undergraduates of Babol University of Medical Sciences in 2014: Students' Perception

Objectives:

This study aimed to evaluate an innovative internship course at health centers for final-year dental undergraduates and to report initial students’ perceptions.

Materials and Methods:

The Department of Community Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry with the collaboration of the Vice-Chancellor of Health of Babol University of Medical Sciences prepared an educational and clinical training course, named Health Centers Dental Rotation (HCDR), in January 2014. Final year (6^th year) dental undergraduates were divided into groups of two or three and worked as an operator or assistant at 12 health centers (six rural and six urban). Students had to fulfill the educational and therapeutic requirements for three weeks. Students’ perspectives related to the course objectives were recorded using a five-point Likert scale with a voluntary anonymous questionnaire.

Results:

Forty-four dental students, 26 (60%) females and 18 (40%) males, provided oral health care services at the health centers. Based on the students’ perspectives, almost all students (95%) realized the limitations of the health centers. The HCDR improved the awareness of 75% of the students about oral health needs and problems of patients referring to these centers. Although 68% of the students declared that participating in this course was a valuable educational experience, 38.6% described it as displeasing.

Conclusion:

From the students’ perspectives, this course was a worthwhile and positive internship experience and provided an opportunity for students to understand the specific oral health needs of patients attending these health centers and to realize their key role in the oral health system.

Impact of career choice motivation on academic burnout in senior dental students: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Motivation triggers all human activities including learning and lack of career motivation can lead to decreased efficiency. This study assessed the association between academic burnout and career choice motivation in senior dental students.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was performed on senior dental students of all four dental schools in Tehran in 2017. Dental students voluntarily filled out a 33-item questionnaire that comprised three sections. The first section included the Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire (BCSQ-SS) with 12 questions addressing academic burnout. The second section consisted of 8 questions about career choice motivation, and the third section concentrated on 13 questions dealing with demographics. The individual scores of each section and the total scores were reported. The factor analysis of 8 questions about dental career choice motivation yielded 3 factors of social status and security, altruism, and others' advice motivations. The data were analyzed using regression test.

RESULTS

Totally, 131 students filled out the questionnaire (response rate = 86%). The total score of academic burnout was 38.89% ± 1.13%. The highest and the lowest burnout scores belonged to the domains of "overload" (46.69%± 1.46%) and "neglect" (31.98%± 1.32%), respectively. The most and the least frequently mentioned source of motivation for choosing dentistry were high income and failing to enter other fields, respectively. The burnout score was higher in students with altruism motivations (P = 0.007) and lower in students with others' advice motivations (P = 0.004). The burnout score was higher in students with inadequate or moderate financial support from the family and lower in students whose mothers' educational level was high-school diploma or lower.

CONCLUSION

Senior dental students in Tehran encountered different levels of academic burnout. In the present study, low financial support and altruism as career choice motivations were associated with higher level of academic burnout.

Motivation to Follow a Career in Dentistry of Students in Three South-East European Countries

Objective

To investigate and compare the factors that motivated students to study dentistry in countries with similar background (Albania, Croatia and the Republic of Northern Macedonia) and to assess whether or not their motivation changed during time.

Material and methods

In 2014/2015, cross-sectional studies were conducted in state funded dental schools in Tirana (Albania), Zagreb (Croatia) and Skopje (Macedonia) to assess student views on their career motivation. All dental students from the first, third and final years of study were invited to participate. The participation was voluntary and anonymous. A five-item questionnaire was translated into languages of the participating countries. Ethics approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the University of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Skopje. The Chi square test was used to test if there were statistically significant differences in answers between students in 3 countries, furthermore between years of the study.

Results

The total number of respondents was 739 (319 in Tirana, 211 in Zagreb and 208 in Skopje) The differences in the answers between the first-year students from all three countries were statistically significant (χ²=82.65; p<.01). The most striking answer was to the question on parents' pressure to study dentistry, which was far more frequent in Tirana (up to 27.7%). A "positive image" was the most frequent response from students from Zagreb (up to 79.7%), but it declined from the first to the final year in Skopje. There were also significant differences between the schools within the 3^rdand final years of study.

Conclusions

A positive image of dental profession was the main reason for students studying dentistry at all three schools; as many as 97% of the students of the final year in Croatia, a member of the European Union (EU). In the two non-EU countries (Albania, Macedonia) it seemed that dental profession does not have such good status and student expectations are not being fulfilled, especially in Skopje (up to 33.9% willing to change their vocation and up to 64.5% lost their motivation to study) One of the strategies to improve the situation could be to include more clinical practice and to better organize the study..

Influence of Motivation on Academic Performance among Dental College Students

AIM

This study aimed to assess the influence of motivation on academic performance among dental undergraduate students.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out among a sample of 187 undergraduate dental students from the main dental colleges in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia using an electronic questionnaire. Students' academic performance was measured by their current grade point average (GPA). Motivation was assessed using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), which is a self-report instrument designed to assess students' motivational orientations and learning strategies in college, including goals and value beliefs for the studied program (intrinsic, extrinsic goals orientation and task value), beliefs about their skills to succeed in their studies (control of learning beliefs, self-efficacy for learning and performance), and their anxiety about program tests.

RESULTS

The results showed positive correlations between GPA and the motivation scale (r = 0.2296, p = 0.0019) and most of its subscales, including self-efficacy for learning performance (r = 0.2997, p = 0.0001), control of learning beliefs (r = 0.2305, p = 0.0021) and task value (r = 0. 2243, p = 0.0021). Test anxiety showed negative correlation with GPA (r = -0.1943, p = 0.0100). Compared to their counterparts, male students, students perceived to be from middle class families and students living with their families were consistently showing significant correlations between GPA and most of the motivation subscales.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that motivation for learning can influence the academic performance of dental students. This influence can be affected by factors such as sex, socioeconomic factors and family support of the students.

Knowledge of Oral Cancer among the Fourth and Fifth Year Dental Students

Background

The literature data show insufficient knowledge and awareness about oral cancer among dental and medical students.

Objective

To assess the knowledge of graduating dental students regarding oral cancer and to assess their awareness regarding the prevention and early detection of oral cancer. Also student’s smoking status was examined aimed to investigate their attitude towards smoking as a risk factor for development of oral cancer and to assess the prevalence of smoking among dental students.

Subjects and Methods

The study group consisted of 83 students of the fourth and fifth years of dental medicine study who answered the questions written in the original 16-item questionnaire.

Results

More than half of the students considered their knowledge to be good, a quarter of them regarded their knowledge as being poor. Almost 16% of students considered their knowledge to be very good, whereas only two students rated their knowledge as ‘excellent’. Students of the fifth year were more likely to be smokers compared to fourth year students (39.5% vs. 22.5%). Higher percentage of non-smokers than smokers had marked 'stop smoking' as an important preventive measure (non-smokers 91.2%, smokers 84.3%, p = 0.01).

Conclusion

Majority of the students of fourth and fifth year of study rate their knowledge about oral cancer as good. A large number of students of both years considered hairy leukoplakia a potentially malignant disorder. Students non smokers recognize “stop smoking” as an important preventive measure unlike students smokers who show a more realistic attitude towards smoking as a risk factor for oral cancer.

Do We Need To Care: Emotional Intelligence And Empathy Of Medical And Dental Students

BACKGROUND

Biomedical knowledge, though pre-requisite, needs to be supported by other important skills, in order to transform medical education and healthcare delivery. This study was thus planned to analyze the correlation between emotional intelligence (EI) and empathy in medical and dental undergraduate students..

METHODS

This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted at public and private sector medical and dental institutions of Peshawar, Pakistan from February 2015 to June 2017. Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEiS) & Davis' Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) were used to assess emotional intelligence and empathy. The data was analyzed using SPSS-20. The p-value of <0.05 was considered significant when tests of significance were applied.

RESULTS

The mean age of the sample (n=2170) was 21.02±1.62 years. High level of EI (118.60±15.78) was reported in 1191 (54.9%) while higher empathy (63.24±14.24) was reported in 1115 (51.4%) students. Female medical students had significantly higher empathic behaviour and emotional intelligence than male students (p<0.05), while no significant difference was found between male and female dental students. Medical students of private sector showed higher level of empathy as compared to public sector (p<0.05), whereas dental students of private sector showed higher level of emotional intelligence as compared to public sector (p<0.05). EI and Empathy had significant correlation (r=.370, p=0.000).

CONCLUSIONS

The study showed that EI and empathy have strong correlation. Since higher levels of both have been reported in only half of the students, therefore, there is a need to work on EI of students to improve in their empathetic behaviour..

Self Assessment of Dental students' Perception of Learning Environment in Croatia, India and Nepal

Aim

The aim of this study was to assess dental students' perception of different learning environment in India, Nepal and Croatia.

Methods

The study was conducted during a period of academic year 2016/17. A total of 849 dental students participated in the study. There were 188 respondents from Croatia, 373 from India, and 288 from Nepal. Non-responders were not followed up. The Dental Student Learning Environment Survey (DSLES) was used which consisted of 55 items subdivided into seven scales. The scales measured the following perceptions: Flexibility, ‘Student-to-Student Interactions, Emotional Climate, Supportiveness, Meaningful Experience, Organization and Breadth of Interest. Statistical analysis of the data utilised the Kolmogorov Smirnov test. The Kruskal-Wallis “non-parametric ANOVA” was also used to test the differences between the countries. A post hoc analysis was performed using Ranks tables and the Median test.

Results

The response rate was 26.9%. Significant differences between the countries were found for all DSLES variables (Kruskal-Wallis, p<0.01). The Median test also showed significant differences between the countries for all DSLES variables (p<0.01). The scales with the highest mean values were ‘Student-to-student interactions’ in India and Nepal, and the ‘Emotional Climate’ in Croatia.

Conclusions

Students in Croatia rated their school only with grades excellent and good, while their colleagues in India and Nepal were more critical. Despite the different settings in three countries, ‘Flexibility’ was identified as the area of weakness in all three educational systems.

Innovative Integration of Facebook Groups in Biomaterials Course: Perception of Dental Students

BACKGROUND

Calls for incorporating Facebook into the academic process to achieve educational purposes were done since more than 10 years.

OBJECTIVES

This study was designed to assess the perception of the dental students towards the use of Facebook in learning of the Biomaterials course and to determine if there is a gender-based difference in the students' perception.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This cross sectional study was conducted on the 3rd year undergraduate dental students, at one of Saudi universities during the academic year 2016-2017 using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to all students with a response rate 100%. Data was analyzed using the SPSS version 16.

RESULTS

The female students were significantly more satisfied with the course than the male as they wanted to use Facebook to study the other topics of the Biomaterials course (p=0.01) as well as to study the other subjects (p=0.012) and they thought that Facebook can be used for scientific discussion (p=0.01).The willing to use Facebook in future learning was high among the female students but with no significant difference between both males and females. It was unexpected to find low agreement score among the participants on their preference to have assignments, movies, feedback or even reminders on Facebook with no significant difference between males and females.

CONCLUSION

Integrating learning through Facebook groups into the dental courses was generally well-perceived among the dental students and specifically accepted for the Biomaterials course. Students were willing to apply such model in other dentistry subjects. Further investigation of the impact of the approach on students' performance is recommended.

The Effect of Gates-Glidden Drills on the Quality of Root Canal Treatment by Pre-Clinical Dental Students

AIM:

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of applying Gates-Glidden (GG) drill by pre-clinical dental students on root canal treatment quality.

METHOD:

A total of 56 first molars consisting of 168 canals were selected in this study. For this purpose, 56 students who had been formerly trained by two methods of root canal preparation were randomly divided into two groups (n = 28). Group 1: the step-down method by GG and Group 2: step-back technique without GG. The prepared teeth were filled with gutta-percha/ZOE sealer using lateral condensation. Periapical radiographs were taken before and the following treatment to survey occurrence of preparation errors and CBCT images to determine residual dentine at furcation region.

RESULTS:

The findings showed that among 10 error types in specimens prepared by students, the occurrence of underfilling, overfilling, inappropriate, ledge formation, and single cone was more common without GG. There were no significant differences in residual dentine amount at furcation region between preparation with and without using GG (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION:

Using GG for root canal preparation by dental students resulted in low errors and not an increased dentine removal risk.

Impact of Smoking on Oral Health: Knowledge and Attitudes of Croatian Dentists and Dental Students

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate smoking habits, the level of knowledge and attitudes towards smoking, as well as the role of dental professionals in prevention of smoking among students of the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb and compare them to attitudes of practicing Croatian dentists.

Materials and methods

The study was carried out among 1^st and 6^th year dental students at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb and dentists employed in primary practice throughout Croatia. A total of 159 subjects (51 1^st and 53 6^th year dental students and 55 dentists) participated in the study.

Results

The prevalence of smoking was highest among 6^th year dental students (39, 6%). It slightly decreased among dentists (34, 5%), while least smokers were found among first year dental students (7, 8%). The majority of dental student smokers expressed a desire to stop smoking (66, 7% of 1^st year dental student smokers and 76% of 6^th year dental student smokers), while less than half of dentist smokers had the desire to stop - only 45, 8% of them. Dental students of the 1^st and 6^th year of the study showed a statistically significantly higher level of desire for education about harmful smoking effects and patients counselling to quit smoking compared to dentists. The data gathered in this study indicate that it is necessary to increase awareness among dental professionals about harmful effects of smoking on oral and general health. Also, their awareness about the central role of healthcare workers as promoters of a healthy lifestyle among patients should be raised.

Iatrogenic Errors during Root Canal Instrumentation Performed by Dental Students

INTRODUCTION

The present study was set to investigate the training quality and its association with the quality of root canal therapy performed by fifth year dentistry students.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

A total number of 432 records of endodontic treatment performed by fifth year dentistry students were qualified to be further investigated. Radiographs were assessed by two independent endodontists. Apical transportation, apical perforation, gouging, ledge formation, and the quality of temporary restoration were error types investigated in the present study.

RESULTS

the prevalence of apical transportation, ledge formation, and apical perforation errors were significantly higher in molars in comparison with other types of teeth. The most prevalent type of error was the apical transportation, which was significantly higher in mandibular teeth. There was no significant differences among teeth in terms of other types of errors.

CONCLUSION

The quality of training provided for dentistry students should be improved and endodontic curriculum should be modified.

Psychometric Properties of the Croatian Language Version of the Dental Environment Stress Questionnaire on Dental Medicine Students

Objective

To develop the Croatian version of the 41-item Dental Environment Stress questionnaire (DES) for stress assessment of dental students in both, preclinical and clinical years of study and to test its psychometric properties in Croatian dental student population.

Materials and Methods

The English version of the 41-Item DES questionnaire was first translated into the Croatian language. Subsequently, it was set on the google drive and filled out by a total of 202 students from the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb and 30 additional students from other Faculties. Students also assessed their overall level of stress on the Likert scale (1=no stress, 5=highest level of stress). Internal consistency was tested on 202 dental students; test-retest reliability on 30 dental students who filled out the same questionnaire twice; convergent validity on 202 dental students; and divergent validity on 202 dental students and 30 students from faculties not belonging to the biomedicine group.

Results

Internal consistency showed high Cronbach alpha coefficient (0.9) and test-retest reliability showed no significant difference (P>0.05) within the period of 14 days when stress level had not changed (vacation). Convergent validity was confirmed by the significant association between the DES summary scores and the self- perceived level of stress (Spearman’s rho=0.881; P<0.001). Divergent validity was confirmed by significantly lower DES summary scores in students not belonging to the Biomedicine group (t=7.5, P<0.001).

Conclusion

Excellent psychometric properties of the Croatian version of the DES questionnaire enable its utilization for assessment of stress level in Croatian dental students.

Radiographic Quality of Root Canal Obturation Performed By Fifth Year Students of Hamadan Dental School

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to assess the radiographic technical quality of root canal therapy performed by fifth year students of Dental School of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences from 2015 to 2016.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Four hundred and seventy records of root canal therapies were evaluated. Records with graphies taken as initial, master apical file (MAF), master apical cone (MAC) and final radiographs were included in the study and records of patient younger than 16 years and older than 68 years were excluded from further investigations. Lastly, 432 teeth were selected. Obturation length, canal tapering, quality and density of filling material were the variables investigated in the present study. Two independent investigators examined the radiographies using a magnifying lens (×2) and x-ray viewer. Data were analyzed using chi-square test.

RESULTS

The technical quality of root filling performed by undergraduate dental students was classified as acceptable in 10.4% of cases. Moreover, 70.8% of teeth had adequate filling, 17.1% were underfilled and 12% were overfilled. The three groups were significantly different in terms of working length and taper quality. One hundred ninety four (44.9%) records had adequate taper and 109 (25%) records had adequate density. There was a significant association between teeth location and the length of obturation so that the probability of a successful treatment was higher in maxillary teeth. Furthermore, the rate of a proper length of obturation was higher among incisors than that of premolars and molars.

CONCLUSION

The technical quality of root canal therapy performed by dental students in Hamadan University of medical sciences is not as acceptable as it should be. One of the most important factors in this regard is a high student/professor ratio.

Occupational Exposure of Shiraz Dental Students to Patients' Blood and Body Fluid

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Exposure to patients' blood and body fluids would prone the dental students to the risk of blood borne infections. Several studies have shown a high prevalence of these exposures in dental settings particularly in developing countries. However, few studies have evaluated the epidemiology of these exposures in dental students in Iran.

PURPOSE

To assess the epidemiology of occupational exposures among dental students and consequently designing the appropriate interventions in order to prevent these exposures.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

In this cross-sectional study performed during March to June 2011, all 191 Shiraz clinical dental students were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. This questionnaire included demographic information and experience of sharp injuries and mucocutaneous contaminations. Chi square and t-test were employed to evaluate the risk factors of exposure.

RESULTS

80%of the participants were exposed to the patients' blood or body fluids during their clinical course. No association was found between the exposure and demographic factors. Injection needle and recapping were the most common causes of these injuries. The most common sites that were injured and caused mucocutaneous contamination were finger and face, respectively. The most frequent activity causing contamination was using high-speed rotary instruments. Only 6.4% of the exposures had been reported to the related authorities and the remains were underreported.

CONCLUSION

Blood and body fluid exposure in dental setting is common and a lot of them are not reported. To reduce the hazards of these exposures, infection control authorities should design interventions especially for mentioned high-risk conditions. They should change dental students' behavior especially regarding not recapping injection needles and using eyewear. Dental schools seem to need a management center and a standard protocol for following up the exposures.

Back to the Future of Dental Education: "Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind" Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own, 1929

Our students are like beacons, a bright light on the horizon, but with some way to go. Our educational methods that bring them safely into harbour have seen the test of time, but do we allow them enough freedom and creativity to sail their boats in the climate change of the digital era? Our students are chosen because they are smart and capable and we hope will bring credit to our institutions, but do we maximize their potential educationally? We need to go back to the future to begin to consider this.

Attitude towards preventive dentistry among Iranian senior dental students

OBJECTIVE

To investigate attitudes of Iranian senior dental students towards preventive dentistry in relation to their background factors and self-perceived competency in providing preventive care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In spring 2008, a questionnaire survey was conducted with all the senior dental students of seven randomly selected state dental schools in Iran. In addition to the respondents' age and gender, the voluntary questionnaire assessed the students' attitudes towards preventive dentistry by means of a seven-point semantic differential scale of nine qualities and their opposites, and their self-perceived competency in providing preventive care by five separate questions. To identify the underlying dimensions for attitude, a factor analysis with principle component method and varimax rotation was applied. Independent sample t-test served for statistical analysis. Of the 242 students receiving the questionnaire, 182 students (75%) responded. The mean age of the participants was 26 years and 42% of them were men.

RESULTS

Based on the factor analysis, which explained 60% of the total variance, two attitude dimensions were identified; the profession-related dimension and the health service-related dimension. Competency in giving preventive care in all the five specified areas was reported by 44% of the students with no significant gender differences. The mean for the dentist-related dimension was significantly higher among the students who reported competency in giving preventive care (P=0.005).

CONCLUSION

There is room for improvement in senior dental students' attitudes towards preventive dentistry. In order to create more positive attitudes for future dental professionals, there should be an early and sufficient exposure to preventive aspects of dentistry in the dental curricula.