The Confidence of Undergraduate Dental Students When Undertaking Indirect Restorations

Abstract

The General Dental Council expects United Kingdom graduating dentists to be competent at providing crown and bridge treatments and graduating students should feel confident to undertake these treatments. The aim of this study was to explore the confidence of undergraduate dental students when providing crown and fixed dental prosthesis treatments. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to all (n = 198) undergraduate students in Years 3 to 5 at Bristol Dental School. The questionnaire comprised confidence interval ranked responses, and respondents’ data was analysed using SPSS. The response rate was 76%. Undergraduate perception of confidence increased throughout the three years of study (p < 0.01). There was a strong association between the amount of exposure students had to certain treatment stages and their perceived confidence levels. Confidence levels may be increased further with increased clinical experience.

Fixed prosthodontics clinical unit completions in an undergraduate curriculum: A 10‐year retrospective study

“…Correspondingly, the consistent use of FGC balanced its established clinical longevity 8 with its lack of aesthetics, the rising cost of gold and a move away from traditional laboratory techniques to digital processes. It has previously been demonstrated that undergraduate students in more senior years had good levels of confidence in performing these types of crown preparations after receiving formal didactic and practical teaching 9 …”