Assessment of the clinical skills of dental students in the dept. of pediatric dentistry

Dental schools try to train skilled and competent dentist to promote oral health services. This study assesses the clinical skills of pediatric dentistry among dental students in the Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Iran.
This descriptive cross-sectional study by census sampling evaluates all of the 55 senior dental students. The data were obtained by a valid and reliable questionnaire. The students’ judgments about their level of dental practical skills were assessed using a 5-scaled lickert device and scoring from 1 to 5 respectively from very low, low, moderate, high and very high. The data were reported by mean of descriptive statistical method for each educational department. The effect of related factors like gender, age, and scantling to enter the dental school, was analyzed by a mean of regression coefficient.
All senior students participated in the study (response rate was 100%). Eight items of practical skills out of seventeen were assessed as high or very high by more than 60% of students. Management of traumatized teeth was presented by more than 70% as low or very low.
Regarding the results, the studied dental students showed an acceptable level of dental practical skills, however; curriculum was not successfully achieved its own ideal objectives, then, some modifications are necessary to be performed considering the skills with the lowest scores.