Evaluation of general dentist's opinion about continuous dental education programs in Ahvaz

Continuous medical education is not old in Iran. Therefore careful evaluation of this program is necessary. The aim of this study was evaluation of general dentist's opinions about continuous dental education programs in Ahvaz. Subjects and This descriptive study was performed on 100 general dentists in 2007. The method of data collection was questionnaires, containing 42 questions about programs of continuous dental education based on Likert Scale (5 degrees). The data were analyzed by SPSS-15 software and t-test (P<0.05). The dentists had average 12.6 ±77 years of service and 79.8 % of them were men and 20.2 % women. Two thirds of the dentists believed that continuous dental education is necessary. The mean of dentist's opinion in related to the method of conduction and to the continent of programs were 3.01±0.99 and 2.94±0.95 respectively. Three important priorities of continuous dental education were in the order of restorative dentistry, endodontics and oral surgery. The use of specialists and planning of the programs according to regional needs are effective for improvement program's quality with an average 4.17± 0.89 and 4.08± 0.75 respectively. There was no significant statistical difference between gender and their years of services. Dentists, a necessity for continuing education professionals know how the implementation and content of the programs are not much satisfaction. Planning based on regional needs and the uses of experienced teachers improve the quality of the programs and will improve existing continuous education programs.