Evaluation of Dental Interns’ Perception and Self-Confidence Levels Regarding Endodontic Treatment”- A Questionnaire Study

Shambhavi Gogia; Anushtha Jain; Laxmish Mallya; Ramya Shenoy; Swathi Pai

Authors

Shambhavi Gogia
Anushtha Jain
Laxmish Mallya
Ramya Shenoy
Swathi Pai

Keywords:

Education, Research, Endodontics, Health Services Research, Self Concept

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the perception and self-confidence of Dental interns regarding endodontic treatment performed on patients. Material and Methods: A total of 111 dental interns from 5 different educational institutes of a state in South India participated in a questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions related to root canal procedures performed on patients. Analysis was done using SPSS version 17.0. Results: Sixty-five interns (59%) performed less than 10 root canal treatments on patients during the course of the internship. Twenty-eight interns (25% of the intern population) took up more than 10 root canal treatment cases, whereas only 18 interns (16%) did not perform the treatment on patients and answered the questionnaire based on their experience with extracted teeth model work. Only five interns out of 111 were ‘Very confident’ and 22 were ‘Confident’ in performing the root canal treatment. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the self-perceived confidence level among dental interns can affect their clinical performance. It also recommends additional hands-on workshops, problem-based learning and clinical guidance for the dental interns to become more confident with the root canal procedure.

References

Alshahrani EA, AlQisi AY, Alsalhi IY, Alwadei WH, Alsafi ZA. Confidence levels of intern doctors during root canal treatment procedures in Saudi Arabia. Egypt J Hosp Med 2018; 71(5):3148-52. https://doi.org/10.12816/0046617

Puryer J, Amin S, Turner M. Undergraduate confidence when undertaking root canal treatment and their perception of the quality of their endodontic education. Dent J 2017; 5(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/dj5010001

Alrahabi M. The confidence of undergraduate dental students in Saudi Arabia in performing endodontic treatment. Eur J Dent 2017; 11(1):17-21. https://doi.org/10.4103/ejd.ejd_190_16

Awooda EM, Mudathir MS, Mahmoud SA. Confidence level in performing endodontic treatment among final year undergraduate dental students from the University of Medical Science and Technology, Sudan (2014). Saudi Endod J 2016; 6:26-30. https://doi.org/10.4103/1658-5984.172000

Tanalp J, Güven EP, Oktay I. Evaluation of dental students’ perception and self-confidence levels regarding endodontic treatment. Eur J Dent 2013; 7(2):218-24. https://doi.org/10.4103/1305-7456.110189

Shetty N, Kundabala M, Shenoy R. Attitude and perception of undergraduate dental students toward endodontics as a specialty in India. J Educ Ethics Dent 2014; 4:8-11. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-7761.143148

Tavares LG, Lima SM, Lima MG, Arruda MP, Menegazzi TC, Rezende TM. Undergraduate dentistry students’ perception of difficulties regarding endodontic treatment. Aust Endod J 2019; 45(1):98-105. https://doi.org/10.1111/aej.12290

Baaij A, Özok AR. Influence of method of teaching endodontics on the self-efficacy and self-perceived competence of undergraduate dental students. Eur Endod J 2017; 3(1):31-7. https://doi.org/10.5152/eej.2017.17048

Davey J, Bryant ST, Dummer PM. The confidence of undergraduate dental students when performing root canal treatment and their perception of the quality of endodontic education. Eur J Dent Educ 2015; 19(4):229-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12130

Murray CM, Chandler NP. Undergraduate endodontic teaching in New Zealand: Students’ experience, perceptions and self‐confidence levels. Aust Endod J 2014; 40(3):116-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/aej.12084

Gilmour A, Welply A, Cowpe J, Bullock AD, Jones RJ. The undergraduate preparation of dentists: Confidence levels of final year dental students at the School of Dentistry in Cardiff. Br Dent J 2016; 221:349-54. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.686

Doumani M, Habib A, Bashnakli AR, Khaled Alhababi A, Shamsy E, Nassani MZ. The Internship dentist’s self confidence levels during root canal treatment procedures. Int J Dent Res 2017; 5(2):121-4. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijdr.v5i2.7948