Showing 13 results for Dental Students
A. Jafari, Mr. Khami, R. Yazdani, M Mohammadi,
Volume 22, Issue 4 (1-2010)
Abstract
Background and Aims: The objective of the present study was to investigate knowledge and attitude of senior dental students towards HIV/AIDS. Its result could help in promotion of education.
Materials and Methods: This educational research was carried out in two state dental schools in Tehran. The senior dental students in Tehran and Shaheed Beheshti dental schools were asked to fill in a self-administered questionnaire regarding their age, gender, parents' job, knowledge and attitudes towards treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS in Autumn semester 2007. Fifty five dental students (83%) including 27% male and 73% female in Shaheed Beheshti and fifty five dental students (85%) including 34% male and 66% female in Tehran dental schools were participated. The score for knowledge and attitude of the students were calculated separately. The data were analyzed using Independent sample t-test.
Results: The mean percentage of knowledge and attitude scores were 76.5% (at rang 1-3) and 50% (at range 1-5), respectively. Nearly all of the students believed that all patients should be considered as HIV positive in dental practice, while 49% preferred to refer HIV positive patients. Knowledge and attitude of students were not significantly associated with the gender and knowing HIV positive person (P>0.05).
Conclusion: There is a need to improve knowledge and attitudes of dental students towards HIV/AIDS. It is suggested to emphasize on this subject in dental schools curriculum in Iran.
Hadi Ghasemi, Mohammad Reza Khami,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (4-2012)
Abstract
Background and Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate the barriers to the production of scientific dental articles in dental schools in Iran based on the opinions of dental postgraduate students.
Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among postgraduate students of all Iranian dental schools in June 2010. The respondents rated their agreement with eight sentences about what hinder them from producing scientific dental articles based on a 5-grade Likert scale. The data were analyzed using Chi-square test.
Results: Totally, 270 filled questionnaires from 14 dental schools were received. Of all respondents, 53% were male, the mean age were 29.6 ± 3.8. About half of the respondents reported at least one published article. Less than half of the respondents reported producing an article from undergraduate thesis more women than men and more younger than older students (P<0.03). About two-third of the respondents rated absence of an English editing center, no financial incentives, no appropriate environment, and no competency for scientific writing as most prevalent barriers to the production of scientific dental articles.
Conclusion: To expand the share of Iran in the production of scientific dental documents, the potential of postgraduate dental students must be regarded and suitable condition for scientific writing must be provided. Specifically, based on the findings of the present study, provision of an English editing facility, establishing financial incentives, and providing the students with appropriate environment and efficient scientific writing education are of utmost importance.
Fateme Mokhtari, Mohammad Hossein Yosefi, Ali Gharaati Jahromi,
Volume 27, Issue 2 (6-2014)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Root canal therapy is one of the most important parts of a general dentist's profession. The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiographic quality of root canal therapy performed by under graduated students at Yazd dental school.
Materials and Methods: Records of patients, who were referred to the endodontic department during 2010-2012 and treated by undergraduated students, were divided into three groups by the numbers of canals and 80 specimens from each group were randomly evaluated. For the assessment, the quality of accomplished treatments, the indices: length, taper, and density of obturation were used and the errors during root treatment were recorded. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and Chi-square.
Results: According to the results, 155 (64.6%) records had appropriate filling length, whereas 55 (22.9%) were underfilled and 30 (12.5%) were overfilled. The acquired difference was statistically significant among three groups. (P<0.001). 187 (77.9%) records had adequate taper and 157 (65.4%) records had adequate density. The difference in the evaluating of taper (P=0.976) and density (P=0.879) was not significant. Totally, 39.2% of specimens had all the properties of an appropriate root canal treatment.
Conclusion: The results of the present study can be used to identify weaknesses in the treatment of different educational groups and help them to achieve a proper planning to improve the quality of endodontic treatments.
Shirazian Shiva , Arash Mansourian, Mehdi Vatanpour, Fatemeh Tirgar,
Volume 28, Issue 3 (10-2015)
Abstract
Background and Aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between study skills and academic performance of dental students in Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Materials and Methods: 195 dental students at dental faculty of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2013 participated in this descriptive-analytical study. Data were collected using Congos´ Study Skills Inventory including six subscales. Grade Point Average (GPA) indicated their academic performance. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey test.
Results: The mean score of students’ study skills were 108 out of 200 with standard deviation of 22.06±0.7. Note taking had a significant correlation with GPA (P=0.015).
Conclusion: Since no significant correlation between study skills and academic performance of the students was observed, it seems that there are other dynamics involved in their academic performance which have to be examined.
Pouyan Amini Shakib, Taraneh Movahhed, Hooman Keshavarz,
Volume 28, Issue 3 (10-2015)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Choosing an appropriate style of teaching-learning by educators is a way to reach high quality education. The objective of this study conducted in Babol Dental School was to compare dental students, satisfaction of teaching theoretical general pathology course by means of a combination of lecture and work in small groups with their satisfaction of teaching the course by means of only lecture.
Materials and Methods: This study was performed in the second semester of school year 2011-12 and 2012-13. In 2012 (intervention group, response rate=92%), the teaching of theoretical general pathology course was implemented by means of a combination of lecture and work in small groups, but in 2013 (control group, response rate=81%) by means of only lecture. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used to assess students, satisfaction of the teaching methods. To compare the mean total score of satisfaction (ranging from 18 through 90) between the two groups, T-test was used.
Results: Comparing the mean total scores between the two groups revealed that students, satisfaction of the combined teaching method was significantly higher (P<0.001). The difference of satisfaction between genders (separately for each group) was not significant in combination group and lecture group (P=0.63 and P=0.87, respectively).
Conclusion: Regarding learning, combining lecture with other teaching methods such as work in small groups may increase health sciences students' satisfaction. In regard to teaching theoretical general pathology course, our findings could confirm this hypothesis.
Sayed Mohsen Hosseini, Fateme Bagheri, Faranak Farahmand, Asiye Heydari, Elahe Khorasani,
Volume 29, Issue 4 (1-2017)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Nowadays, oral cancer is considered one of the most important diseases related to oral health. The objective of the present study was to determine the dental students’ knowledge in Isfahan about oral cancer and the comparison of the level of students' knowledge in different years of education.
Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional-analytical one conducted in 2013. The population of study included the dental students of private and state University of Isfahan which 255 students were randomly selected. The data were collected using questionnaire and were then analyzed using SPSS software program and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney.
Results: From private and public dental schools in Isfahan, 56% and 44% of dental students were involved. Regarding performing routine clinical oral examination, 81% of the participants answered positively, which showed no significant difference among the years of education of the participants (P=0.116). Regarding the examination of patients with oral lesions, 46% of them answered positively, which the difference between the years of education was highly significant (P≤0.001).
Conclusion: The findings of the research indicated that the level of knowledge of dental students of Isfahan city regarding the detection of oral lesions was not sufficient. Although, the students did not perform common examinations for exploring oral cancer, they did not have sufficient knowledge regarding some of the risk factors and oral lesions related to cancer. Therefore, it is necessary that a comprehensive curriculum be developed in this regard for their education.
Mohammad Reza Khami, Hooman Keshavarz, Samaneh Razeghi,
Volume 30, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Opinion of students regarding the content, structure and quality of their training is a fundamental part of holistic evaluation of curriculum, and serves as an important information resource in policy making. In the present study, we aimed to contribute to the development, assessment and evaluation of the new national dental curriculum through evaluation of last-year dental students’ opinions regarding undergraduate dental curriculum.
Materials and Methods: This cross sectional questionnaire survey was done in 2010-2011 academic year. The target population was last-year dental students in 15 Iranian state dental schools. In these schools, all last-year dental students were invited to participate in the study. The chi-square test served for statistical analyses.
Results: In total, 432 students (68.4% female) participated in the study. Of the respondents, 72.4% (60.7% of male and 77.6% of female, P=0.001) believed that their undergraduate dental training had been completely inadequate or inadequate. Only about one third of students believed that educational methods during their undergraduate dental training had been appropriate or completely appropriate.
Conclusion: In general, it seems that undergraduate dental training from students’ view point has not been appropriate in terms of both content and method. The results show the necessity of revision of national undergraduate dental curriculum.
Mohammadreza Khami, Shima Ghorbani, Mahdi Hasanpour,
Volume 32, Issue 2 (10-2019)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Due to high mortality rate and cost of smoking, WHO has emphasized on the role of dentists in smoking cessation among patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the dental students, knowledge toward health consequences of smoking, their attitude towards smoking cessation activities, and their education programs in this field.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the target group was senior dental students at Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities of Medical Sciences, and Azad and Shahed Universities. A questionnaire was used to collect data in addition to background information, on the knowledge, attitudes, and education towards tobacco cessation counseling in dental practice was administered to the students. The sampling method was census. Data were analyzed using oneway Anova followed by Turkey HSD post-hoc test for pairwise comparison.
Results: Overall 138 students participated in this program (The response rate was 100%). Of the maximum achievable knowledge score (28), the average knowledge score in Tehran University was 22.8, in Shahid Beheshti University 20.31, in Azad University 22.31, and in Shahed University 22.16 (P=0.027) with significant statistical differences. However, But the average of attitude and education score of the students did not vary significantly (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Most of the students had sufficient knowledge about the risks of tobacco use and positive attitude toward tobacco cessation counseling. It was concluded that the students would only pay attention to the principals of smoking cessation counselling when they actually believe in them. Therefore, in order to improve the performance of students, training should be given on tobacco cessation techniques at the dental schools, thus, that students could play an effective role in tobacco cessation counseling for patients.
Shiva Shirazian, Sakineh Nikzad Jamnani, Maryam Memarian, Homa Shaghi,
Volume 33, Issue 1 (7-2020)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Due to the very high importance of assessing the clinical performance of students, choosing the best assessment tool and method is one of the most important goals and tasks in medical education. The objective of this study was the development of a checklist for the assessment of dental students’ clinical skills of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, in the clinical complete denture course. The second aim was to determine the validity and reliability of the checklist, and The third aim was the evaluation of raters’ and students’ satisfaction.
Materials and Methods: The checklist was developed in expert panel sessions, and the validity and reliability of the checklist were assessed with CVI (content validity index) test-retest and inter-rater reliability methods, respectively. Students (n=15) were evaluated with a developed checklist. At the end of the session, the satisfaction level of staff and students were assessed. The obtained information was reported descriptively with the expression of mean and standard deviation and in the form of relative and absolute frequencies.
Results: The content validity index (CVI) of the checklist was 0.96. The reliability of the checklist confirmed with a high Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (>0.8) (between 0.82-0.97) (P<0.05). The coefficient of agreement in inter-rater reliability was 0.99 (between 0.991-0.998). Raters’ and students’ satisfaction earned a high percentage of satisfaction.
Conclusion: The designed checklist has the optimal features of a good students’ clinical performance assessment tool; it seems that using this checklist can be an excellent alternative method to a global rating scale to assess the clinical skills of dental students in the complete denture courses.
Afsaneh Pakdaman, Sholeh Ghabraei, Mohammad Javad Kharrazi Fard, Ali Saadatpoor Moghaddam,
Volume 34, Issue 0 (5-2021)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Supporting the preventive approach is important in training future dentists. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of senior dental students regarding non-invasive management of dental caries.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 using total sampling method and a valid and reliable questionnaire. Knowledge, attitude and self-reported practice of senior dental students regarding caries risk assessment (CRA) and management of lesions in two paper patients were assessed. The data analysis was performed using SPSS20 and the descriptive and analytical statistics were reported.
Results: In overall, 86 students (response rate=91%) were responded. In the knowledge section, caries history in the previous year, having frequent fermentable carbohydrate, xerostomia, and low socio-economic status were considered by more than half of students as factor for caries risk assessment. More than 90% of students had a positive attitude towards CRA in children. Nearly 50% of students tend to restore enamel lesions in proximal and occlusal surfaces in high-risk scenarios. There was significant association between the OHI instruction and debris index improvement (P=0.04) in the integrated comprehensive care clinic (TUMS). The linear regression analysis showed that there was no significant association between the demographic characteristics, place of education, previous course on the level of knowledge and attitude.
Conclusion: Senior dental students despite their general knowledge and positive attitude toward caries risk assessment, tended to aggressively manage the incipient lesions in the enamel and DEJ. Delivering prevention as integrated in the comprehensive care unit in order to improve oral hygiene status of patients is recommended.
Soheila Khalili, Hajar Shekarchizadeh, Afsaneh Pakdaman,
Volume 35, Issue 0 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Aims: For dental students, communication skills are essential to effectively transfer the necessary information to the patient and meet the patient’s needs and expectations. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the patient communication skills of dental students at Islamic Azad university of Isfahan in 2021.
Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional analytical study, an online standardized questionnaire DCCC (Dental consultation communication checklist) was provided to all clinical dental students applying a census sampling method. In total, from 248 clinical dental students, 230 students participated in the study (response rate=92.7%). The questionnaire included five dimensions of introduction, medical history, clinical examination, closure and patient. In order to determine the patient communication skills, its dimensions, and the association between patient communication skills and students’ demographic characteristics, friedman test, analysis of variance, independent t-test and a linear regression model were used for statistical analysis.
Results: The mean score of total communication skills of the students (117.16±15.6) was above average which was obtained from the maximum score of 155. There was a significant difference between the dimensions of communication skills (P<0.001). The highest scores were assigned to the clinical examination, patient, medical history, introduction and closure, respectively. No significant relationship existed between the score of students' communication skills with gender (P=0.08), age (P=0.17), marital status (P=0.19), and educational background in psychology (P=0.07). No significant relationship revealed between the total score of communication skills (P=0.92) and its dimensions (introduction P=0.79, medical history P=0.90, clinical examination P=0.77, closure P=0.35, and patient P=0.85) with the students’ academic year.
Conclusion: The total score of dental students’ communication skills and all its dimensions was above average. However, students reported poorer performance in dimensions of introduction and closure than the other dimensions. Therefore, it is recommended to design and implement educational interventions specially to improve the dimensions of introduction and closure.
Firoozeh Nilchian, Saghar Salehi,
Volume 36, Issue 0 (5-2023)
Abstract
Background and Aims: With the advancement of technology, the use of old teaching methods has been replaced by new and more efficient methods such as podcasts, to save the time of students and professors and to provide the opportunity for these two groups to interact more with be given to each other in the classroom. This method has advantages such as lower cost, the possibility of content courses, downloading content, and learning courses remotely. This study aimed to investigate the other benefits of this method as well as the level of students' satisfaction.
Materials and Methods: In this study, which was a randomized, single-blind educational trial, the students at Dental School of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences were divided into two control and intervention groups (via a random number table), with 37 persons in each group. The classroom was held traditionally for both groups in 3 sessions and the podcast file was provided to the intervention group at the end of the session. Then, a test was taken from both groups at the second and third sessions. The students’ answers were evaluated and each score was determined out of 5. The scores of this test were compared in the intervention and control groups. Finally, a questionnaire was provided to students to evaluate their satisfaction. The test scores were analyzed by independent T-test.
Results: In this study, with 74 participants, the average age was 22.47±0.85, and 43% of the participants were male. The scores of the two tests taken out of five were 4.86±0.10 in the intervention group and 4.04±0.94 in the control group, and a significant statistical difference was observed in favor of the intervention group (P=0.02). The average satisfaction of students regarding this educational method was 29.4 out of 50. After taking into account the confounding effect of age, the investigated intervention did not affect the average score of the students' questionnaire (P=0.031).
Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, podcasts could be effective in students' learning and students had a positive attitude towards this method. The results of this study can be used as a feedback to the educational committees of the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
Hadi Ghasemi, Arezoo Ebnahmadi, Shahideh Nadi,
Volume 37, Issue 0 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aims: Emotional intelligence helps dental students better manage stress and establish effective communication with patients, while self-efficacy strengthens their confidence in performing clinical tasks and acquiring professional skills. The connection between these two factors leads to improved academic and professional performance. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and academic success among dental students.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 55 dental students from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences - Iran, selected by convenient sampling. To measure academic self-efficacy beliefs, the Sherer questionnaire was used, which consisted of 17 questions with a theoretical score range of 17-85. To measure emotional intelligence, the Bar-On questionnaire was used, consisting of 90 questions with a theoretical score range of 90-450. Academic achievement was assessed using the students' grade point average (GPA). Additionally, gender, living at home or in a dormitory, and parental education levels were considered as background variables. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Pearson correlation coefficient.
Results: Among the 55 students who participated in this study, including 30 women and 25 men, the average emotional intelligence score was 84.85, the average self-efficacy score was 62.02, and the average GPA was 16.42. There was a significant difference in the emotional intelligence scores based on gender and living situation, with male students scoring higher than female students and dormitory residents scoring higher than those living at home (P=0.02). There was no significant difference in the self-efficacy scores and GPA between males and females. Students whose mothers had higher levels of education and those living at home had higher GPAs (P<0.03). No statistically significant relationship was found between the academic success and emotional intelligence or self-efficacy (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that while emotional intelligence and self-efficacy may not directly influence academic success, other factors like living environment and parental education can play a role. Understanding these dynamics can help educators focus on holistic student development, addressing not just academic skills but also personal and social factors that contribute to student performance and well-being.
