EDUCATIONAL SATISFACTION OF SENIOR DENTAL STUDENTS TOWARDS PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY AT KING SAUD UNIVERSITY, SAUDI ARABIA

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the attitude of senior dental students towards clinical education in paediatric dentistry.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study performed on dental students during their final (senior) year at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in two parts, i.e., demographic information of the participants (age and gender) and sixteen questions about the students’ educational satisfaction towards the clinical education of pediatric dentistry. Data were analysed using the chi-square test with p-values Results: A total of 109 dental students were enrolled (56% were male and 44% were female). There was a significant difference in the clinical education satisfaction level between male and female. Majority of the student had a sufficient knowledge about clinical procedures. However, only 41% and 45.9% students had a positive attitude towards education on drug prescription and pulp therapy of young permanent teeth, respectively.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that senior dental students were satisfied with most of their clinical education received in paediatric courses, but there was a lack of knowledge on drug prescription and pulp therapy in young permanent teeth.