Misconceptions about Oral Diagnosis and Radiology among Dental Students: A Questionnaire Study

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Oral Medicine
• Radiology

Background:

• Misconceptions in dental students can lead to incorrect clinical judgments.
• Identifying and addressing these learning deficits is vital for accurate patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze student misconceptions in Oral Diagnosis/Medicine and Radiology.
• To provide insights for improving dental curricula and teaching methods.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire with knowledge-based and scenario-based questions was administered to 106 fourth and fifth-year dental students.
• Responses were evaluated for accuracy and confidence to identify misconceptions, with statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney-U test.

Main Results:

• A total of 1590 responses were analyzed, revealing a 19.6% misconception rate in scenario-based questions and 18.4% in knowledge-based questions.
• The highest misconception rates were observed in questions related to denture stomatitis (46.2%) and radiographic contrast (38.7%).

Conclusions:

• Recognizing and rectifying misconceptions in Oral Diagnosis/Medicine and Radiology is essential to prevent misdiagnosis.
• This study aids dental students and educators in identifying and addressing these knowledge gaps.