Survey of the Benefits, Necessity, and Ethics of Dental Student-to-Student Injections
David G McMillan1, Cathy Wilson1, Kristina Vu1
1Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, South Jordan, Utah, USA.
Background:
For decades, dental students have trained using student-to-student (STS) local anesthetic injections. While these injections offer an authentic learning experience, concerns include students' pain and anxiety, privacy, risk, and consent. This study examines dental student perceptions regarding the benefits, necessity, and ethics of performing and receiving STS injections.
Methods:
Surveys were sent to the Roseman University classes of 2024 and 2025 immediately following the class of 2025 participating in STS injections. The class of 2024 did not participate in STS injections. Students were asked about their level of agreement on a Likert scale regarding the benefits, necessity, and ethics of performing and receiving STS injections.
Results:
There were 51 out of 100 class of 2024 students and 47 out of 100 class of 2025 students who participated in the surveys for a sample size of n = 98. The class of 2025 showed significantly higher levels of agreement compared to the class of 2024 regarding the benefits, necessity, and ethics of STS injections (p ≤ 0.01), but there was no significant difference regarding the necessity of receiving STS injections. There was a positive correlation between students' levels of agreement for performing and receiving STS injections for both the class of 2024 (p < 0.001) and the class of 2025 (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
The majority of students agreed on the benefits, necessity, and ethics of STS injections, although students who participated in them rated them higher. There was no difference in preference for performing versus receiving STS injections.
