Confidence Among Graduating Dental Students on Their Competencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Public Health
• COVID-19 Impact

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted dental education, leading to clinic closures and restrictions.
• Assessing the impact on graduating dental students' confidence in essential competencies is crucial for understanding preparedness for practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the self-reported confidence of dental students graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To compare this confidence with their self-assessment after one year of dental practice.

Main Methods:

• Online surveys assessed confidence in Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry competencies among University of Toronto classes of 2021 and 2022.
• Data collected at graduation (students) and after one year of practice (dentists) were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA.

Main Results:

• Students graduating in 2021 reported higher confidence than those in 2022.
• Dentists reported statistically higher confidence in practicing general dentistry compared to their student selves.
• No significant differences in confidence were found between the 2021 and 2022 dentist groups after one year of practice.

Conclusions:

• Dental graduates exhibited reduced confidence in expected competencies, likely influenced by pandemic-related disruptions.
• One year of practice led to comparable confidence levels in general dentistry among different graduate cohorts.