Changes in Preclinical Dental Students' Attitudes Towards Community Service Following a Longitudinal Community-Based...

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Public Health
• Community Engagement

Background:

• Oral diseases are a significant public health issue in India, particularly impacting underserved communities.
• Service-learning combines academic study with community engagement to address health disparities and foster professional development.
• The Miles for Smiles program at Vishnu Dental College offers early, structured community-based dental outreach for preclinical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the Miles for Smiles service-learning program on preclinical dental students' attitudes towards community service.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, quasi-experimental study with a single group pre-test-post-test design was used.
• Sixty-six preclinical Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students participated in 10-12 supervised community outreach visits over an academic year.
• Attitudes were measured using the Community Service Attitude Scale (CSAS), with data analyzed using paired-samples t-tests and general linear models.

Main Results:

• Overall CSAS scores significantly increased post-intervention (p < 0.001).
• Significant improvements were noted in connectedness, normative helping behavior, perceived costs, perceived benefits, career benefits, seriousness, and intention (all p < 0.001).
• Awareness scores did not change significantly (p = 0.092); subgroup analyses by gender, year of study, prior experience, or residence showed no significant differences in overall attitude change.

Conclusions:

• The Miles for Smiles program effectively enhanced preclinical dental students' attitudes toward community service.
• Integrating structured service-learning into dental curricula can cultivate community-oriented attitudes and professional growth in future dentists.