Soft Skills in the Training of Future Dentists: Perceptions and Perspectives of Final-Year Students

The practice of contemporary dentistry requires not only technical skills but also the development of soft skills, such as communication, empathy, and ethical and professional values. Although the importance of these skills is increasingly recognized, the perceptions of dental students in Romania regarding their relevance to their future professional practice remain insufficiently explored. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the perceptions of final-year students at the Faculty of Dentistry in Iași regarding the importance of soft skills, in relation to their demographic characteristics, professional motivations, and preferences regarding their future practice settings, as well as to identify distinct profiles through cluster analysis. Material and Methods: The study included 205 students in their fourth through sixth years at the Faculty of Dentistry in Iași, who anonymously completed a 26-item questionnaire rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. The statistical analysis included the chi-square test, Ward's method, and k-means clustering. Results: Ethical and professional values, artistic skills, and empathy were most frequently rated as "very important." Female students assigned significantly higher scores than male students to empathy, ethical and professional values, personal characteristics, and communication (p < 0.05-0.001). Professional independence, financial stability, and professional prestige were the main motivations for career choice. Cluster analysis identified four distinct profiles, with significant differences based on gender, professional motivations, and preferences regarding future practice. Conclusions: Students place a high value on soft skills, with differences based on gender and professional profile. The results support the integration of these skills into university education, to complement specialized clinical training.