Dental students' confidence in prosthodontics and attitudes toward the elderly

Data were examined concerning dental students' confidence in removable prosthodontic treatment and their attitudes toward elderly persons before and after a ten-week clinical prosthodontic rotation. The Rosencranz and McNevin Aging Semantic Differential (SD) Scale was used to measure attitudes regarding the elderly; another SD was designed to measure confidence in removable prosthodontics. Both student's attitudes toward elderly persons and their confidence in carrying out removable prosthodontic treatment improved significantly after the rotation; the greatest improvement occurred when students treated patients of all ages. There was a significant relationship between confidence in performing removable prosthodontic treatment and clinical grades, but not didactic grades.