Undergraduates' self-reported clinical experience, confidence and perspectives of hospital and outreach paediatric dentistry: a three-year multi-centre evaluation.

A variety of educational approaches exist within U.K. dental schools, and institutions are constantly striving to improve the quality of their graduates. This study aimed to evaluate the self-reported confidence in, and clinical exposure to, paediatric dentistry at three U.K. dental schools (Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield) over a three year period. Seventy-five percent of final year BDS undergraduates at the three dental schools completed an anonymous questionnaire capturing student self-reported clinical experience in seven core paediatric dentistry treatment skills, both in hospital and outreach settings. Visual analogue scales were used to record self-assessed confidence levels in aspects of paediatric dentistry and students were also asked to provide a written reflection of both their hospital and outreach placements. The results revealed that despite the variety of educational approaches taken, undergraduates reported very similar levels of clinical experience and confidence. Significant interschool differences in student experience were found with respect to the management of carious primary molars, believed to be a result of individual schools favouring different treatment regimes. Although outreach placements were seen as essential for gaining adequate student experience, the need to improve the consistency of teaching between hospital and outreach centres was highlighted. The study also emphasises the need to take care when using clinical targets in undergraduate teaching and identifies the potential benefits of undergraduate training in inhalation sedation. Finally, despite changes to the paediatric programmes with respect to dental trauma management, students remained lacking in confidence suggesting the need for further development.