Kumar Munish, Vermani Akshit, Attri Neeraj, Verma Mohit, Alam Faiyaz, Kasrija Rishabh
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guru Nanak Dev Dental College and Research Institute, Sunam, IND.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, JSS Dental College, Mysuru, IND.
Cureus. 2024 Aug 16;16(8):e67039. doi: 10.7759/cureus.67039. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Most dental students are interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree after completing their Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). Among the various specialties, oral surgery, which bridges the fields of medicine and dentistry, is the most attractive option for many young dental professionals. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing students' choices for postgraduation in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) and to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions (KAP) towards this branch of dentistry.
An online survey was conducted with 450 third- and final-year BDS students and interns from various dental colleges. The survey included a self-administered questionnaire designed to collect demographic information and insights into students' motivations and KAP regarding postgraduation in OMFS. The questionnaire was distributed via an internet-based survey program and shared through WhatsApp Messenger accompanied by a consent form. To determine the significance between variables, non-parametric test, such as the chi-square test, was employed. The KAP scores were calculated and represented as mean ± standard deviation (SD), and intergroup comparisons were performed using the two-way independent T-test (for two groups) and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test (for three groups). The level of significance was set at P ≤0.05.
The sample comprised 320 (71%) females and 130 (29%) males. A total of 285 (63.33%) respondents wanted to pursue postgraduation after BDS, whereas 130 (28.89%) did not. Long working hours, risk and liability, and lack of skills were the main reasons for not opting for postgraduation in OMFS as a career option. The primary reasons cited for choosing OMFS included better career prospects (75.08%%) and the influence of the mentor (59.65%). The main benefits of choosing postgraduation in OMFS were advanced skills (88.77%), and high earning (85.61%). The mean KAP scores were higher for government institutions in urban areas and for males.
This study revealed that a substantial number of undergraduate dental students were inclined to specialize in OMFS after graduation. The combination of medicine and dentistry significantly influences the choice of OMFS as a career option.
大多数牙科专业学生在完成牙科学士学位（BDS）后都有攻读研究生学位的意愿。在众多专业中，连接医学和牙科领域的口腔外科手术对许多年轻牙科专业人员来说是最具吸引力的选择。本研究旨在探讨影响学生选择口腔颌面外科（OMFS）研究生阶段学习的因素，并评估他们对该牙科分支的知识、态度和认知（KAP）。
对来自不同牙科学院的450名三年级和最后一年的BDS学生及实习生进行了在线调查。该调查包括一份自填式问卷，旨在收集人口统计学信息以及学生关于OMFS研究生阶段学习的动机和KAP的见解。问卷通过基于互联网的调查程序分发，并通过WhatsApp Messenger分享，同时附有同意书。为了确定变量之间的显著性，采用了非参数检验，如卡方检验。计算KAP分数并表示为平均值±标准差（SD），组间比较使用双向独立T检验（两组）和双向方差分析（ANOVA）检验（三组）。显著性水平设定为P≤0.05。
样本包括320名（71%）女性和130名（29%）男性。共有285名（63.33%）受访者希望在BDS之后攻读研究生学位，而130名（28.89%）则不希望。工作时间长、风险和责任以及缺乏技能是不选择OMFS研究生阶段学习作为职业选择的主要原因。选择OMFS的主要原因包括更好的职业前景（75.08%）和导师的影响（59.65%）。选择OMFS研究生阶段学习的主要好处是先进的技能（88.77%）和高收入（85.61%）。城市地区的政府机构和男性的平均KAP分数较高。
本研究表明，相当数量的本科牙科学生毕业后倾向于专攻OMFS。医学和牙科的结合显著影响了选择OMFS作为职业选择。
