Bamashmous Shatha, Farahat Abdullaziz, Alharbi Waleed, Banjar Arwa, Jamjoom Amal, Badahdah Arwa
Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Front Dent Med. 2025 Jun 17;6:1558380. doi: 10.3389/fdmed.2025.1558380. eCollection 2025.
Periodontal diseases are a significant global health problem and have been associated with various systemic diseases. The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) introduced a new classification system for periodontal and peri-implant diseases in 2017. However, the complexity of this new classification has presented some challenges in its implementation compared to the 1999 classification system. This study evaluates the impact of dental students' knowledge of the 2017 classification on their ability to diagnose periodontal diseases accurately.
This cross-sectional study enrolled 146 fifth- and sixth-year dental students from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A self-reported questionnaire was employed to assess students' knowledge of the 2017 periodontal classification system and their diagnostic abilities across five clinical cases. Students were classified into low, moderate, and high knowledge groups based on their knowledge questionnaire scores. Statistical analyses assessed the relationship between classification knowledge and diagnostic accuracy and compared these measures across different groups.
In the study, 41.10% of participants achieved high knowledge scores (14-16 correct answers), while 32.88% and 26.03% were categorized into moderate and low knowledge groups, respectively. There was no significant association between knowledge levels and diagnostic accuracy, except for one specific clinical case. While sixth-year students scored significantly higher in the knowledge assessment than fifth-year students ( = 0.005), their diagnostic accuracy did not significantly differ. The main challenge, as reported by students, was the discrepancy between case complexity and their clinical experience (28.1%).
This study found no significant impact of dental students' knowledge of the 2017 periodontal classification system on diagnostic accuracy. Challenges such as discrepancies between case complexity and clinical experience and teaching inconsistencies underscore the need for enhanced clinical simulations, case-based learning, and targeted educational training to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical competence.
牙周疾病是一个重大的全球健康问题，并且与多种全身性疾病相关。美国牙周病学会（AAP）和欧洲牙周病学联合会（EFP）于2017年推出了一种新的牙周和种植体周围疾病分类系统。然而，与1999年的分类系统相比，这种新分类的复杂性在其实施过程中带来了一些挑战。本研究评估了牙科学生对2017年分类的了解对其准确诊断牙周疾病能力的影响。
这项横断面研究招募了来自沙特阿拉伯吉达阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王大学的146名五年级和六年级牙科学生。采用一份自我报告问卷来评估学生对2017年牙周分类系统的了解以及他们对五个临床病例的诊断能力。根据学生的知识问卷得分，将他们分为低、中、高知识组。统计分析评估了分类知识与诊断准确性之间的关系，并比较了不同组之间的这些指标。
在该研究中，41.10%的参与者获得了高知识分数（14 - 16个正确答案），而分别有32.88%和26.03%被归类为中等和低知识组。除了一个特定的临床病例外，知识水平与诊断准确性之间没有显著关联。虽然六年级学生在知识评估中的得分显著高于五年级学生（P = 0.005），但他们的诊断准确性没有显著差异。学生报告的主要挑战是病例复杂性与他们的临床经验之间的差异（28.1%）。
本研究发现牙科学生对2017年牙周分类系统的了解对诊断准确性没有显著影响。病例复杂性与临床经验之间的差异以及教学不一致等挑战凸显了加强临床模拟、基于病例的学习和有针对性的教育培训以提高诊断准确性和临床能力的必要性。
