The Relation Between Students’ Theoretical Knowledge and Practical Skills in Endodontics: Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND: Dental undergraduate students are required to show sufficient practical skills prior to treating patients. Practical skills and the underlying theoretical knowledge are taught in preclinical courses. Usually, the learning outcome is assessed in written multiple-choice examinations (theoretical knowledge) and practical skills tests. However, students’ assessment of practical skills is more time consuming and prone to bias than objective multiple-choice examinations. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the relation between students’ theoretical knowledge and practical skills in endodontics. Furthermore, the predictive validity of a theoretical knowledge assessment on students’ practical skills was assessed. METHODS: Examination results from all students who participated in the preclinical phantom course in Operative Dentistry (sixth semester of the undergraduate dental curriculum in Germany) between the 2015 summer term and the 2022 summer term were retrospectively evaluated (N=447). The effects of age, sex, previous course participation, and theoretical knowledge on students’ practical skills were assessed, using Pearson correlations, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and a linear regression analysis. Subsequently, students’ theoretical knowledge and practical skills were compared via a Fisher exact test to identify a suitable pass mark for students’ theoretical knowledge that was associated with sufficient practical skills (≥60%). RESULTS: Students’ theoretical knowledge was significantly associated with practical skills (P(adjusted)=.02; r=0.13). By using the current pass mark for theoretical knowledge (ie, 60%), a significant differentiation between insufficient practical skills (<60%) and sufficient practical skills (≥60%) was achieved (P=.02). However, for the discrimination between students with sufficient practical skills and students with insufficient practical skills, an adapted pass mark for theoretical knowledge would be more appropriate. The ideal pass mark amounted to 58% (P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: Students’ practical skills and theoretical knowledge are significantly correlated. By objectively measuring students’ theoretical knowledge, a rough estimation of students’ practical skills (ie, a differentiation between sufficient and insufficient practical skills) is possible.