Understanding the building blocks of the paediatric dentistry curriculum for undergraduate students in an Australian University

PURPOSE: To investigate the attitude of final-year dental students towards their paediatric dentistry training and their confidence in treating child patients. METHODS: A 55-item questionnaire was distributed online and physically to the final-year BDSc (Hons) students at The University of Queensland (Australia). The questionnaire consisted of four parts including theoretical knowledge, clinical observational experience, preclinical training and clinical training in paediatric dentistry. Self-reported confidence was recorded using five-point Likert scale questions ranging from ‘not confident at all’ to ‘completely confident’, which were allocated the numbers 1–5, respectively. Jamovi and GraphPad Prism were used for data analysis and creation of graphs. RESULTS: A total of 47 students completed the questionnaire giving a response rate of 77%. Approximately two-thirds of participants had previous experience working with children and 70% had observed a practitioner providing paediatric dental treatment. The students reported the lowest level of clinical confidence for pulp therapy (M = 2.32; SD = 1.08). The clinical confidence in dental trauma management was also reported to be low (M = 2.50; SD = 1.15). The clinical administration of local anaesthetic (LA) had the highest level of confidence (M = 3.95; SD = 1.03). The students reported that they were highly confident in the theoretical knowledge of behaviour guidance techniques (M = 3.64; SD = 0.97) and preclinical training involving examination, treatment planning and preventative procedures (M = 4.33, SD = 0.67). CONCLUSION: This study showed that students reported low levels of confidence in pulp therapies and trauma management in children as compared to other aspects of paediatric dentistry. Students indicated the need for more preclinical and clinical training sessions, as well as more opportunities to perform a wider variety of treatments on paediatric patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40368-021-00688-1.