title: Clinical experiences of undergraduate dental students in pediatric dentistry at Cork University Dental School and Hospital, Ireland.
abstract: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the number and range of clinical procedures completed by undergraduate dental students in pediatric dentistry in Cork University Dental School and Hospital, Ireland, and to compare the number of procedures undertaken with the subsequent examination scores. The work comprised a retrospective audit of clinical logbooks for all of the undergraduate dental students in one cohort through their fourth and fifth clinical years between 2004 and 2006. Thirty-four quantitative logbooks were audited. Students had seen a total of 1,031 patients, and each student had completed a full course of dental treatment for an average of twenty-two children. Students completed means of 30.2 restorative procedures for children, fourteen in deciduous dentition (range six to twenty-eight), and seventeen in permanent dentition (range seven to twenty-eight). Continuity of education and care (measured through children having their treatment fully completed by the same student) was 72 percent. A moderate positive correlation between levels of clinical experience and exam score was identified. All students gained experience in management of child patients with students providing care for an average of thirty children and a minimum of nineteen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health and Development, Cork University Dental School and Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland. c.stewart@ucc.ie
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Moloney
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kinirons
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002983:Clinical Competence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019230:Dental Audit; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004497:Education, Dental; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry / Q000193:education*; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012575:Schools, Dental; D013335:Students, Dental
chemical_list: D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants