Students at three different levels of the operative dentistry course in Saudi Arabia were participants of this survey on their professional training satisfaction regarding the course's teaching and curriculum. These students had already undergone preclinical training and were into clinical training. Clinical-based education is a multi-factorial process wherein the students implement the theoretical knowledge they gain in preclinical training on patients. Dentistry is an essential field of medical science, and hence, enhancing the quality of clinical dental education improves people's oral/dental health.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, most colleges follow the semester-type curriculum. Each year has two semesters, each comprising fourteen weeks of actual teaching and four weeks of practical/clinical and final theory exams. Operative dentistry starts from level 4 of the dental course. Level 4 to level 6 are primarily preclinical courses where the students are introduced to the materials they will be using and work in simulated laboratories learning different cavity design preparations and restorations with different restorative materials. Level 4 course is primarily involved in introducing the students to the instruments and the materials. Level 5 course is wholly dedicated to amalgam cavity preparations and restorations, whereas level 6 involves composite cavity preparations and restorations. In addition to these, they have E-Learning assignments on the recent advances in material sciences and techniques. Levels 10, 11, and 12 involve students implementing their skills on patients under their supervisors' direct supervision. The curriculum in Level 10 requires the students to work with amalgam restorations on patients compulsorily. Level 11 and 12 students work with composite cavity preparations and restorations and are also trained in esthetic restorations.
Modern education for women in the Arab world is considered recent in its history. In countries like Saudi Arabia, modern education for women is a 20th-century event.30,31 The universities in Saudi Arabia admit male and female students, but they have different campuses.
During their professional training, the male students treat male patients, and the female students treat female patients at their respective campuses. Parahoo et al. investigated whether gender was a factor in measuring overall student satisfaction in Universities in the Gulf region.32 It was found that the two genders displayed a difference in the factors influencing their satisfaction. A study in 2017 investigated the potential barriers for the professional development of women dentists in Saudi Arabia and suggested recommendations to minimize the effects of these barriers.33 Hence in the present study, the level of professional training satisfaction between male and female students was also investigated.
Each course has its learning objectives specified and described at the beginning of the course. During the first lecture, the learning objectives are explained to the students, and the same is evaluated at the end of the semester by testing whether students have obtained the requisite knowledge and skills consistent with the learning objectives and are clear about what is expected of them. In the current study, it was observed that the respondents agreed that most of the Learning objectives were met during the course except the question regarding knowledge and skills (Tables 1 and 2). Level 10 students whose skills are primarily based on Amalgam cavity preparations and restorations had a statistical difference, which was significant (p>0.05). The role of amalgam in operative dentistry today is being debated. The level of awareness of the present generation of students makes them question the need to learn a skill that they might not practice in their professional careers.
During the course, the students are exposed to various teaching materials and strategies such as lectures, powerpoint presentations, and assessment criteria such as quizzes, online assignments, and continuous evaluation of their preclinical work/clinical work. These need to be evaluated and assessed to understand whether they are consistent with the learning objectives to achieve the intended goal. The results of this study indicated that all the three items under the Course Material domain showed that neither the level nor the gender led to any statistical difference in responses (p>0.05) (Tables 1 and 2).
After training, it is critical to understand the implications of how the student applies his training as a dentist in society. The learning process aims to produce an independent thinking dentist who will be able to apply the necessary knowledge and skills using his or her rationale to be a successful dentist. The relevance of the course is reflected when the intended goals are achieved. This study's results have indicated that most respondents agreed that the course training increased their level of confidence to work as an independent dentist. All three items under the Course Relevance domain showed no statistical difference in responses regardless of gender or level (p>0.05). A majority of the respondents (>88%) agreed that the course was relevant, as seen from the training (Tables 1 and 2).
Instructors play an essential role in shaping the attitude and enthusiasm of the students. The instructor's knowledge and skills, along with his or her experience, is a vital component of the teaching process, especially in clinical sciences. Students often get influenced and motivated by the instructor. The students are exposed to a fixed group of instructors on a rotational basis during the semester. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as of now, most of the universities have teachers from various parts of the world who have been trained in their own countries. The teachers undergo continuous orientation programs of the university to update, understand, and comply with the teaching and assessment pattern. A study evaluated the satisfaction rate of clinical dentistry students with clinical teaching in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences between 2015 and 2016.34 They stated that maximum cooperation of the professors and accurate implementation of the educational curriculum could have a significant effect on increasing student satisfaction. It is essential to understand the instructors' impact on professional training satisfaction at different levels and between gender. This study showed that most of the respondents (>80%) had a favorable opinion about the role of instructors. There was no statistical difference seen in terms of gender or level (p>0.05) (Tables 1 and 2).
Since operative dentistry is a clinical subject, the importance of the clinical facilities and the environment must be emphasized. The clinical setup, the availability of the latest materials, and the instruments and their utilization during the clinical training period play a vital role in students' education. Most respondents in this study agreed (>90%) that the operative dentistry clinics' Facility and conduciveness were satisfactory. There was no statistical difference based on gender or level (p>0.05) (Tables 1 and 2). However, it is interesting to note that satisfaction was more significant at a higher level of the students.
Analyzing the association between the levels of satisfaction from the perspective of gender and level, it was interesting to observe that there was a statistical difference in terms of the level of students (Table 5). The two levels of satisfaction (low and high) were made based on mean scores. If the scores are less than or equal to mean, it is considered a low level, and the scores are above the mean it is considered a high level. Level 10 students recorded a lower level of satisfaction (31.82%), whereas levels 11 and 12 recorded a high level of satisfaction (68.18%). Level 10 students are the junior-most level of the students among the respondents. The amount of exposure to the professional field is less as compared to the higher level of students. The clinical work the level 10 students perform under supervision on the patients is more basic as compared to levels 11 and 12. Level 10 students have to compulsory perform a certain number of amalgam cavity preparations and restorations during their clinical training. The students' attitude towards amalgam restorations and the difficulty to convince the patients to undergo treatment with amalgam have been documented.35,36 This factor may have resulted in a lower level of satisfaction among the level 10 students (p>0.05) (Table 5). There was no statistical difference in the gender group (p>0.05) (Table 5). However, it is interesting to observe that the level of satisfaction increased in students' higher level, indicating a greater level of professional training satisfaction.
Dentistry is a clinical major in which adequate skills and training are highly crucial in graduate students' performance, promoting oral and dental health systems. Because the educational system, equipment available, performance of tutors, availability of clinical material, and the students' expectations might be different in dental schools, the results of this study may not be generalized to other dental schools. This study did not assess the reasons for shortcomings in professional training as it was not in the purview of this study. This could be another limitation of the present study.