Self-Reported Dental Public Health Competencies of Senior Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

In line with the World Health Organization's goal of improving the community oral health, Iranian oral health policymakers have integrated dental public health (DPH) courses into the latest dental curriculum to improve the students' competencies. The aim of the current study was to evaluate DPH competency of senior dental students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences according to the specified educational objectives. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 195 senior dental students (enrolled in 2014-2015) completed a standardized online questionnaire. The instrument included demographic information as well as 31 statements about 10 domains of DPH. The participants self-assessed the level of their competency on a Likert scale of 0 to 10 for each statement; zero indicating "not competent at all", and 10 indicating "fully competent". The mean score was calculated for each domain. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis by independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA. Results The sum of scores for each participant ranged from 63 to 310, with a mean of 216.68±43.69. Students were most competent in "providing preventive dental care" (8.22±1.59), "adherence to professional ethics" (7.56±1.68), and" understanding the determinants of oral health" (7.50±1.52). They were least competent in "understanding the components and functions of the healthcare system" (5.96±2.06), "planning" (6.06±2.45), and "oral health research" (6.24±2.44). Female students had a significantly higher mean score (223.30±38.21) than male students (207.15±49.25; P=0.011). Conclusion : Failure to achieve the desired competency in domains such as "understanding the components and functions of the healthcare system," "planning," and "oral health research" indicates the need for a revision in the content, teaching methods, or both, focusing on the aforementioned areas.