Paediatric dentistry experience of the first cohort of students to graduate from Dublin Dental School and Hospital under the new curriculum

Abstract

To assess undergraduate clinical experience in Paediatric Dentistry in students graduating under a new curriculum. An audit using logbooks completed by 34 students for all patients for whom they had provided treatment in the university paediatric dentistry clinic. A total of 177 child patients had received treatment from the students, age range 2-8 years. Students had performed an average of 13 restorative techniques. Sixty-eight percent had provided stainless steel crowns and 71% at least one pulpotomy for a primary tooth. All students had provided fissure sealants. Eighteen had carried out extractions and 8 had provided treatment for fractured incisors on this clinic. The cohort of students included had a wide range of experience of paediatric dentistry which compared favourably with accepted guidelines. A relative lack of experience of dental extractions currently remains a problem.