Dental Student and Pediatric Resident Experiences in a University Setting

1. Dental Student and Pediatric Resident Experiences in a University Setting De Bord JR*, Berg JH, Leggott PJ, Lin JY, Seminario AL Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA Background Patient Ages Mean Patient Age Median Patient Age • The goal of pediatric dental education is to train both pediatric dental residents and pre-doctoral dental students to provide quality oral health care to children. • Detailed data does not exist regarding the clinical experiences of the pre-doctoral dental students or the pediatric dental residents at the UW Pediatric Dental Clinic. • Both the dental students and residents receive pediatric clinical experience outside of the UW Pediatric Dental Clinic as well. • It is not the goal of this study to comprehensively evaluate all pediatric dental clinical experience provided or the overall quality of the training program at the UW. • It is the aim to assess the experiences of the students and residents at the UW Pediatric Dental Clinic. Methods Study Design - This is a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of the patients seen at the UW Pediatric Dental Clinic between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008. The electronic patient record database was utilized for data collection. Variables - For each patient visit during 2008, data regarding the provider type (pre-doctoral student or resident), procedures performed, and patient age were collected. Procedure codes were recorded and categorized by type: diagnostic and preventive services; restorative and oral surgery services; or, advanced behavior management such as nitrous oxide, oral sedation, or intravenous sedation. Statistical Analysis - Data analysis included descriptive statistics. An ANOVA test was completed to evaluate the statistical significance of the difference in patient ages treated by dental students versus those treated by pediatric dental residents. A Chi Square test was conducted to determine the statistical significance of the difference between the types of procedures performed by dental students versus those performed by pediatric dental residents. Types of Procedures Dental Student Procedures Pediatric Dental Resident Procedures Results Conclusions • The mean and median age for patients seen by the dental students was 11.3 years, and 89% of the procedures provided were diagnostic or preventative. Therefore, most experience was providing preventive care to children who are in or near permanent dentition. • Providing dental students with clinical experience in providing young children with restorative can be a challenge due to a lack of behavior management skills and restorative speed. • Evidence suggests providing more pediatric clinical experience increases clinician comfort with children and the likelihood providers will treat pediatric patients upon completion of dental school. • Further research is needed to determine how best to maximize the pediatric clinical experiences of dental students in university-based clinics. Contact Information Jessica De Bord jrdebord@uw.edu * p < 0.001