Dental Students’ Self-Confidence Level in Performing Endodontic Treatment in Dentistry Faculty of Rafsanjan University of Medical

The students’ self-confidence level is a key factor affecting the success of endodontics learning. This study aimed to determine the confidence level of dental students who performing root canal treatment at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2021.

In this cross-sectional study a questionnaire including demographic information, endodontic experience, attitude toward confidence in performing different stages of root canal treatment, and suggestions for improving the quality of endodontic education was distributed to dentistry students of 54 5th and 6th-year in the last month of the academic semester. Data were analyzed using t-test, Pearson, and ANOVA tests (α = 0.05).

According to the results, from 49 dental students, 24.5% reported the first cases of root canal treatment to be severe. The lowest confidence was reported for finding all root canals in teeth with multiple root canals, preparing access cavity and understanding and managing root canal treatment risks. According to the results of chi-square analysis test, the total confidence score between 5th and 6th year students was not significantly different (p value = 0.648). Also, the relationship between general self-confidence and students' self-confidence level was not seen (p value = 0.372). There was no significant relationship between the Confidence level and age, academic year, the difficulty level of the first endodontic treatment, and number of endodontic treatments (p value > 0.05).

Students had lower self-confidence finding all the canals in multi-canal teeth, how to properly manage the treatment risks, and preparing the access cavity. Endodontics training should also be improved by increasing clinical sessions and using recent advances in endodontics.