Attitude and Knowledge of Undergraduate Students of South Coastal Karnataka and Kerala Region towards Various Specialisations in Dentistry- A Cross Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT

Dentistry is a skill-based profession. Various specialisations are found in this field and several short-term certificate courses are also taking birth to cater to the need of newly graduated student population who want to set up practices afresh. We wanted to assess the attitude and knowledge of undergraduate dental students towards various specialisations. METHODSA cross-sectional survey of all final year dental undergraduates and house surgeons was carried out by distributing semi-structured questionnaire to 212 undergraduate dental students from various colleges in South Coastal Karnataka and Kerala region.Statistical analyses were carried out using chi‑square test and Fisher’s exact test. RESULTSThe study found that 89.6% (n= 190) respondents desired to pursue a specialisation. 91% (n=111) of the total final year students and 87.8% (n=79) of total interns desired to specialise. Majority of them were females 76.9 % (n=163). Oral surgery was the first choice of specialisation amongst final years and conservative & endodontics among interns. Least preferred was oral pathology. CONCLUSIONSAttitude and knowledge of students varied widely with respect to gender, year of study, and external influencing factors. Females were more inclined to specialisation despite the obstacles they would face.