Self-perceived competence of contemporary restorative practices of dental students in North India: A pilot study

Background: There has been a paradigm shift in the restorative dentistry practiced in the clinics with an increased share of resin-composites in contrast to dental amalgam due to various factors, however, this has not found its way into the Indian dental school curriculum. Aim: To evaluate the self-perceived competence of contemporary restorative practices of dental students in North India. Materials and Methods: 232 dental students from 4 colleges in North India completed a survey comprising 11 polar questions about their perception of contemporary restorative dental practice and their curriculum update regarding the same. Further, the collected data was tabulated and finally extracted data was subjected to descriptive analysis using Chi-square test. Results: All 11 questions showed statistically significant responses. Only 15.5% of students thought that the current curriculum of restorative dentistry was adequate. Moreover, only 20.7% of the respondents were confident about using rubber dam for isolation. About 93.1% felt that the quality of their composite restorations was not at par with those seen on social media. A clear majority of 91.4% felt that the maximum uploads of restorative dentistry involved composite restorations. A huge number of 91.45% did not use rubber dam for isolation in composite restorations. 79.3% students felt that the current curriculum is not teaching them about the various instruments, and developing their skills about instrumentation and operative procedures of composite restorations matching the trending composite practices. Conclusion: Considering the results of this study as the student’s mandate will help shape the guidelines for possibly a new curriculum of conservative dentistry in India.