Confidence Levels From Dental Student-To-Student Injections: A Comparative Study.

Abstract

Background: Many dental schools have utilised student-to-student (STS) injections in preclinical local anaesthesia training. This study compares the confidence of first-year dental students (D1) who practiced injecting local anaesthetic into a cotton roll in a manikin and second-year dental students (D2) who performed STS injections.

Methods: Cohort surveys were completed by D2 students (n = 35), 12 months after the local anaesthesia course, and D1 students (n = 43), immediately after (n = 39) and 15 months after the course. Questions asked about age, gender, experience, perceptions and confidence levels with the Posterior Superior Alveolar (PSA), Greater Palatine (GP), Inferior Alveolar (IA) and Long Buccal (LB) nerve block injections.

Results: D1 students had significantly higher confidence immediately after the local anaesthesia course than D2 students with 12 months of clinical experience for the PSA (p < 0.001) and GP (p < 0.001). D1 students had significantly higher confidence immediately after the course compared to 15 months after the course for the PSA (p < 0.001) and GP (p < 0.001) injections. There was no significant difference in confidence for D2 students after 12 months of clinical experience and D1 students after 15 months of clinical experience for the PSA, GP, and IA. Males rated themselves as more confident than females.

Conclusion: STS injections increase confidence prior to students' first injections on a patient. After 15 months of clinical experience, STS injections do not have a significant advantage over manikin training.