Quality of education and the evaluation of its outcomes in tooth preparation among dental students in Poland.

Background: The preparation of model teeth for prosthetic crowns plays a crucial role in preclinical dental education. Its primary objective is to ensure optimal conditions for training students to function in clinical settings.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the quality of dental students' education regarding the preparation of model teeth for cast metal-ceramic crowns. An additional objective was to compare the agreement between measurements made by examiners on the model teeth prepared by the students.

Material and methods: A total of 180 model premolar teeth (KaVo) were used for the tests. The teeth were prepared by the third-year dental students, who created a shoulder finish line on the buccal surface and a chamfer finish line on the palatal surface. Two examiners assessed the convergence angles of walls, the margin width of surfaces, the reduction in the height of functional and non-functional cusps, the extent of the preparation, the smoothness of the preparation, and the continuity of the finish line using simple measuring tools.

Results: The students' most proficient parameters were margin width, the extent of the preparation, and the finish line continuity. The least accurate results were observed in the wall convergence angles and the reduction in the height of functional and non-functional cusps. The interexaminer reliability was considerable for convergence angles, the margin width and the reduction in the height of cusps (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) >0.75). The examiners demonstrated moderate agreement (kappa: 0.60-0.79) for parameters such as the extent of the preparation, wall smoothness and finish line continuity.

Conclusions: The exercises provided a solid foundation for the students. However, practice and more targeted feedback are necessary to improve performance in the more challenging aspects of tooth preparation. The traditional analytical approach that uses simple measuring tools to assess the tooth preparation procedure is a reproducible method that examiners can use to effectively evaluate students' work.