Uncertainty in Relation to Clinical Experience-A Qualitative Study on Dental Students' Reflections on Risk Assessment of Root Filled Teeth.

Aim: In uncertain clinical situations, such as assessing the risk of exacerbation of apical periodontitis in root-filled teeth, undergraduate students can benefit from being trained to reflect. This study aimed to explore how students specifically reflected on clinical experiences in relation to uncertainty when assessing a case involving a root-filled tooth with apical periodontitis.

Methodology: Short reflections were written by 52 dental students at Malmö University in 2021. All students were asked to reflect on the risk for exacerbation of apical periodontitis in a case with a root-filled tooth with a diffuse widening of the periodontal ligament space. The reflections were written according to prompts developed to stimulate reflection. For each student, the reflections were analysed by a qualitative method, Systematic Text Condensation (STC).

Results: The analysis of the qualitative data resulted in the formulation of two themes about experience and lack of experience: Theme 1 'The meaning of clinical experience' and Theme 2 'Differences and similarities'. The themes were subdivided into nine subgroups and described the relationship between experience and certainty.

Conclusions: The students believed that certainty comes with experience even when there is a lack of scientific evidence.