Competency assessment in pediatric dental practice: A study on recent dental graduates in integrated curriculum

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between various independent variables, such as cumulative grade point average (CGPA), socio-economic backgrounds, anxiety levels, and the self-rated competency levels, across six domains outlined by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) of recently graduating dental students during pediatric patient care. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Saudi Arabia. It included 74 participants (37 final-year dental students and 37 dental interns). Multiple logistic regression was employed to analyze the association between various independent variables (including CGPA, grade point average [GPA] in didactic, practical, and clinical courses, socio-economic backgrounds, gender, and self-reported student anxiety) and self-rated ADEA competency in pediatric dental practice within general dentistry (p < 0.05). Results: Final-year dental students were 28.5 times more likely to be competent in professionalism (C2) than interns (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 28.54, p = 0.001). In professionalism (C2), males were 91% less likely to be competent than females (AOR = 0.09, p = 0.001). A high GPA in didactic courses increased the likelihood of competence in health promotion (C4) by 3.4 times compared with an average GPA (AOR = 3.41, p = 0.071). Regarding the establishment and maintenance of oral health (C6B), final-year dental students were 4.4 times more likely to be competent than interns (AOR = 4.41, p = 0.013). Conclusion: This study identified key factors affecting clinical competency during pediatric patient care among newly graduating dentists. It highlighted the influence of gender differences, academic performance (GPA), and anxiety levels among graduates as significant predictors.