Case Experiences, Attitudes, and Educational Environment of Dental Public Health Students in Thailand
Keywords:
Dental public health officer , Clinical experience, Educational environment, Attitude, Curriculum evaluation, ThailandAbstract
Dental public health officers in Thailand lack standardized training requirements across institutions. This study aimed to assess case experiences, attitudes toward dental practice, and educational environmental factors among final-year dental public health students from multiple colleges to inform curriculum standardization. A cross-sectional study was conducted in October – November 2024 among 200 final-year dental public health students from five colleges representing all regions of Thailand with 167 respondents. Data were collected using a validated 4-part questionnaire covering demographics, case experiences, attitudes (5-point scale), and educational environment (modified DREEM). Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and Post-hoc tests were used for analysis. The results indicated that students performed a median of 7.00 oral treatment records, 12.00 tooth sealants, and 7.00 Class I resin composite fillings. Most students had moderate-level attitudes toward dental practice (mean score: 2.79±0.41 out of 5). Overall educational environment was rated as 'more positive than negative' (69.7%). Significant variations between colleges were found in all nearly dental procedure experiences (p <0.05), overall attitudes (H=15.377, p=0.004), and teacher perception (H=19.342, p=0.001).Thai dental public health students demonstrate competency in most dental procedures but show significant inter-college variations in clinical experiences, attitudes, and teacher perception, indicating need for curriculum standardization. Colleges should establish minimum case requirements for graduation and standardize teaching methods through inter-institutional collaboration. The Ministry of Public Health should clarify the scope of dental practice for dental public health officers.
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