Perception towards clinical exposure of public health dentistry postgraduate student in Indian dental colleges – A qualitative research

Abstract

Introduction- Public Health Dentistry (PHD) is a very vast branch and it majorly focuses on research, extension activity and field trips reaching out to the community creating oral health awareness. A PHD professional is trained in providing preventive treatments but might lack confidence in performing restorative or surgical or rehabilitative treatments. Hence this questionnaire study was planned to evaluate perception of PHD post graduate students towards clinical exposure. Material and Methods- A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2nd and 3rd -year PHD PG students all across India. A 13-item questionnaire was shared and validated by the selected Heads of PHD departments all across India. Results- It was seen that 63% of respondents planned to start their own private practice, 47% chose this department as they were interested in Public Health Dentistry and 27% chose this department just for the sake of MDS. Nearly 51% of respondents felt that there was insufficient clinical exposure provided. Discussion- PHD branch is generally considered non-clinical as the syllabus focuses majorly on preventive treatments, but if given the opportunity, a public health dentist can carry out numerous clinical procedures in an outreach setting, or a satellite center if provided with proper clinical exposure.