Educational Experience, Perception and Attitude of Dental Students Towards Treating Patients with Special Health Care Needs

Abstract

Background: Patients with special health care needs (SHCN) frequently face challenges in accessing quality oral health care, often due to a lack of preparedness and confidence among dental professionals. This gap is largely attributed to limited clinical exposure and inadequate training during undergraduate education. The undergraduate dental curriculum therefore plays an important role in shaping students’ educational experience and professional attitudes toward managing individuals with SHCN. The objective of this study is to determine the educational experience, attitude and perceptions of dental students towards treating patients with SHCN.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in dental colleges of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 143 eligible participants were included, selected through a non-probability convenience sampling method. The study population consisted of 3rd, 4th year dental students and house officers of both genders. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire distributed both manually and through Google Forms. The questionnaire assesses educational experience, perception and attitude.

Results: A total of 143 dental students participated in the study, including 116 females and 27 males. The majority of participants were house officers. Most students (80.6%) supported inclusion of additional SHCN related content in the curriculum. Statistical analysis demonstrated strong positive associations between domains (p <0.001).

Conclusion: Dental students reported generally positive educational experience, perception and attitudes towards treating the patient with SHCN. Strong associations between domains suggest substantial overlaps among constructs measured. The findings highlight the need for structured curricular refinement and improved assessment tools with better discriminant validity.