Students' perception of the prognosis for a single-surface amalgam restoration

The aim of the study was to assess the self-rated skill, clinical judgement and competency of final-year pre-doctoral dental students. The study was also designed to determine whether the students estimated durability of their single-surface restorations was determined by their confidence. Students were given a questionnaire and completed it anonymously. One hundred and ninety-six forms were returned from the 238 students (82% return rate). Complete analysis was possible on 169 questionnaires. The students self-assessed skill and judgement were a significant factor in predicting how long they would tell a patient that their restoration would last. Those ranking themselves below average were more likely to state that their amalgam restorations would have a shorter life (odds increased by 2.82 for those ranking themselves lower than most others). There was a significant association between the students self-assessed skill and judgement and their confidence in dealing with both the initial management of patients medical emergencies (rho = 0.244, P = 0.001, n = 191) and their general confidence in dealing with medical emergencies (rho = 0.187, P = 0.01, n = 188). Given a conversational scenario with a patient, the treatment prognosis given by final-year pre-doctoral students for a single-surface amalgam restoration was dependent on their self-assessed competence, skill and judgement.