Analysis of dental anatomy knowledge among dental students: A preliminary study

Objective: This study aimed to compare the level of dental anatomy knowledge and visual acuity of dental students throughout their undergraduate course.

Materials and methods: This descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was conducted over one year. Thirty-seven students, divided into three groups based on the time spent studying dental anatomy and carving, had their theoretical knowledge and visual acuity assessed using two questionnaires. The former was organized into two groups of questions: (1) related to the anatomy of anterior teeth, and (2) the anatomy of posterior teeth. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon test, and Spearman correlation (α=0.05).

Results: No statistically significant difference was observed between sexes in the comparison of theoretical knowledge and photograph evaluation. Overall, participants performed similarly on both parts of the questionnaire about theoretical knowledge (anterior teeth group: 5.6±1.94; posterior teeth group: 5.7±2.32) with no statistical difference. There was no significant difference in the theoretical questionnaire results (P=0.615) or in the photograph evaluation (P=0.187) among the periods. In the intra-group comparison, P10 students scored higher in the photograph evaluation than in the theoretical questionnaire, showing a significant difference (P=0.027). No significant correlation was found between theoretical knowledge and sculpture evaluation (r=0.177; P=0.256).

Conclusions: Within the limits of this study, it was concluded that students had similar performance in theoretical knowledge of anterior and posterior teeth. However, P10 students performed better in photograph evaluation than in the theoretical questionnaire, suggesting an improvement in practical skills throughout the course.