The Impact of a 1-Year COVID-19 Extension on Undergraduate Dentistry in Dundee: Final Year Students’ Perspectives of Their Training in Oral Surgery

Abstract

Background: The detrimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental education prompted the Scottish Government to fund an additional year to the dental course to ensure that the students had the necessary clinical experience. The aim of the study was to better understand the final year student perceptions of this extension on their oral surgery experience at the University of Dundee. Methods: This mixed methods study consisted of an anonymous online questionnaire and a focus group. Results: Forty-one students (69.3%) completed the questionnaire and ten students participated in the focus group. Thirty-six (88.8%) students agreed that the oral surgery teaching provided sufficient knowledge to undertake independent practice. All of the students felt confident to carry out an extraction, and the majority of them (n = 40, 95%) felt confident to remove a retained root, however, their confidence with surgery was lower. Conclusion: The extension gave the students sufficient experience in oral surgery to gain confidence in clinical skills and an appropriate level of knowledge in preparation for the next phase of their career. Most of the students agreed that the extension was necessary and beneficial. This cohort graduated with more oral surgery experience than any of the students did in the previous 4 years from Dundee and with experience that was comparable with the students at other schools in the pre-COVID-19 era.