A Sex-Specific Evaluation of Dental Students' Ability to Perform Subgingival Debridement: Randomized Trial
- PMID: 37002956
- PMCID: PMC10182471
- DOI: 10.2196/44989
A Sex-Specific Evaluation of Dental Students' Ability to Perform Subgingival Debridement: Randomized Trial
Abstract
Background: A successful periodontitis treatment demands good manual skills. A correlation between biological sex and dental students' manual dexterity is currently unknown.
Objective: This study examines performance differences between male and female students within subgingival debridement.
Methods: A total of 75 third-year dental students were divided by biological sex (male/female) and randomly assigned to one of two work methods (manual curettes n=38; power-driven instruments n=37). Students were trained on periodontitis models for 25 minutes daily over 10 days using the assigned manual or power-driven instrument. Practical training included subgingival debridement of all tooth types on phantom heads. Practical exams were performed after the training session (T1) and after 6 months (T2), and comprised subgingival debridement of four teeth within 20 minutes. The percentage of debrided root surface was assessed and statistically analyzed using a linear mixed-effects regression model (P<.05).
Results: The analysis is based on 68 students (both groups n=34). The percentage of cleaned surfaces was not significantly different (P=.40) between male (mean 81.6%, SD 18.2%) and female (mean 76.3%, SD 21.1%) students, irrespective of the instrument used. The use of power-driven instruments (mean 81.3%, SD 20.5%) led to significantly better results than the use of manual curettes (mean 75.4%, SD 19.4%; P=.02), and the overall performance decreased over time (T1: mean 84.5%, SD 17.5%; T2: mean 72.3%, SD 20.8%; P<.001).
Conclusions: Female and male students performed equally well in subgingival debridement. Therefore, sex-differentiated teaching methods are not necessary.
Keywords: dental; dental education; dentist; education; gender; periodontics; preclinical education; root debridement; sex; student.
©Ariadne Charis Frank, Linda Jennrich, Philipp Kanzow, Annette Wiegand, Christiane Krantz-Schäfers. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (https://mededu.jmir.org), 28.04.2023.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
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