Jarvie Journal - College of Dental Medicine - Columbia University

The Journal of the William Jarvie Society
Assessing Dental Students’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Intentions toward
Treating Young Children
Kelly F. Walk 1 , Tener Huang 2 , Carol Kunzel 3*
1 Columbia-New York Presbyterian Hospital, Residency Program in Pediatric Dentistry,
2 Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, New York, NY;
3 Section of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, * Faculty Mentor
Introduction: There is an increasing caries rate in young children in the U.S., with many children having untreated
decay, and with a disproportionate number of these living in poverty. Seemingly there is a need for an increased
number of general dentists to be more comfortable and willing to treat young children and those on Medicaid. Most
dental schools do not provide a hands-on training experience aimed at fostering an improvement in this area.
Objective: The purpose of this study was (1) to assess dental students’ knowledge, confidence, attitudes, and
intention (KCAI) to treat young children and Medicaid patients, and (2) to evaluate change in KCAI after
participation in an intervention including a hands-on training experience.
Materials & Methods: A 27-item questionnaire was administered to Columbia University third- and fourth-year
dental students (D3, D4, respectively), that collected information on demographics, knowledge, confidence,
attitudes, and intentions to treat infants and toddlers (defined as 0-36 months old) and those on Medicaid.
Knowledge questions pertained to infant oral health including caries, diet, hygiene, and treatment. Following this
survey, a portion of the D3 and D4 students voluntarily participated in a 1-hour infant oral health seminar and 3-
hour clinical experience providing dental examinations to young children and engaging with parents at a Head
Start. These students completed the same survey one month later to assess for changes in KCAI. Students were
excluded if they had previously participated in the intervention. Comparisons between pre- and post-test results
were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank-sum and t-tests.
Results & Conclusions: Of 153 eligible students, 127 completed the initial questionnaire and 34 completed the
post-test questionnaire after participating in the intervention. In the initial survey, 37% of students reported their
infant oral health knowledge as “good or very good;” while 20% felt confident to perform a dental examination on
an infant or toddler. Although 94% felt it was important for general dentists to be able to treat young children, 33%
planned to provide preventive care to young children “often or very often,” and 24% if the children had Medicaid.
Hands-on clinical program participants felt that “inadequate training as a barrier to treating young children” was
significantly less likely after completing the intervention (p=.037). In addition they felt more confident (p