Correlation Between Perceived Patients' Satisfaction And Dental Students' Competence In Oral Surgery

Objective(s): The study was conducted with an aim to evaluate the self -perceived patients' satisfaction in Oral Surgery clinic and assess its correlation with dental students' level of competence. Materials and Method(s): A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 312 ASA I and II category adult patients, who visited the students' Oral Surgery clinic at College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. The questionnaire consisted of patients' demographic data, baseline health status, and patient satisfaction survey. A pre-designed rubric was used to evaluate the competency level of dental students in performing tooth extraction. Data was collected using Google Forms and analyzed by using SPSS version 24. Result(s): The study participants were mostly females (62.5%), belonging to the - age group 18-25 (26.6%), employed (60.9%), and low-income categories (57.69%). The overall patient satisfaction rate was (92.87%). No statistically significant difference in patients' satisfaction score was observed in relation to education, employment status, income level, cultural and ethnic background (p>0.05). Patients' satisfaction was significantly differing with regards to patients' age (p=0.04*). There was no significant correlation between students' competence and patient satisfaction (r=0.05, p=0.39). Conclusion(s): Patients who underwent treatment at oral surgery clinics staffed by dental undergraduates expressed high levels of satisfaction. However, the overall satisfaction was neither influenced by patients' socio-demographic factors, nor the students' level of competence.