Impact of COVID-19 on Clinical Practices of Dental Students – An Observational Study

Abstract Background: The swift spread of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disease forced India to impose overnight restrictions, lockdowns, curfews; home isolation measures and protocols, social distancing norms, closure of schools, universities, and shifts in the existing educational system to e-learning and distance learning system. The most popular change in the education in many disciplines had been restriction of education to virtual teaching and learning. COVID-19 had a deleterious impact on the clinical practice among undergraduate students as well as their intellect in applying their theoretical knowledge practically. Hence, the present survey is being conducted to study the impact of lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic on clinical learning process among undergraduate dental students of private dental institute in Maharashtra. Materials and Methods: It is an descriptive cross-sectional study among students who completed their final year and internship during COVID-19 lockdown at private dental institute. Self-administered structured questionnaire comprising 24 questions in the English language was prepared. The questionnaire was related to impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their academic, clinical exposure, mental health/stress level, and their confidence in clinical work. Results: About 36.9% students believed that they had gained sufficient theory, practical knowledge and clinical competency during online classes compared to the conventional classes. About 48.2% of students had confidence in starting an independent practice after graduating. Conclusion: COVID-19 had a deleterious impact on the clinical practice among undergraduate students as well as their intellect in applying their theoretical knowledge practically. Despite getting theoretical education through virtual teaching platforms; yet majority of participants had a negative impact on clinical practice exposure.