Compliance of Pediatric Dental Treatments of Yazd Dental Students with the Educational Curriculum

Introduction: The educational process becomes effective when the intended objectives are achieved during or after the training, and the final results are obtained. Evaluating a program's quality and determining its success and effectiveness requires assessment. This study examined the alignment of pediatric dental treatments performed by students at the Yazd Faculty of Dentistry with the requirements outlined in the dental curriculum from 2022–2024. Method: After preparing a researcher-made checklist based on the required items of the dental curriculum and collecting educational logbooks for practical Pediatric Dentistry courses 1, 2, and 3, the treatments performed by students in the pediatric department , which were recorded by a trained final-year student under the supervision of a pediatric dentistry specialist, were examined and compared with the educational curriculum approved by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and the achievement of educational objectives was determined. Results: Among the 1,173 treatments performed by 149 students across the three pediatric units, 364 treatments (31%) aligned with the educational curriculum. The level of alignment showed a significant difference based on the type of admission quota, the type of pediatric unit, and the type of treatment performed (p<0.05). However, no significant relationship was found between gender and the level of alignment (P-value = 0.617). Conclusion: The overall alignment of treatments indicated that a substantial portion of the performed treatments did not comply with the educational curriculum requirements. This study revealed significant gaps between clinical performance and the educational curriculum objectives in the pediatric departments of Yazd Dental School.