Reflective Portfolio Assignments as a Pedagogical Tool in Periodontics: Enhancing Evidence‐Based Clinical Decision‐Making in Dental Students

INTRODUCTION: Reflective portfolio writing in periodontology offers an effective way for dental students to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical application. Traditional didactic methods often fall short in promoting critical thinking and real-world clinical problem-solving. Reflective writing, by contrast, encourages students to pose clinical questions and identify and use peer-reviewed literature to apply evidence-based reasoning to various clinical scenarios. Through a structured reflection process, students develop essential skills in scientific inquiry, self-assessment, clinical problem-solving, and lifelong learning. PURPOSE: This study aims to analyze performance trends in periodontal reflective portfolios over five academic years to assess their impact on student learning, progression, and engagement in reflective writing throughout the curriculum. METHOD: Reflective portfolio scores from five cohorts of 854 second-year dental students were analyzed across three academic quarters per year. Non-normal distributions prompted the use of nonparametric tests. Within-cohort quarterly differences were assessed with Friedman tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank post hoc comparisons. Between-cohort differences in overall performance were examined using Kruskal-Wallis tests with Mann-Whitney U post hoc analyses. Significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: These results indicated that reflective portfolio performance improved significantly from autumn to winter and then plateaued through spring. No significant difference was detected between winter and spring. The pattern was consistent across all five cohorts. The findings suggest that initial gains in reflective capacity were sustained over subsequent quarters. CONCLUSION: This study highlights significant variations in periodontal reflective portfolio scores across quarters, demonstrating a pattern of initial improvement followed by stabilization. The findings suggest that students benefit from the progressive learning experience, improving initially while maintaining performance through Q3. Long-term maintenance of the performance will need to be evaluated along with adjustments to instructional strategies and academic support to maintain the progress made.