NUMERO: #20260397

Título: UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHING ORAL PATHOLOGY AND ORAL MEDICINE IN LATIN AMERICA

Nome do Apresentador: Luiz Miguel FERREIRA

Categoria do Trabalho: Pôster - Investigação Original (IO)

Área Temática: Áreas afins no caráter multidisciplinar

Resumo: Objective: To evaluate undergraduate dental students' perceptions of the teaching of Oral Pathology (OP) and Oral Medicine (OM) in Latin American countries. Study Design: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study, including 364 undergraduate dental students from seven Latin American countries who had completed OP/OM courses. The study was approved by a Research Ethics Committee (protocol number: 89690325.3.0000.5146). Data were collected between September and December 2025 using a structured, self-administered online questionnaire consisting of 32 questions distributed across three sections: sociodemographic data, academic characteristics, and perceptions of teaching. Results: Perceptions were predominantly positive for both disciplines. OM showed significantly higher evaluations than OP in teaching quality, clinical usefulness, availability of resources, motivation, and overall satisfaction (p<0.05). Significant differences between countries were observed for most OM domains (p<0.001), with Argentina showing the highest satisfaction levels (p<0.001). In OP, differences between countries were more limited. Interest in postgraduate education was associated with more positive perceptions in both areas (p<0.05). Conclusion: Latin American dental students reported positive perceptions of OP/OM teaching, with OM receiving more favorable evaluations. The lower valuation of OP highlights the need for greater curricular integration and clinical contextualization to enhance student engagement and professional training.

Autor 1:  Luiz Miguel FERREIRA

E-mail 1:  [email protected]

Autor 2:   Marcos Paulo MAIA-LIMA

E-mail 2:  [email protected]

Autor 3 :  Bruno Augusto Benevenuto de ANDRADE

E-mail 3:  [email protected]

Autor 4:  Tarcília Aparecida da SILVA

E-mail 4:  [email protected]

Autor 5:  Gerardo Marcelo GILLIGAN

E-mail 5:  [email protected]

Autor 6:  Mariana VILLARROEL-DORREGO

E-mail 6:  [email protected]

Autor 7:  Hercílio MARTELLI-JÚNIOR

E-mail 7:  [email protected]