Dental students' confidence in prosthodontics and attitudes toward the elderly

Abstract

Data were examined concerning dental students' confidence in removable prosthodontic treatment and their attitudes toward elderly persons before and after a ten-week clinical prosthodontic rotation. The Rosencranz and McNevin Aging Semantic Differential (SD) Scale was used to measure attitudes regarding the elderly; another SD was designed to measure confidence in removable prosthodontics. Both student's attitudes toward elderly persons and their confidence in carrying out removable prosthodontic treatment improved significantly after the rotation; the greatest improvement occurred when students treated patients of all ages. There was a significant relationship between confidence in performing removable prosthodontic treatment and clinical grades, but not didactic grades.