Clinical reasoning process in the management of fixed prosthesis cases among senior year Dental students part i: treatment plan

The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical reasoning process among dental students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Casablanca. Materials and methods: A questionnaire including a clinical situation was distributed. 117 students in the last year of their training responded and the data were entered using a Microsoft Excel 2013 computer tool. Results: The majority of students were able to detect the objectives of the clinical case. 100% of them opted for pre-prosthetic care first and they placed prosthetic rehabilitation in the second step to replace the missing teeth. Each student proposed several prosthetic solutions for the clinical case, however the dental bridges was the most proposed treatment. Implant and removable solutions were also discussed. Conclusion: The students presented a difficulty to determine the treatment plan with a precise chronology. In order to develop an effective clinical reasoning strategy, educational strategies such as problem-based learning (PBL), learning clinical reasoning (LCR), community service learning and assessment methods need to be addressed. for rational decision-making in dentistry and more specifically in fixed prosthesis.