Publication:

An assessment of prescribing skills among dental students in the eastern province, Saudi Arabia, University of Dammam

Background The objectives of the study were to assess knowledge and prescription skills of medications among dental student in Dammam University and evaluate the efficiency of an online application in improving their knowledge.

Methods A cross sectional pre-post study was conducted, a total of 96 students from 4th year to interns were enrolled. A formulated questionnaire was distributed to the students. An application that contained the most common drugs used in dentistry was made by the research team with help of the IT department and then launched. The same questionnaire was distributed again after one month from the time they got the application to evaluate its efficiency.

Results Overall knowledge about medications was poor. Fifth year students reported better knowledge than their colleagues. All students have better knowledge about antibiotics compared to other drugs. Overall knowledge about therapeutic agents improved significantly after the web application (p˂0.001).

Conclusions Students have poor knowledge about medications. Using technology is an effective way to improve prescribing skill among dental students.