Management and clinical reasoning in pulpal therapy of primary teeth from the perspective of dental teachers and students: qualitative study

Abstract

Pulp therapy in primary teeth represents a challenge in
the clinical practice of dental students. Understanding
the experiences of students and instructors in this field
is essential for improving dental education. The objective
was to characterize the phenomena associated with dental students and their learning experience in the clinical practice of pulp therapy in primary teeth, as well as the perspective of pediatric dentistry clinic instructors.
A qualitative study was conducted. Eighteen students
and four instructors were interviewed. All interviews
were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using ATLAS.ti version 23 software, following thematic content analysis. The factors influencing the
management and clinical reasoning in pulp therapy of
primary teeth were identified, along with the errors related
to child behavior, radiographic taking and interpretation,
instrumentation, communication difficulties, anesthesia application, working length, rubber dam isolation, and obturation. Dental students face multiple challenges in the pulp therapy of primary teeth, which affect their performance in providing dental care to pediatric patients.