Perspective of Undergraduate Dental Students on Horizontal and Vertical Integrations in Prosthodontics Education: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

OBJECTIVES: Curricular integration in dental education is essential for bridging basic sciences into clinical practices. This study aimed to evaluate dental students' perceptions of the current prosthodontic curriculum structure in a Thai undergraduate dental program, regarding horizontal and vertical integration, by applying a mixed-methods approach to examine possible connections among courses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was employed. A quantitative questionnaire was distributed to fifth- and sixth-year undergraduate dental students and recent graduates (n = 286), asking them to rate the importance of subjects related to prosthodontics education on a four-level ordinal scale (from nonessential to essential [score 0-3]). Friedman's two-way analysis of variance by ranks was employed, and the differences in mean rank values were utilized to develop an integration framework of subjects. Additionally, focus group interviews were conducted with nine clinical students and seven recent graduates to explore their perspectives on subject integration in detail. RESULTS: The response rate of the online questionnaire was 72.0%, and 16 dental students and recent graduates participated in a focus group interview. The horizontal and vertical integration structure for dental prosthodontics education in undergraduate programs was proposed, with highly essential subjects for vertical integration, including occlusion, dental materials, oral examination, oral anatomy, and general medicine. Moderately essential subjects were included in both vertical and horizontal integrations, particularly other clinical courses. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the students' perspectives at a single institution, prosthodontic education appeared to demonstrate stronger vertical integration across different stages of the undergraduate dental curriculum than horizontal integration across disciplines taught within the same stage. Students perceived fewer connections between prosthodontics and other disciplines, suggesting opportunities to strengthen interdisciplinary integration.