Comparative Assessment of New Curriculum Development of Restorative Dentistry with Old Curriculum Development From The Perspective Of Faculty Members Of Selected Iranian Universities

Background: Restorative dentistry is an important branch of dentistry and therefore it is very important to train students that have all or the majority of the skills to start practice. The aim of this study was to compare new and old curricula of restorative lessons form the perspective of faculty members of selected Iranian universities. Methods: The perspectives and viewpoints of the faculty members of dentistry schools in the cities of Tehran, Qazvin, Gilan, Shiraz, and Yasuj were collected using a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire. A demographic questionnaire was also applied to collect the characteristics of the participants. SPSS was used for data analysis and the Friedman test was administered to explore the strong and weak points. Results: The results showed a significant correlation between the new and the old curriculum (p<0.0014). The new curriculum had advantages like proceeding with and completing treatment stages according to a treatment plan and familiarization with dentists profession regulation in comprehensive dentistry course. The weak point of the new curriculum was introducing the topic of bonding in advanced theoretical remedial lessons, which seems to be early for students. Conclusion: It seems that revising and modifying educational activities and content, including the curriculum of restorative lesson, are necessary in light of recent advances in dentistry. Therefore, curriculum studies may be helpful in this regard.