Perception of scientific research in Dentistry

Abstract

Scientific research is the fundamental basis for the complete education of dental students from the beginning of their studies since it provides them with the necessary tools to deal with real situations. Objectives: To determine the level of knowledge about scientific research in dental students of the Universidad Regional Autónoma de Los Andes. Methodology and methods: A comparative, descriptive and cross-sectional study was used, applied to students enrolled from first to tenth semester of the dental career of the Universidad Regional Autónoma de Los Andes in the academic period May 2023 - September 2023. Application of descriptive statistics. Results: The results obtained in the survey of 840 students, show that there is an average knowledge of scientific writing with 44.05% and 3.1% say they have no knowledge of it, being this a weakness as students to conduct research work that can help to progress academically, thus gaining experience and benefiting favorably to their resume that later will open more doors as a professional or student. Conclusions: Based on the results, deficient knowledge about the relationship between scientific research and dentistry was identified. This situation leads us to implement a plan for the development of efficient strategies to improve scientific activity, which will undoubtedly increase the level of research of the graduate student and give him/her the opportunity to practice evidence-based dentistry in an adequate manner.