Assessment of knowledge on career opportunities for dental surgeons among undergraduate dental students in Kerala

Dentistry as a professional field in India has evolved into a multidisciplinary discipline, offering various avenues for clinical, academic, administrative, and entrepreneurial advancement. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge on career opportunities among dental students in Kerala. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among undergraduate dental students of 26 dental colleges in Kerala. A total of 374 students participated in the study. A closed ended questionnaire was distributed to third year and final year students and Interns through google form. The data were computed and analyzed. Among the study participants, it was revealed that interns exhibited the highest proportion of fair knowledge (64.9%) and the lowest proportion of poor knowledge (32.4%), while third year students had the highest proportion of poor knowledge.(57.1%) The study revealed majority of the students showed fair level of knowledge and a significant proportion demonstrated poor level of knowledge. There is an urgent need for the setup of a career guidance cell across all the dental colleges in Kerala.