The impact of online training on dental students’ office management knowledge

Background: Although most dental graduates possess the clinical knowledge required to provide patient care, office management skills are essential for establishing and sustaining a successful dental practice. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an office management training course on dental students’ knowledge, with particular emphasis on leadership-related domains such as communication and staff management, which are often underrepresented in dental curricula. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental interventional study, 54 5 th - and 6 th -year dental students at a University of Medical Sciences participated in an online training course on the principles of office management. Knowledge was assessed using a validated and reliable questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using paired and independent-samples t -tests, and the Shapiro–Wilk test was applied to assess the normality of data distribution. The significance level was set at 0.05 for all analyses. Results: The mean office management knowledge score increased from 5.81 ± 1.30 before the educational intervention to 16.07 ± 1.48 after the intervention. Paired t -test analysis demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in students’ knowledge following the training ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the educational intervention had a positive effect on dental students’ knowledge of office management principles. These results suggest that integrating office management training into dental curricula may enhance leadership competencies and better prepare students for professional practice.