Undergraduate dental students’ knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction following a step-by-step course in microscopic dentistry

Despite growing use of dental operating microscopes, structured undergraduate training is limited and often lacks hands-on integration. This study evaluates undergraduate dental students’ knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction following a step-by-step course in microscopic dentistry. This single-group quasi-experimental study included 103 second-year dental undergraduates from Wuhan University, completing a 4-session step-by-step microscopic dentistry course. Two researcher-developed questionnaires, which were pilot-tested and contained Likert-scale and binary-response items, were administered to participants at the following time: (1) a pre-course questionnaire assessing core knowledge areas and attitudes toward microscopic dentistry, (2) a post-course questionnaire evaluating changes in knowledge and attitudes as well as satisfaction with this course. Statistical analysis included paired t-tests for knowledge and attitude scales, McNemar’s tests for binary responses, and one-sample t-tests for satisfaction data (p < 0.05). Among 103 enrolled students, response rates were 99.0% (102/103) for the pre-course assessment and 95.1% (98/103) for the post-course assessment, with 88 matched pairs retained for final analysis. The knowledge assessment scores demonstrated a statistically significant improvement following the course intervention (2.90 ± 0.83 to 4.20 ± 0.69, p < 0.001). Regarding participants’ attitudes, perceived dental operating microscope necessity increased (4.53 ± 0.61 to 4.82 ± 0.42, p < 0.001), with clinical benefit recognition rising from 89.7 to 97.7% (p = 0.021) and treatment time misconceptions declining from 44.8 to 21.8% (p = 0.001). These improvements suggest the course effectively addressed both conceptual and perceptual gaps. Course satisfaction was high (97.7% overall), with 100% agreement on content relevance and teaching method effectiveness. The course appears to be an effective tool for enhancing dental students’ knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction. Further controlled studies are needed to validate its long-term impact. Not applicable.