The present and future status of oral and maxillofacial pathology in Iran: A multicenter study

Abstract

Background: At present, the status of oral and maxillofacial pathology (OMFP) in the country
is not properly good. This study aimed to investigate the current status and develop practical
approaches to improve occupational condition of the specialty in the future from the viewpoint
of the beneficiaries.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross‑sectional study. The participants were oral
and maxillofacial pathologists of the country (200 individuals), OMFP residents (9 individuals), and
final year dental students at six dentistry school of the country at 2020 (200 individuals) through
multicenter design. At the first phase, the related questionnaires were developed and assessed
psychometrically. Reliability of the questionnaires, internal consistency, and repeatability were
computed and confirmed. At the second phase, the survey questionnaires on the current and future
condition were sent electronically to the study groups. The data were analyzed using descriptive
statistical tests (mean, standard deviation, percentage) and the Pearson test using SPSS.
Results: At the first phase, after primary design of the study too, 23 variables with content validity
ratio below 0.56 and content validity index (CVI) below 0.79 were omitted. The questionnaire
for the specialists was confirmed with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75 and intraclass correlation
coefficient (ICC) as 0.83, and the questionnaire for the students and the residents were confirmed
with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.95 and ICC of 0.80. Results of the second phase showed that score
of tendency of students to select OMFP specialty to continue education was 1.58 ± 0.57 from 5.
Satisfaction score of specialists on specialized activity of this specialty is 2.7 ± 1.52 from 5. The most
important reason for the students to select this specialty was “interest in being faculty member,”
and the “difficulty of the specialty” was the most probable reason for not selecting this specialty.
The most important priority of the residents was “interest in specialty” and for the specialists was
“being faculty member.” The most important reason to change attitude regarding the specialty by
the specialists was mentioned as “high occupational and profession responsibility as well as low 

income” with the score of 1.38 ± 3.99. “Fundamental revision in the educational curriculum of the
specialty” with a score of 4.60 ± 0.93 from 5 was considered as the most important revisionary
approach from the viewpoint of specialists.
Conclusion: At present, the main problem regarding the OMPF specialty in the country is “high
number of graduates and lack of the present occupational opportunities.” Evaluation and validation
of the relevant specialized departments, producing occupational opportunities, and fundamental
revision in the educational curriculum to train well‑powered specialists are necessary.
Key Words: Curriculum, dental student, future, oral and maxillofacial pathology