Experiences, Expectations, Attitudes and Perception of Orthodontic Residents Towards Orthodontic Training Programme in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The practice of orthodontics in Nigeria has witnessed gradual but steady development since its introduction over three decades ago. Despite significant increase in the number of orthodontic training institutions in Nigeria, there are relatively few orthodontists and even orthodontic residents in training for the population. This is to evaluate the experiences, expectations, attitudes and perception of Nigeria orthodontic residents towards their training.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among Orthodontics residents at all the accredited Nigerian teaching hospitals. The instrument used was a self- administered, closed anonymous 46-items questionnaire. Data from the questionnaires were collated and entered into Microsoft Excel version 10, 2002 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) and processed using STATA software (StataCorp LLC, Texas, USA). Fischer's exact test was done where necessary. Statistical significance was set at p?0.05 and tests were two- sided.
Results: Out of 41 orthodontic residents in 9 accredited training institutions in Nigeria, 34 participated in the study, representing 82.9%. Most residents (79.4%) chose orthodontics because of the quest for knowledge while a few (2.9%) were mentor guided. Majority (41.2% and 44.1 %) expressed low level of satisfaction with the quality of residency training and the didactic teaching in the program respectively.
Conclusion: The study concluded that most of the identified factors affecting orthodontics residency training program in Nigeria are trainee, trainer and curriculum related and will require the dental faculty of the postgraduate colleges to proffer solutions.