Students' Feedback on Two Systems to Classify Root Canal Morphology: A Survey Across Dental Schools in the United Arab Emirates

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to compare students' feedback on the accuracy, practicability, understanding, and the application of the two systems to classify root canal morphology in the UAE dental schools. Materials and Methods: This survey-based study involved 4th and 5th year undergraduate students and dental trainees from four dental schools in the UAE. The study was conducted in two phases. In phase one, a PowerPoint presentation describing the two systems (Vertucci and Ahmed et al.) to classify root canal morphology was delivered physically to the students at three separate sessions in each dental school (n = 12). In phase II, a printed questionnaire was distributed to collect their feedback. Fisher's Exact Test was used for statistical analysis and p-value was set at 0.05. Results: Out of 1024 individuals across the four dental schools, 707 (69%) participated in the study. The students and the trainees agreed that the Ahmed et al. system is more accurate (90.1%), more practical (84.6%), and improved the understanding of root canal morphology (91.5%). In addition, they recommended incorporating in the curriculum (91.4%) for teaching preclinical and clinical courses (92.1%). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in the feedback between the students and the dental trainees for all the five closed-ended questions. Conclusion: The majority of the undergraduate students across the four dental schools in the UAE had agreed that the Ahmed et al. system is more accurate and practical compared to the Vertucci system, and they recommended its adoption in the dental curriculum.