The Effectiveness of Students’ Performance in Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics Course in Predicting Subsequent Clinical Performance

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between students’ achieved grades in a preclinical fixed prosthodontics course and their performance in the same discipline's clinical courses. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in 2019 on 76 students who passed all preclinical and clinical fixed prosthodontics courses. Their final examination grades in preclinical and clinical prosthodontics courses were compiled and made anonymous. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Version 23) was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficient were used to assess the relation between preclinical and clinical grades. Results: A statistically significant positive correlation existed between the students’ preclinical and combined clinical final examination grades (r = 0.45, p < 0.001). In relation to sex, females showed a significantly higher correlation (r = 0.56, p = 0.001) compared to males (r = 0.25, p = 0.1). In addition, students’ clinical grade prediction from their preclinical performance was 20.5%. Conclusion: These findings emphasize the importance of preclinical courses and suggest that maximizing preclinical years' efforts can reflect positively on students' competence in their future clinical practice.