Student Self-Assessments in Clinical Operative Dentistry: Bridging Perception and Performance.

Objectives: Student self-assessment in operative dentistry plays a crucial role in the development of clinical skills and professional competence. This study aimed to investigate the agreement between students' self-assessment and faculty assessment in clinical operative dentistry and correlate this with the student's academic achievement and year of study. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from 126 female undergraduate 4th and 5th year dental students who conducted self-assessment of class II cavity preparations following minimal invasive principles and composite resin restorations on patients followed by evaluation by two calibrated and independent evaluators using a standardized rubric. Numerical data were presented as mean and standard deviation values. Agreement was analyzed using intra-class correlation coefficient and correlations were analyzed using Spearman's rank order correlation coefficient. Results: For 4th-year students, there was no significant difference between students' self-assessment and faculty scores regarding retention form and shade matching ( Conclusion: Students from both 4th and 5th years of study tend to overestimate the assessment of their cavity preparations and restorations; however, there is no correlation between this and their level of academic achievement.