Examining dental students' performance in multiple-choice questions and pre-clinical practical exams in fixed prosthodontics: Gender differences, stress, and confidence

Background & Objective: In dental education, understanding optimal assessment methods and factors like stress and confidence is essential. This research assessed second-year dental students' performance in fixed prosthodontics using multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and pre-clinical practical exams, examining impacts of gender, stress, and confidence. Materials & Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, 495 students from a single faculty underwent assessment. Selected via convenience sampling, they were exposed to MCQs and practical exams in fixed prosthodontics. An expert-reviewed questionnaire gauged their stress and confidence. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Pearson's correlation. Additionally, a balanced sub-set of 176 students (88 males and 88 females) was chosen for gender-based analysis. Results: Findings indicate statistical parity between MCQ and practical exam performances (p>0.001). Females slightly outperformed in MCQs, while males excelled in practicals, without reaching statistical significance (p>0.05). Stress correlated with practical exam outcomes (r=0.34, p=0.001), and confidence with MCQ scores (r=0.41, p