Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · European Journal of General Dentistry
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809618
Original Article

Impact of Tooth Crownability Index on Decision-Making Skills of Undergraduate Students

1   Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
,
2   Department of Periodontics & Oral Implantology, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
3   Division of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
,
3   Division of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
,
4   Department of Prosthodontics, Kahers, KLEVK Institute of Dental Science, Belgaum, Karnataka, India
,
5   Faculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN Putra Nilai, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
,
6   Department of Research, Dental Public Health, Research Kraft Consultancy, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
› Author Affiliations

Funding None.
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Abstract

Objective

This article evaluates the impact of the tooth crownability index (TCI) on decision-making accuracy among undergraduate dental students.

Materials and Methods

Seventy-seven undergraduate dental students participated. In session one, students assessed 10 randomly presented case scenarios in four separate rooms. They assessed the crownability and rated periodontal, endodontic, and prosthodontic support as good, fair, or poor. In session two, the same cases were reassessed with access to a TCI. Student decisions from both sessions were compared with those of an expert panel. In the end, students identified which TCI factors influenced their decision-making.

Statistical Analysis

Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and McNemar's test were used to compare student decisions with and without TCI, with significance set at p < 0.05.

Results

Student decisions aligned significantly more with expert analysis when using TCI (78.7% vs. 60.0%, p = 0.014). Improved agreement was also observed for periodontal support (p = 0.017), endodontic status (p = 0.040), and prosthodontic support (p = 0.023) in the TCI session. Students identified prosthodontic factors as the most influential in improving their assessments.

Conclusion

The TCI significantly improved students' accuracy in assessing tooth crownability across diverse clinical scenarios.



Publication History

Article published online:
25 July 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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