Background: Early clinical exposure is a contemporary curriculum intervention, implemented to provide dental students with context early in the curriculum. The true efficacy of early clinical exposure as a pedagogy remains in question as it relates to increased curriculum load with ensuing stress and anxiety among students.

Objective: This evaluation aimed to gauge dental students’ perceptions of the first two years of a dental curriculum that included early clinical exposure as an intentional intervention.

Methods: Narrative essays written by 2018 second- to fourth- year dental students (n=100, 56% representation) at the School of Dentistry, University of Pretoria in South Africa regarding their experience of the first two years of study were qualitatively analysed using a thematic approach with accompanying percentage distributions. Students were asked to provide both positive and negative feedback. Ethical clearance was granted by the University of Pretoria (ref. no. 543/2017).

Results: Positive feedback included praise for earlier exposure to dentistry (28%), with increased relevance (15%) that contributed to personal growth (12%) and professional development (11%). Negative feedback included that the curriculum contained irrelevant information (18%) and a challenging and intense scope (13%), which felt overwhelming (6%) and contributed to a difficult and stressful experience (15%). Fourth-year students with clinical experience suggested a need for an increased amount of early clinical exposure (4%).

Conclusion: Early clinical exposure seems beneficial in the local context. Curriculum transformation should, however, focus on identifying and eliminating unnecessary and irrelevant content to create a balanced curriculum that is conducive to optimal learning.

Michael Beckenstrater is a full-time dentist working in private practice in Pretoria, South Africa. He completed his undergraduate in dental surgery in 2020 with distinction. Pursuing his interest in research he completed his master’s dissertation in the field of Odontology in 2022 at the University of Pretoria with distinction.