Lived experience of dental students who attended Community dentistry fields in Mashhad in 2018-2019: A phenomenological study

The aim of this study was an explanation of the lived experience of dental students who attended at Community dentistry fields in Mashhad in 2018-2019. Methods: This study was a qualitative, phenomenological research. Fourteen dental students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences participated in this study in 2018-2019. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analyzed using the qualitative content analysis approach. Classification and coding of research data was performed using MAXQDA (2020) software. Results: After transcribing the 14 interview tapes, sentences and statements related to the purpose of the study were extracted from the text of the interviews and classified. After reviewing the texts several times, 253 themes were extracted, and in the end, after removing duplicate themes, selectively centering and selective coding, 7 main themes and 46 sub-themes were obtained. The main themes included: "awareness", "change of attitude", "change in behavior", "competencies acquired in the field", "learned unpredictable", "obstacles and limitations in the proper conduct of the field" and "suggestions". Most of the sub-themes obtained were related to the main theme of "consciousness". Conclusion: According to the lived experiences of dental students, attending the community dentistry field was effective in increasing awareness and positive attitude, and even appropriate changes in acquiring preventive abilities.