Background: A fundamental skill in education includes the ability to search for, evaluate, and synthesize information, and this cannot be underestimated in dental education. The aim of this study was to assess how dental students from Malaysia and Finland acquire scientific information and to compare their information retrieval skills.
Methods: Fourth and fifth-year dental students from Malaysia and Finland were invited to participate. A self-administered structured questionnaire including items about the use of information sources, subjective assessment of literature retrieval skills and knowledge was used.
Results: A total of 226 dental students participated in the survey: 131 from Malaysia and 95 from Finland. In both countries, the highest interest for data retrieval among students was found in the oral surgery specialty. The three most used sources of information among Malaysian students were personal lecture notes, dental textbooks, and colleagues; while Finnish students used colleagues, lecture notes, and current clinical guidelines. Students' knowledge of evidence-based practice was inadequate in both student groups. Though the majority of participants reported that they had good or passable skills in literature retrieval, more students from Finland judged themselves to have at least good skills compared to those from Malaysia.
Conclusion: Dental education in both countries includes information retrieval studies and mandatory research projects. However, students did not often use those sources that are considered essential in evidence-based dentistry. Universities should further develop educational and training interventions that guide students to use knowledge resources more effectively for critically appraising scientific evidence.
Keywords: Finland; Malaysia; clinical appraisal; dental students; evidence-based dentistry; literature retrieval.