Tehran University of Medical Sciences Frontiers in Dentistry 2676-296X 22 0 2025 10 14 4609 4609 EN Komal Maheshwari Department of Prosthodontics, ESIC Dental College & Hospital, New Delhi, India Kamal Shigli Department of Prosthodontics, D.Y Patil Dental School, Pune, India Bhawana Tiwari Department of Prosthodontics, ESIC Dental College & Hospital, New Delhi, India Bukya Dwarakananda Department of Prosthodontics, ESIC Dental College & Hospital, New Delhi, India Sukhvinder Singh Oberoi Private practice, Ace Dental, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 2022 09 26 2023 12 11 Introduction: Pre-clinical prosthodontics training in India is restricted primarily to didactic lectures and development of laboratory skills, with no patient contact. The introduction of early clinical exposure (ECE) as a supplement to the traditional curriculum, aimed at improving the competency of dental undergraduates, needs to be explored. Objectives: To assess students’ perceived needs regarding the introduction of ECE in the subject of pre-clinical prosthodontics (PCP) and to identify the barriers perceived by students in the learning of the subject. Materials and Method:  A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a 25-item semi-structured validated and pilot-tested anonymous questionnaire based on 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire collected information about; the socio-demographic profile of the students, understanding the difficulties faced by them in learning and applying pre-clinical prosthodontics in clinical settings and students’ perceived needs for introduction of ECE in the subject of PCP. Results: A total of 26 students responded to the questionnaire. Majority of the respondents reported difficulty in performing the border molding step (42.3%-50%) and gave a mixed response for the jaw relation record step. More than 70% of the respondents strongly agreed that inclusion of clinical demonstration of complete denture procedures (ECE) on patients in second year will be beneficial. Conclusion: Students felt a strong need for inclusion of ECE in the subject of PCP. The major barrier identified by students was the lack of ability to correlate theoretical aspects of border molding procedure taught in PCP with its clinical aspects on patients in third year.     https://fid.tums.ac.ir/index.php/fid/article/view/4609 https://fid.tums.ac.ir/index.php/fid/article/download/4609/2170