{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T09:13:09Z","timestamp":1788340389819,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788307200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Dent. J.","Dentistry Journal"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The practice of contemporary dentistry requires not only technical skills but also the development of soft skills, such as communication, empathy, and ethical and professional values. Although the importance of these skills is increasingly recognized, the perceptions of dental students in Romania regarding their relevance to their future professional practice remain insufficiently explored. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the perceptions of final-year students at the Faculty of Dentistry in Ia\u0219i regarding the importance of soft skills, in relation to their demographic characteristics, professional motivations, and preferences regarding their future practice settings, as well as to identify distinct profiles through cluster analysis. Material and Methods: The study included 205 students in their fourth through sixth years at the Faculty of Dentistry in Ia\u0219i, who anonymously completed a 26-item questionnaire rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. The statistical analysis included the chi-square test, Ward\u2019s method, and k-means clustering. Results: Ethical and professional values, artistic skills, and empathy were most frequently rated as \u201cvery important.\u201d Female students assigned significantly higher scores than male students to empathy, ethical and professional values, personal characteristics, and communication (p &lt; 0.05\u20130.001). Professional independence, financial stability, and professional prestige were the main motivations for career choice. Cluster analysis identified four distinct profiles, with significant differences based on gender, professional motivations, and preferences regarding future practice. Conclusions: Students place a high value on soft skills, with differences based on gender and professional profile. The results support the integration of these skills into university education, to complement specialized clinical training.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/dj14090552","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T07:53:11Z","timestamp":1788335591000},"page":"552","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Soft Skills in the Training of Future Dentists: Perceptions and Perspectives of Final-Year Students"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0402-060X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina Gena","family":"Dascalu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Magda-Ecaterina","family":"Antohe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Implantology, Removable Dentures, Technology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Tatarciuc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Semiology, Faculty of Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0867-1135","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roxana Ionela","family":"Vasluianu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Implantology, Removable Dentures, Technology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Cristina","family":"Iordache","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Implantology, Removable Dentures, Technology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8341-8810","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anca","family":"Vitalariu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Implantology, Removable Dentures, Technology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Odette Elena","family":"Luca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Implantology, Removable Dentures, Technology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7558-0711","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georgeta Liliana","family":"Foia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dento-Alveolar and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universit\u0103\u021bii Street, 700115 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1111\/eje.12017","article-title":"Soft skills and dental education","volume":"17","author":"Gonzalez","year":"2013","journal-title":"Eur. J. Dent. Educ."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"168","DOI":"10.1007\/s44217-024-00281-w","article-title":"Dentists\u2019 soft skills: A scoping review","volume":"3","author":"Ortega","year":"2024","journal-title":"Discov. 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