Influence du stage actif chez le praticien sur le sentiment de compétence professionnelle de l'étudiant en chirurgie dentaire Contribution of private practice training on the self-efficacy belief of French dental surgery students Abstract -Context: A mandatory training period in a private practice was implemented in the curriculum of the French dental students during the 2007-2008 academic year. At the Clermont-Ferrand dental school, final year students practice full-time under the supervision of a dental practitioner for two months. Aim: The aim of this study is to show the potential role of this period on the self-assessed competency perceived by students concerning their professional skills. Methods: Each student of a same cohort (n = 42) self-assessed his/her level of performance on a non graduated visual analogue scale. 52 professional skills defined by the European thematic network DentEd were thus assessed. This self-evaluation was performed three times : at the end of the fifth year (D3) and during the final year of studies (T1) before and after the training period. The trainers who supervised the students assessed them using the same scale. Results: When comparing the results of the three self-assessments with statistical tests, our study showed a real positive impact of the training period on the self-efficacy belief concerning professional skills such as financial and administrative management of a private practice, sterilization of material, management of staff and development of a multidisciplinary treatment plan. For most skills, there is no significant difference between the students' and the trainers' assessments. Conclusion: A training period in a private practice allows dental students to feel more competent concerning professional skills which are generally difficult to master in a hospital environment.