Ulduz Zamaniahari - Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Robab Farhang - Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Sayyedeh Fatemeh Hashemi - Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Aziz Kamran - Associate Professor of Health Education and Promotion School of Medicine Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.

Background: The incompatibility between theoretical education and clinical situations brings diverse challenges among dental students. Methods: The sample population of the current study was dental students of the restorative dentistry of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The method proposed by Lundman and Graneheim was resorted to analyzing the data at the same time as conducting the interviews. To ensure the validity and reliability of the data, the validity, verifiability, and reliability criteria were used according to Lincoln and Gouba. After creating the initial codes, participants' opinions were asked to verify the codes and interpretations. Results: The results of the study demonstrated that the challenges of transferring knowledge from the pre-clinical phase to the clinical phase in the current study include the eight challenges of lack or shortage of training equipment, weakness in covering the practical educational needs, differences between dentistry and the actual clinical field of the patient, weakness in covering principles of practical work (sterilization, set forth.), stress in contact with the patient, weakness in practical training (skills), weak training in the treatment plan, and weak physical presence of professors for training. Furthermore, the facilitators of knowledge transfer from the pre-clinical phase to the clinical phase included practical training on natural teeth, sufficient practice, creating a suitable atmosphere for stress-free training, individual study, and ethics and proper communication of professors. Then, the results showed no significant difference in most of the questions of knowledge transfer challenges and facilitators from the pre-clinical phase to the clinical phase based on gender, grade point average, and academic semester. Conclusion: Dental students face many challenges in transferring knowledge from pre-clinic to clinic. However, these challenges can be lessened with careful planning.

Pre-clinical phase, Clinical phase, Dental education, Restorative dentistry.