## 3 Results  
The research encapsulates a detailed exploration of dental students' demographic and academic inclinations. Predominantly, females formed a significant segment, representing 65.6% of the study's participants. Dovetailing with this, a remarkable 85.2% were aged 21 or older, harmonizing with the observation that 35.2% were engrossed in their fourth year of academic pursuit. Delving into the socio-cultural milieu, 40% of these budding professionals cohabited with family members. Moreover, Istanbul, the city under study, was a new home for 57.8% of these students, having migrated from other provinces. In the academic realm, 57.6% expressed a definitive alignment with their current department, marking it their top academic choice. Transitioning to their academic perceptions, the landscape is slightly variegated. While a measurable 55.7% assessed their departmental educational quality as moderate, a near equivalent 48.5% articulated an elevated zeal for their academic discipline (Table 1). Upon assessing the Professional Competence Score (PCS), an intricate exploration revealed that several factors, such as gender, age, academic tenure, residential category, and geographic origin, did not yield any discernible statistical divergence (\(p>0.05\)). Contrastingly, students exuding high academic satisfaction and those ranking their department in the top echelons showcased significantly elevated PCS scores (\(p<0.05\)) (Table 2). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l c c} \hline  & **Mean** & **Std. Deviation** & **Test Value** & \(p\)**Value** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Gender} & Female & 42.00 & 7.20 & 18,449.500 (U) & 0.078 a \\  & Male & 40.67 & 7.24 & 10,832.500 (U) & 0.483 a \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Grade} & 20 and above & 42.30 & 6.66 & \multirow{4}{*}{10,832.500 (U)} & \multirow{4}{*}{0.483 a} \\  & 21 and higher & 41.41 & 7.33 & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Grade} & 1 st grade & 31.50 & 2.12 & \multirow{4}{*}{8.297 (X\({}^{2}\))} & \multirow{4}{*}{0.081 b} \\  & 2 nd grade & 42.87 & 6.85 & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & 3 rd grade & 42.11 & 7.05 & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & 4 th grade & 40.86 & 7.43 & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & 5 th grade & 41.22 & 7.27 & & \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: PCS score differences according to the demographic properties of participants. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l c c} \hline  & **Count** & **Percentage (\%)** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Gender} & Female & 280 & 65.6 \\  & Male & 147 & 34.4 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Age} & 20 and above & 63 & 14.8 \\  & 21 and higher & 364 & 85.2 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Grade} & 1 st grade & 2 & 0.5 \\  & 2 nd grade & 82 & 19.2 \\  & 3 rd grade & 81 & 19.0 \\  & 4 th grade & 150 & 35.2 \\  & 5 th grade & 111 & 26.1 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Residence type} & Dormitory & 69 & 16.2 \\  & With friends & 120 & 28.1 \\  & With family & 171 & 40.0 \\  & Other & 67 & 15.7 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Preference} & First five & 246 & 57.6 \\  & Second five & 108 & 25.3 \\  & Other & 73 & 17.1 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Residence location} & Istanbul & 180 & 42.2 \\  & Outside & 247 & 57.8 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Education evaluation} & Very little & 5 & 1.2 \\  & Little & 23 & 5.4 \\  & Moderate & 238 & 55.7 \\  & High & 140 & 32.8 \\  & Very high & 21 & 4.9 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Occupation interest} & Very little & 3 & 0.7 \\  & Little & 12 & 2.8 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Moderate & 97 & 22.7 \\ \cline{1-1}  & High & 207 & 48.5 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Very high & 108 & 25.3 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Baseline characteristics of participants. [PERSON]'s rho correlation analysis further accentuates the statistical robustness of the study. This methodological tool substantiated that PCS shared a positive synergy with self-esteem (RSES, r = 0.398; \(p<0.01\)), digital literacy (DLS, r = 0.404; \(p<0.01\)), departmental preference (r = 0.120; \(p<0.05\)), satisfaction with the quality of education (r = 0.298; \(p<0.01\)), and an intrinsic occupational favor (r = 0.502; \(p<0.05\)) (Table 3).