Introduction. According to statistics, early childhood caries, malocclusion, dental injuries, and gum diseases affect more and more children and adolescents every year. Prevention of major dental diseases, formation of proper habits and hygiene from an early age will help maintain oral health for many years to come. Pediatric dentistry is an important area in the healthcare system that requires not only professional skills, but also special psychological and pedagogical competencies. Studying the ideas of medical students about this specialty allows us to identify key aspects of their professional training and adaptation to future practice. Aim. To study the opinions of students of the Faculty of Dentistry on the training and professional activities of doctors in the field of "Pediatric Dentistry" and compare the opinions of 1st-year and 5th-year students. Materials and methods. The materials were two surveys based on YandexForms, which were offered to 1st and 5th year students of the Faculty of Dentistry of Kursk State Medical University. 185 people took part in the survey among the 1st year students, and 116 people took part in the survey among the 5th year students. Statistically significant differences were assessed by calculating the Student's t-test when comparing relative values. The results and their discussion. Significant differences were revealed between the groups: future graduates increasingly prefer private clinics (t = 2.9, p