A preliminary study to investigate the potential of plasma screen technology in small group teaching for dental undergraduates

Efficacy of Video-Assisted Instruction on Knowledge and Performance of Dental Students in Access Cavity Preparation

INTRODUCTION

The conventional method of teaching endodontics has some drawbacks. Due to the small size of the oral cavity, students cannot closely observe the clinical procedure. Use of new teaching modalities such as the intraoral camera may obviate this problem. This study assessed the effect of video-assisted clinical instruction in dentistry (VACID) on dental student's knowledge and performance in access cavity preparation during endodontic treatment.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

In this interventional study, twenty six undergraduate students were equally divided into two groups and received instructions on access cavity preparation via conventional demonstration (CD) or VACID using intraoral camera plus conventional demonstration. Students' knowledge was assessed before and after the demonstration. The scores obtained by students were compared between the two groups. Data were analyzed using the Mann Whitney U test.

RESULTS

No significant difference was found between the two groups in knowledge and performance scores of students about pulp chamber removal, under-extension, over-extension, gouging, perforation or finding the main and extra canals. However, use of intraoral camera significantly reduced the number of student visits to instructors for problem solving (P=0.001).

CONCLUSION

VACID is an effective educational method and as efficient as conventional demonstration in endodontics; as a result it can be used in combination with conventional teaching.

Teledentistry: a systematic review of the literature

We conducted a systematic review of teledentistry applications. We searched the MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases for relevant articles published from 1992 to 2012. The reference lists of all retrieved articles were hand-searched. Studies were included after assessing the eligibility of the full-text article. A total of 878 studies were identified, of which 59 fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the review. The articles covered several dental specialties, mostly oral surgery, oral medicine and oral pathology. The most common type of teledentistry application was education (n = 21), followed by diagnosis (n = 16), consultation (n = 3) and treatment (n = 2). Teledentistry studies were reported in a total of 15 countries. The largest number of studies were conducted in the US (n = 22) and there were no studies from developing countries. Most of the reports referred to pilot projects and short-term outcomes, and most of the studies were descriptive. The review indicates that although teledentistry is an area of expansion, there are still some barriers to its increased use.