Can an interactive case-based activity help bridge the theory-practice gap in operative dentistry?

Carious typodont teeth's effectiveness in pre-doctoral SIM lab to reinforce operative learning

INTRODUCTION

The concept of ideal preparations in dental schools are highly emphasized during the first two years of students' learning. However, students do not have as much opportunity to practice skills that would prepare them for real-life stituations such as non-ideal preparations and caries removal.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the benefits of utilizing carious typodont teeth in the Operative curriculum for first- and second-year UCSF dental students METHODS: This study was completed by hosting a workshop in which the students performed a Class II preparation on #19 carious typodont tooth. The students filled out pre- and post-surveys with questions about their confidence with performing a preparation and their opinions on the current curriculum.

RESULTS

The pre-survey responses showed that the majority of the first- and second-year students did not believe that the traditional non-carious typodont teeth were a good representation of prepping on real, carious teeth. The pre-survey responses also showed that most of the first- and second-year students thought that the addition of carious typodont teeth would improve their learning experience. The post-survey results displayed that the majority of the students thought that prepping carious typodont teeth helped to better reinforce concepts such as preparation design, taught them the difference between ideal and non-ideal preparations, and allowed them to better understand tooth anatomy with the addition of the dentin layer.

CONCLUSION

The use of the carious typodont teeth in pre-clinical operative lab was found to be beneficial to first- and second-year UCSF student's learning based on the pre- and post-survey results.

Contrasting student and staff perceptions of preclinical-to-clinical transition at a Chilean dental school

INTRODUCTION

Dental education is a challenging and demanding field of study as students are expected to acquire various competencies to fulfil their professional requirements after graduation. The objective of this study was to investigate and compare dental students' and clinical staff instructors' perceptions of the preclinical-to-clinical transition training at a Dental School in Santiago, Chile.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Two questionnaires containing 11 quantitative and one qualitative item were developed to assess our year three, four and five (n = 244) dental undergraduate students' challenges when they begin treating patients, and clinical staff (n = 78) perceptions of the preparedness to treat patients of the same students. Both questionnaires were voluntarily and anonymously implemented eight weeks after the beginning of the 2019 academic year. Responses were analysed using a Chi-squared test for each quantitative question, while qualitative comments were studied to form themes and dimensions.

RESULTS

A total of 234 (96%) students and 60 (77%) instructors completed their respective questionnaire. There were considerable variations between students in the different years of the programme, as well as between students and staff members. Students and instructors felt the former had enough knowledge to treat patients though it was difficult for them to apply it in clinical practice. Again, both believed they could communicate with patients, but third year students asked for more training on this. Regarding practical skills, fourth- and fifth-year students felt prepared but not third year students, who preferred to work in pairs with senior students, a preference that was shared by the instructors. All student groups asked clinical staff to provide more frequent, constructive and consistent feedback and felt that the difference between simulation and clinical environments and the amount of clinical work to fulfil clinical requirements made them feel stressed. Another mentioned stressor was students' low self-confidence when working with patients. Among the requested improvements, students requested better training on how the dental clinic works to save time.

CONCLUSIONS

Preclinical-to-clinical transition training presents several challenges. Some of the problems highlighted by both students and clinical staff members persisted with the transition after three, four and even five years of training, which needs to be addressed.

Which digital learning strategies do undergraduate dentistry students favor? A questionnaire survey at a German university

Background

The development in teaching dental education toward ever greater digitization has gained enormous momentum in the last 2 years due to the pandemic. However, acceleration is not synonymous with improvement, especially from the learners' point of view. Therefore, the aim of this survey among students of dentistry was to determine which digital learning strategies and which media are preferred.

Method

Undergraduate students of clinical semesters (6th to 9th) in dental medicine during at the University of Freiburg participated in an online-survey. Questions were asked about personal learning strategies for and experience with using digital media for private and educational reasons. Furthermore, students were asked which digital learning formats they preferred for different learning phases.

Results

Students (N=148) are experienced in using digital media for learning. They prefer classical media (such as textbooks and lectures) for acquiring basic theoretical knowledge and mention digital teaching formats more in relation to practical training and complex treatment procedures. 67% prefer learning alone and 90% rate visualizations as helpful for learning. 78% report, that they feel well supported in the learning process by digital media and 83% agree that e-learning offerings are a quality factor for university teaching. 82% state e.g. that the growing range of online content allows a more flexible approach to face to face-teaching, enriches classroom teaching (78%) and helps organize one's own study (79%).

Conclusion

Students have a positive attitude towards the use of digital media, especially when it comes to having more time available for practical exercises. They also see an advantage in the fact that through the use of digital media, lectures can be organized more flexibly and also the organization of their studies can be optimized. New digital teaching media should be created based on these results. It is important to consider which digital formats seem suitable for which content during different semesters.

Evaluating dental students' perspectives on the concurrent teaching of didactic and case-based courses

PURPOSE

To evaluate student perception of integrating biomedical and clinical sciences based on survey of dental students on the concurrent teaching of a didactic systems-based course and a case-based course.

METHODS

First-year to fourth-year students (DS1-DS4) students were surveyed for their experiences in concurrent teaching. Student response rate for the survey was 55% (229/420). Pearson's Chi-squared tests and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests were used to assess statistical significance (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

Of the students surveyed, 83% strongly agreed or agreed that concurrent teaching of the didactic and case-based courses helped them better understand the biomedical science background and the clinical ramifications (p < 0.001). On average, 75% percent strongly agreed or agreed that concurrent teaching kept them engaged, motivated, think critically, apply the course content and prepare for clinical practice (p < 0.001). Of the students surveyed, 69% support expanding concurrent teaching to all four years (p < 0.001). Mean responses from DS1 and DS4 students differed for questions relating to understanding of biomedical sciences, critical thinking and application to clinic (p < 0.01). Qualitative data showed that students enjoyed the reinforcement of concepts and application to clinical scenarios.

CONCLUSIONS

Concurrent teaching of didactic and case-based learning courses, thus showing clinical relevance of biomedical sciences in the first year of dental curriculum, is perceived by students as an effective method of educating dental students. Such integrative learning process with horizontal and vertical integration and concurrent curriculum is even more relevant with the implementation of the integrated national board dental examination.

Effect of an endodontic e-learning application on students' performance during their first root canal treatment on real patients: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

E-learning has found its way into dental teaching in general and endodontic teaching in particular. The present study aimed to implement a newly developed multimedia learning application and assess its effect on students' first root canal treatment on real patients. With the COVID-19 outbreak, the application's performance was investigated during the pandemic.

METHODS

A total of 138 students in the initial clinical endodontic course participated in this study. The control group (n = 49) followed the traditional curriculum, including practice on artificial teeth and face-to-face teaching events. In addition to the traditional curriculum, test group 1 (n = 54) had access to an endodontic e-learning application containing videos demonstrating artificial teeth and patient cases. With the COVID-19 outbreak, test group 2 (n = 35) had no face-to-face teaching; however, endodontic patient treatments were included. The quality of students' first root canal treatment on real patients was compared using performance and radiographic assessment items. Statistical analysis was done using Kruskal-Wallis and chi-squared tests. Test groups received a questionnaire to assess the learning application. Test group 2 also completed a COVID-19-specific survey to measure students' perceptions of how the pandemic affected their endodontic education.

RESULTS

The results of endodontic treatments were significantly better for test group 1 (P < 0.001) and 2 (P < 0.001) than for the control group. Likewise, there were significantly fewer treatment errors in test group 1 (P < 0.001) and 2 (P < 0.001). No significant differences were found between test groups 1 and 2. Students of the test groups positively evaluated the e-learning application. Students of test group 2 expressed their fear of negative impacts on their course performance.

CONCLUSION

The e-learning application was well-received and seemed to improve endodontic education. The results imply that the quality of education may be maintained by implementing e-learning to compensate for face-to-face teaching. As no difference was found between online and face-to-face teaching, students' and lecturers' concerns that endodontic education is suffering because of the pandemic may be eased.

Biomedical Courses Should Also Be Designed for Dental Students: The Perceptions of Dental Students

INTRODUCTION

It can be challenging integrating biomedical sciences into dentistry programs. The aim was to examine students' perceptions of how joint biomedical courses with medical students and courses tailored for dental students supported their clinical studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The target group was clinical phase dental students. Cross-sectional survey data were collected using a questionnaire, which consisted of questions covering biomedical and clinical study content and learning methods.

RESULTS

A total of 110 (82%) students completed the survey. Students had difficulty recognising the relevance of joint biomedical courses for clinical work, but when the link was clear, their interest in the content increased. The closer the respondents were to graduation, the less relevance they expressed the biomedical sciences had. Almost all students (95%) wanted more dental content for the early study years.

DISCUSSION

The student perspective provides valuable information for the development of biomedical courses. Students should be offered customised courses that include dental content and perspectives on clinical work, whenever suitable to the didactic content of the basic science course. Our study shows that the dental perspective needs greater integration with the biomedical content. This also supports interprofessional learning and appreciation for the other field's contribution to human health.