The design and evaluation of gamified online role-play as a telehealth training strategy in dental education: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study

To evaluate user perceptions and educational impact of gamified online role-play in teledentistry as well as to construct a conceptual framework highlighting how to design this interactive learning strategy, this research employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Participants were requested to complete self-perceived assessments toward confidence and awareness in teledentistry before and after participating in a gamified online role-play. They were also asked to complete a satisfaction questionnaire and participate in an in-depth interview to investigate their learning experience. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and framework analysis. There were 18 participants who completed self-perceived assessments and satisfaction questionnaire, in which 12 of them participated in a semi-structured interview. There were statistically significant increases in self-perceived confidence and awareness after participating in the gamified online role-play (P < 0.001). In addition, the participants were likely to be satisfied with this learning strategy, where usefulness was perceived as the most positive aspect with a score of 4.44 out of 5, followed by ease of use (4.40) and enjoyment (4.03). The conceptual framework constructed from the qualitative findings has revealed five key elements in designing a gamified online role-play, including learner profile, learning settings, pedagogical components, interactive functions, and educational impact. The gamified online role-play has demonstrated its potential in improving self-perceived confidence and awareness in teledentistry. The conceptual framework developed in this research could be considered to design and implement a gamified online role-play in dental education. This research provides valuable evidence on the educational impact of gamified online role-play in teledentistry and how it could be designed and implemented in dental education. This information would be supportive for dental instructors or educators who are considering to implement teledentistry training in their practice.

Dental Sleep Medicine Education Amongst Accredited Orthodontic Programmes in Thailand

BACKGROUND

Dental sleep medicine education (DSME) should be emphasised in postgraduate orthodontic training; however, there appears to be no clear guideline for its implementation into the curriculum.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to investigate the current status of DSME as well as its feasibility and implementation in postgraduate orthodontic programmes.

METHODS

A structured interview with predetermined response options was chosen as a data collection method to gather relevant information from representatives of all accredited postgraduate orthodontic programmes in Thailand. These interviews were conducted online via the Cisco Webex Meeting platform. A combination of data analysis techniques was employed to achieve a thorough comprehension of the research findings, including descriptive statistics, quantitative content analysis, thematic analysis, and alignment analysis.

RESULTS

All participating programmes reported the inclusion of DSME in their curricula. A didactic approach was adopted by all programmes. However, only 2 out of 7 programmes offered clinical sessions for their students. Several challenges in implementing DSME within orthodontic programmes were identified, including a shortage of expertise and limited patient access. The participants also suggested that knowledge and resource sharing amongst institutions could serve as a potential solution to enhance the feasibility of DSME.

CONCLUSIONS

This research highlighted the significant disparities and inadequacy of DSME within postgraduate orthodontic programmes in Thailand due to various challenges. Consequently, there is a compelling need to place greater emphasis on DSME and establish a national-level standardisation within orthodontic programmes. This effort is essential for enhancing the awareness and competency of orthodontists in the field of DSME.

The development of an online serious game for oral diagnosis and treatment planning: evaluation of knowledge acquisition and retention

BACKGROUND

While serious games seem to be supportive in healthcare education, none of them had been designed to develop competence in diagnosis and treatment planning of oral lesions. Therefore, this research aimed to develop an online simulation-based serious game for training diagnosis and treatment planning of oral lesions (SimOL) and to evaluate its educational impact in terms of knowledge improvement and retention.

METHODS

As a mandatory task in an oral lesion course, all 28 students were required to participate in SimOL activities. Participants were instructed to complete a pre-knowledge assessment following a one-week washout period prior to the game activity. Subsequent to the game completion, they were tasked to complete a post-knowledge assessment I (Full score = 15) and satisfaction questionnaire. A post-knowledge assessment II was administered a week later to evaluate knowledge retention.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrated a significant increase in the assessment scores after interacting with the game (P < 0.001), where the pre- and immediate post-knowledge assessment scores were 8.00 (SD = 2.11) and 11.71 (SD = 2.39), respectively. The game also exhibited a positive impact on knowledge retention, as there was no significant difference between the scores of post-knowledge assessment I and II (P > 0.05). Additionally, students perceived the game as positively in all aspects, although the entertainment aspect achieved a slightly lower score of 3.70 (SD = 0.21), in comparison to the usefulness and ease of use with a score of 4.02 (SD = 0.11) and 4.02 (SD = 0.16), respectively.

CONCLUSION

SimOL demonstrated its potential as an effective learning tool for improving and retaining knowledge for diagnosis and treatment planning of oral lesions. The game was perceived positively by dental students in all aspects, however further improvements should prioritize the enhancement of entertaining components.

Perceptions of orthodontic residents toward the implementation of dental technologies in postgraduate curriculum

BACKGROUND

Dental technologies have increasingly been implemented in orthodontic practice to offer better experiences for orthodontists and patients, however, there is no scientific evidence yet whether which technologies should be implemented into the postgraduate programs.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate perceptions of orthodontic residents toward the confidence and importance of dental technologies, as well as to determine their necessity in postgraduate programs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The online questionnaire was designed to collect data from residents from all accredited orthodontic postgraduate programs in Thailand. The questionnaire consisted of four sections, which were (1) demographic data, (2) self-perceived importance of orthodontic technologies, (3) self-perceived confidence toward orthodontic technologies, and (4) the necessity of orthodontic technologies in postgraduate programs. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and a chi-square test.

RESULTS

Intraoral scanner was found to be an orthodontic technology with the highest scores for both self-perceived importance (4.37 ± 0.59) and confidence (4.23 ± 0.75), followed by cone-beam computed tomography, digital treatment planning software, and lab-produced aligners. These orthodontic technologies were also considered as mandatory in orthodontic postgraduate programs. CAD/CAM technologies appeared to be least important, and their training may be arranged as short course training. There was no significant influence of training locations on the necessity of all orthodontic technologies (P > 0.05), except CBCT. Self-perceived importance and confidence in all technologies were found to have significant positive correlations (P < 0.05), except teledentistry and in-office aligners.

CONCLUSION

Orthodontic technologies were perceived as important in clinical workflow. Intraoral Scanners, CBCT, digital treatment planning software, lab-produced aligners, and digital modeling software appeared to be necessary for clinical practice and should be considered for orthodontic postgraduate programs, while other technologies may be arranged as short course training. Further research should investigate how to arrange and organize training sessions in orthodontic postgraduate programs.

The accuracy of virtual setup in simulating treatment outcomes in orthodontic practice: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the accuracy of virtual orthodontic setup in simulating treatment outcomes and to determine whether virtual setup should be used in orthodontic practice and education.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic search was performed in five electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, and Google Scholar from January 2000 to November 2022 to identify all potentially relevant evidence. The reference lists of identified articles were also screened for relevant literature. The last search was conducted on 30 November 2022.

RESULTS

This systematic review included twenty-one articles, where all of them were assessed as moderate risk of bias. The extracted data were categorized into three groups, which were: (1) Virtual setup and manual setup; (2) Virtual setup and actual outcomes in clear aligner treatment; (3) Virtual setup and actual outcomes in fixed appliance treatment. There appeared to be statistically significant differences between virtual setups and actual treatment outcomes, however the discrepancies were clinically acceptable.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review supports the use of orthodontic virtual setups, and therefore they should be implemented in orthodontic practice and education with clinically acceptable accuracy. However, high-quality research should be required to confirm the accuracy of virtual setups in simulating treatment outcomes.

Serious game as oral histology learning strategy for undergraduate dental students; crossover randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Oral histology is perceived by dental students as a challenging subject and often struggle to recognize the long-term relevance of understanding the cells and tissues at the microscopic level. Serious games have been reported to have a positive effect on student cognitive skills and learning motivation. However, there is still a limited amount of research supporting the effectiveness of serious games as a learning method in dentistry. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of serious game of HistoRM as a complementary learning strategy for oral histology.

METHODS

The study design was a crossover randomized controlled trial. A total of 74 first year dental students of Universitas Indonesia participated in the study and divided into 2 groups. Study intervention included HistoRM game for 3 days followed by a combination of HistoRM and script-based handouts for another 4 days. The groups represented different intervention sequences. Evaluation was performed using pre-test, post-test on day 3 and 7 and a questionnaire.

RESULTS

The data showed significant improvement of student cognitive skills (p < 0.001) and it was influenced by the number of game missions completed. Students who completed the whole 15 missions have a higher day-7 post-tests scores (p = 0.03). Perception of dental students on HistoRM was positive in all domains tested, the learning content, games and learning experience domains. Immediate feedback given after each gameplay helped the students understand the subject matters.

CONCLUSION

Serious game of HistoRM effectively improved students' understanding of oral histology learning outcome and provided more interesting learning experiences. This innovative learning can be recommended as a complementary learning strategy of oral histology for dental students.

Technology-enhanced simulation-based learning in orthodontic education: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Technology-enhanced simulations seem to be effective in dentistry, as they can support dental students to improve competencies in simulated environments. However, implementation of this technology in orthodontic education has not been reviewed.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aimed to comprehensively summarize the use of technology-enhanced simulations in orthodontic practice.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted to identify literature on technology-enhanced simulation-based learning in orthodontic education published from 2000 to 2021. The search was conducted up to September 2021 to identify articles from Scopus, Embase, PubMed, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, Google Scholar and the reference lists of identified articles.

RESULTS

The search identified 177 articles. Following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 16 articles of 14 digital simulators were included in this review. The findings demonstrated an increasing use of technology-enhanced simulations in orthodontic education. They were designed in several formats, including three-dimensional virtual format, augmented reality, virtual reality, automaton, haptic, and scenario-based simulations. These simulations were implemented in varied areas of orthodontics including diagnosis and treatment planning, bracket positioning, orthodontic procedures, facial landmark, removable appliance and cephalometric tracing. Most included articles demonstrated the development process without outcome evaluation. Six studies provided outcome evaluations at reaction or learning levels. None of them provide the evaluation at behaviour and results levels.

CONCLUSION

Insufficient evidence has been generated to demonstrate the effectiveness of technology-enhanced simulations in orthodontic education. However, high-fidelity computer-based simulations together with robust design research should be required to confirm educational impact in orthodontic education.

Significance of Non-Statistically Significant Results in the Prediction of Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Orthodontic Patients: A Survey Using Two Linking Questionnaires

Patients with a fixed orthodontic appliance may have difficulties in maintaining good oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and evaluating self-perceived OHRQoL in orthodontic patients could be challenging for their orthodontists. Therefore, this research was conducted to investigate whether orthodontic postgraduates would accurately evaluate the OHRQoL of their patients. Two self-administered questionnaires were designed for patients to rate their OHRQoL and for their orthodontic postgraduates to evaluate them on OHRQoL. All pairs of patients and their orthodontic postgraduates were requested to independently complete the questionnaires. Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression were performed to determine the relationships of the variables and to identify significant predictors on OHRQoL, respectively. There were 132 pairs of orthodontic patients and their residents who completed the questionnaires. There were no significant correlations between OHRQoL perceived by patients and evaluated by their orthodontic postgraduates in all aspects of treatment needs and dietary difficulties (p > 0.05). In addition, the regression model demonstrated no significant predictors for the self-perceived treatment needs and dietary difficulties of orthodontic patients. There seemed to be challenges for orthodontic postgraduates to evaluate their patients' oral health-related quality of life. Therefore, the OHRQoL measures should be increasingly implemented in orthodontic education and practice in order to enhance the concept of patient-centered care.

An educational board game for learning orofacial spaces: An experimental study comparing collaborative and competitive approaches

Odontogenic orofacial space infection is an important topic in the dental curriculum. However, dental students do encounter difficulties in identifying the patterns of odontogenic infection spreading through fascial spaces. The implementation of game concepts might allow them to actively learn this topic by engagement. This research aimed to develop a game for learning about the orofacial spaces and to evaluate its implementation whether a competitive or collaborative approach would be more effective for dental undergraduates. 'Trace the Spread' has been developed as a table-top board game, consisting of a main board presenting the anatomical map of a human model and two types of cards (quest and action cards). Eight groups of four students were randomly assigned into either the collaboration or competition group. The students were given pre- and post-knowledge assessments to evaluate knowledge improvement after game completion, where they were asked to rate their satisfaction toward the game using a paper-based questionnaire. The findings demonstrated a significant increase in the knowledge assessment scores after game completion in both collaboration (p < 0.001) and competition groups (p = 0.003). The score improvement of the collaboration group was significantly higher than that of the competition group (p < 0.001). The students tended to show satisfaction with the game, in which the collaboration group rated the game more positively compared to the competitive approach. This game appeared to be effective for learning orofacial space infections, and the learning environment within the collaborative group was found to be more supportive in terms of knowledge improvement and satisfaction.

The Effect of Dentin Contamination by Topical Anesthetics on Micro-Shear Bond Strength: An In Vitro Experiment

Topical anesthetics are commonly used to minimize pain and anxiety during dental procedures. Research is scarce on the influence of topical anesthetics on bond strength. Thus, this research evaluated the effect of dentin contamination by topical anesthetic solution and gel on the micro-shear bond strengths of etch-and-rinse and self-etch bonding systems. Ninety transversally hemi-sectioned dentin discs were prepared and randomly assigned to three groups: no contamination (control group), contamination with topical anesthetic solution (Xylonor spray, Septodont), and contamination with topical anesthetic gel (Xylonor gel, Septodont). Each contamination group was subdivided into two subgroups (n = 15) based on whether the adhesive system was etch-and-rinse (Optibond Solo Plus, Kerr) or self-etch (Optibond XTR, Kerr). Tygon tubes with resin composite (Filtek Z350 XT, 3M ESPE) were placed on each surface and light cured. After 24 h, a universal testing machine was used to measure micro-shear bond strength (MPa). Furthermore, nine additional specimens of non-contaminated and contaminated dentin were prepared and scanned by a scanning electron microscope. The data of micro-shear bond strength were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, and narrative analysis was used to qualitatively interpret visual data of the micro-morphology of dentin from the scanning electron microscope. No significant differences in micro-shear bond strength among different contamination groups and adhesive systems were found (p > 0.05). The results are supported by micro-morphology of the treated dentin surfaces and modes of failure, as the micro-morphology was similar among contamination and control groups. There was no significant impact of topical anesthetic forms and dentin bonding systems on the micro-shear bond strength, which was supported by the micro-morphology from a scanning electron microscope.

Psychosocial distress and psychological adjustment in patients with ocular loss: a framework analysis

BACKGROUND

Patients with ocular loss tend to have physical and psychosocial difficulties. Maxillofacial prosthetic specialists involved in the treatment should be trained with competence to manage psychological complications. However, due to the multifactorial origin of the psychosocial distress, designing such training activities can be challenging. This research aimed to construct a conceptual framework illustrating the effects of ocular loss on patients' physical and psychosocial well-being and their coping strategies, to propose the learning content of training sessions.

METHODS

A semi-structured interview and a topic guide were employed to explore the perceptions from patients who were receiving their first custom ocular prosthesis, fabricated by maxillofacial prosthodontists. The participants were selected using a purposeful sampling up until data saturation. The data were analyzed using framework analysis.

RESULTS

Twelve patients participated in this research. Four main themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) Impact of ocular loss, (2) Factors influencing psychosocial distress, (3) Psychological adjustment, and (4) Expected treatment outcomes. Each theme appeared to have influence on the other, rather than presenting itself independently. Although patients with ocular loss experienced both physical and psychosocial difficulties, psychological distress was greatly influenced by self-perceived disfigurement, etiology, and social status. Therefore, they needed to develop their coping strategies including rehabilitation with ocular prosthesis.

CONCLUSION

Various forms of psychological adjustments were necessary in these patients with ocular loss to resume their daily lives. The specialist involved in the treatment should also partake in patients' psychological adjustment and should be competent in psychological management skills, such as supporting patients to meet their expectations.

Conceptual Framework for Implementation of Internationalization in Dental Education with Foundations in Dental Student Life

The integration of internationalization within higher education has gained attention in both international and local programs, which allows the enrichment of the institutional quality. Previous literature reveals multidimensional considerations to determine the level of internationalization, considered as pre-existing performance indicators, including: (1) 'Curriculum and academic offerings'; (2) 'Collaboration and partnership'; (3) 'Student and academic staff mobility'; (4) 'Institutional policy'; (5) 'Resources'; (6) 'Campus life'; and (7) 'Performance review and accountability'. This study aimed to investigate the impact of performance indicators of internationalization on academic performance and extracurricular activities among dental students. A validated online self-administered questionnaire was distributed to dental undergraduates. The data from 93 students (response rate: 96.86%) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regressions. The findings demonstrated that all performance indicators appeared to have significant impact on self-perceived participations of extracurricular activities (p < 0.05), while only 'Collaboration and partnership' (p = 0.016), 'Student and academic staff mobility' (p = 0.009), 'Institutional policy' (p = 0.008), and 'Campus life' (p = 0.005) significantly affected actual participations. None of them appeared to be significant predictors for actual and self-perceived academic performance (p > 0.05). The statistical model constructed in this research can be utilized as a conceptual framework in the future establishment of internationalization among dental schools.

The Impact of Contemplative Practice in Dental Education: A Qualitative Study in General Dentistry

AIM

This study explored perceptions of dental postgraduates regarding the impact of contemplative practice in a patient care aspect.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The qualitative research approach using semi-structured interview was employed. Postgraduate students from the General Dentistry Residency Training Program were selected by purposive sampling by considering sex and working experience. The retrieved data were transcribed using a verbatim technique and analyzed using framework analysis.

RESULTS

There were 12 students participating in this research. The retrieved data were analyzed and categorized into two main themes, which were mindfulness and humanized patient-centered care paradigm. Mindfulness can be categorized into four subthemes to represent its required skills, including concentration, deep listening, emotional regulation, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skill. There were six subthemes for humanized patient-centered care paradigm, which were understanding in patients' context, development of individualized comprehensive treatment planning, treatment with humanization and compassion, management with phycological integrated care, rapport establishment with patients, and good attitudes toward special care needs patients. These skills are considered necessary for patient-centered dental practice, which could be expected from the learning process through contemplative practice.

CONCLUSION

This research supports the implementation of contemplative practice in dental education, as the data demonstrated the positive impact of contemplative practice in both personal and professional perspectives. These included the cultivation of mindfulness and other relevant skills, which were required for humanized patient-centered care in dental practice.

The protocol of low-level laser therapy in orthodontic practice: A scoping review of literature

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been widely investigated as an adjunct technique for orthodontic treatment due to photobiomodulation effect. LLLT appears to be supportive for an orthodontic practice in terms of tooth movement acceleration, pain relief, and root resorption management. The decrease in these adverse effects will enhance the compliance in orthodontic patients, which could positively impact treatment outcomes. However, there seemed to be inconsistency in the impact of LLLT as well as its laser and treatment parameters. This scoping review aimed to evaluate the impact of different irradiation parameters on tooth movement acceleration, pain relief, and root resorption as well as to construct a protocol of LLLT in orthodontic practice. The search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of identified articles. The last search was conducted on October 10, 2021 to identify experiments in humans regarding the application of LLLT as noninvasive treatment in orthodontic practice published between 2010 and 2021. However, they were excluded if they were not clinical research, if they did not report the source of laser, or if they were not relevant to tooth movement, pain perception, and root resorption, or if they were not available in English or in full-text. Following the systematic search and selection process, 60 articles were included in this review. A majority of included articles were published in the past few years. The findings of this review supported the application of LLLT in orthodontic practice with purposes of tooth movement acceleration and pain reduction. The positive impact of LLLT on root resorption had not been clearly evident yet. As this review demonstrated heterogeneity of both laser and treatment parameters, further research should be required to ensure the effectiveness of its specific parameters in orthodontic practice.

The implementation of PROMs/PREMs in the assessment of orthodontic treatment outcomes: A questionnaire survey

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of self-perceived treatment outcomes and experiences on psychological aspects, reflecting the importance of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) in orthodontic practice.

Materials and Methods:

A questionnaire was constructed using the PROMs/PREMs concepts. It contained five parts: “Demographic data”, “Self-perceived esthetics”, “Self-perceived functional concern”, “Satisfaction of treatment procedures”, and “Psychological aspect”. The questionnaire was piloted in five experts and 50 orthodontic patients to ensure its quality, using content validity, test-retest reliability, and Cronbach’s alpha. The validated version was provided to patients who had a complete fixed appliance orthodontic treatment. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation. In addition, a multiple linear regression was used to analyze whether there were any influential factors on a psychological aspect. Statistical significance was taken at P < 0.05.

Results:

A total of 271 respondents completed the questionnaire. They tended to have positive perceptions toward the outcomes of orthodontic treatment. There was a significant difference in self-perceived esthetics between the male and female groups. Self-perceived esthetic and functional concerns as well as satisfaction of treatment procedures were found to have significant correlations with the psychological aspect. Sex and self-perceived esthetics were also found to be significant predictors of the psychological aspect.

Conclusion:

PROMs/PREMs should be considered as an important tool to assess treatment outcomes in orthodontic practice. There appeared to be significant impact of self-perceived esthetics on psychological aspects. Consequently, PROMs and PREMs should be introduced in orthodontic postgraduate programs to enhance the concept of patient-centered care in orthodontic practice.

Online Professionalism of Facebook Usage in Dental Education: A Retrospective Exploration

Aims:

Unprofessionalism in the use of Facebook has been found among healthcare professionals including dental students. The improper content may be shared to the public, negatively impacting their professions. This study explored account privacy and professionalism on Facebook usage in conjunction with evaluating whether there were correlations among presence of clinical experience, account privacy, and professionalism.

Materials and Methods:

This study retrospectively explored professionalism in the use of Facebook among Mahidol dental undergraduates in the academic year 2019. The students who had identifiable Facebook and accepted a friend request were included into this study. The content on both “About” and “Wall” sections was examined and analyzed using descriptive statistics and χ² test.

Results:

Facebook profiles of 522 students were identified. There were 382 (73.18%) students who accepted the friend requests, revealing account privacy: 32 (8.38%) private, 200 (52.36%) limited, and 150 (39.27%) public profiles. Clearly unprofessional content was mostly relevant to sharing information of patients (15.97%), followed by parody content of patients (8.9%). Questionably unprofessional misconducts included political discriminations (14.66%), profanity (3.14%), and alcohol consumption (2.88%). Professionalism was found to be significantly correlated with privacy (p<0.001) and clinical experience (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

Unprofessionalism tended to be higher in clinical years, so professionalism should be emphasized constantly throughout the dental program, especially before starting clinical practice. Privacy concerns should also be suggested for students at the beginning of the program.

The Trend of Analytical Approaches in Dental Research

Objectives:

The aims of this article are to examine statistical approaches employed in international dental articles published in 2018 and 2019, as well as to examine relationships among analytical approaches, journal rankings, and types of research.

Materials and Methods:

International dental journals published in 2018 and 2019 were selected from the four quartiles (Q1–Q4) of journal rankings using a stratified random sampling. All original articles in a randomly sampled issue of each selected journal were reviewed to explore employed statistical approaches and to examine relationships among analytical approaches, journal rankings, and types of research.

Results:

One hundred and twenty-eight English-written international journals listed according to SCImago Journal Rank were selected, consisting 969 original articles. Significant differences in the use of statistics were found among the four quartiles and between types of research. The articles in Q1 tended to use more advanced analysis but lower descriptive analytics than other quartiles. The narrative approach was highly used in laboratory-based articles (18.66%), whereas clinical research was likely to use more descriptive (92.32%) and advanced analyses (26.30%). The data also found no remarkable differences in the patterns of the three most common statistical use among the four quartiles.

Conclusion:

This research revealed statistical use in international dental journals, which will enable educators to consider statistical content to be included in dental curricula, either for undergraduate or for postgraduate programs.

Self-perceived Needs for Orthodontic Retreatment among Dental Students: A Qualitative Study

Aims

The aims of this research were to explore perceptions of Mahidol dental students toward orthodontic retreatment and to examine whether there were any influential factors in a dental school toward their decision to receive the retreatment.

Materials and Methods

Mahidol dental undergraduates who were requesting orthodontic retreatment were recruited into this research. A semi-structure interview with a topic guide was conducted to collect in-depth information. All responses were recorded using a digital voice recorder and transcribed using a verbatim transcription technique. The data were then analyzed using a framework analysis.

Results

The common reasons for requesting orthodontic retreatment among dental students were self-perceived esthetic and functional concerns. Knowledge and experiences of dental students could raise awareness of dental problems, so they were likely to detect even a small defect of their teeth. The students also worried if their dental problems were presented to patients or other dental students. In addition, although they were requesting for orthodontic retreatment, they felt quite worried with the complications they had learned from the dental program. The students also reported that these concerns could affect their psychological well-being.

Conclusion

Dental knowledge and experiences as well as surrounding people such as their peers and patients in a dental school seemed to have impact on awareness of dental problems and a decision to receive orthodontic retreatment.

A rapid review of serious games: From healthcare education to dental education

INTRODUCTION

Games involving technology have the potential to enhance hand-eye coordination and decision-making skills. As a result, game characteristics have been applied to education and training, where they are known as serious games. There is an increase in the volume of literature on serious games in healthcare education; however, evidence on their impact is still ambiguous.

AIMS

The aims of this study were (i) to identify high-quality evidence (systematic reviews or meta-analyses) regarding impacts of serious games on healthcare education; and (ii) to explore evidence regarding impacts of serious games in dental education.

METHODS

A rapid review of the literature was undertaken to synthesise available evidence and examine serious games in healthcare education (Stage 1) and dental education (Stage 2).

RESULTS

Nine systematic reviews were included in Stage 1, four of which were of high, three of moderate and two of low quality. For Stage 2, two randomised control trials with moderate quality were included. The findings demonstrated that serious games are potentially effective learning tools in terms of knowledge and skills improvement, although outcomes of serious games over traditional learning approaches were not consistent. In addition, serious games appeared to be more engaging and satisfying for students, which could be considered as the most important positive impact.

CONCLUSION

Serious games provide an option for healthcare and dental education but remain underutilised and researched. At best, they offer a similar experience to other methods in relation to educational outcome; however, they can provide a supplementary strategy to engage students and improve learner satisfaction.