Teaching clinically relevant dental anatomy in the dental curriculum: description and assessment of an innovative module.
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The primary objective of the preclinical dental anatomy course in the predoctoral dental curriculum is to introduce students to cognitive and psychomotor skills related to the morphology and spatial and functional relationships of human dentition. Traditionally, didactic content for the subject is found in textbooks and course manuals and summarized by the faculty in lectures to the entire class. Psychomotor skills associated with recognition and reproduction of tooth morphology are traditionally learned by examining preserved tooth specimens and their cross-sections, combined with producing two-dimensional line drawings and carving teeth from wax blocks. These activities have little direct clinical application. In most cases, students are passive in the learning process, and assessment of student performance is unilateral and subjective. A recently revised dental anatomy module at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry integrates independent class preparation with active small-group discussion and patient scenario-based wax-up exercises to replace missing tooth structure on manikin teeth. The goal of the revision is to shift emphasis away from decontextualized technical learning toward more active and clinically applicable learning that improves conceptual understanding while contributing to early acquisition of psychomotor skills. This article describes the rationale, components, and advantages of the revised module and presents a pre-post comparison of student learning outcomes for three class cohorts (N=203). (+info)
Development and evaluation of an interactive dental video game to teach dentin bonding.
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Written and clinical tests compared the change in clinical knowledge and practical clinical skill of first-year dental students watching a clinical video recording of the three-step etch-and-rinse resin bonding system to those using an interactive dental video game teaching the same procedure. The research design was a randomized controlled trial with eighty first-year dental students enrolled in the preclinical operative dentistry course. Students' change in knowledge was measured through written examination using a pre-test and a post-test, as well as clinical tests in the form of a benchtop shear bond strength test. There was no statistically significant difference between teaching methods in regards to change in either knowledge or clinical skills, with one minor exception relating to the wetness of dentin following etching. Students expressed their preference for an interactive self-paced method of teaching. (+info)
Iatrogenic damage to the mandibular nerves as assessed by the masseter inhibitory reflex.
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Computer-assisted dental simulation as a predictor of preclinical operative dentistry performance.
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We tested whether a computerized dental simulator (CDS) pre-test could predict preclinical operative dentistry examination scores. Thirty-eight first-year students completed cavity preparations during a single four-hour CDS pre-test prior to the operative dentistry course and during subsequent practical examinations. Masked, calibrated faculty members scored the preparations in both settings. Pass rates for the CDS pre-test, Exam 1, and Exam 2 were 50 percent, 66 percent, and 86 percent, respectively. Students who passed the CDS pre-test were more likely to pass Exam 1 (95 percent vs. 37 percent, p=0.0004) but not Exam 2 (89 percent vs. 83 percent, p=0.66) and had better mean scores on Exam 1 (73.4 vs. 68.3, p<0.0001), but not Exam 2 (76.2 vs. 74.7, p=0.35). As a diagnostic, success on the CDS pre-test predicted success on Exam 1 with 72 percent sensitivity and 92 percent specificity (positive predictive value 95 percent, negative predictive value 63 percent). As a diagnostic for Exam 2 performance, the CDS pre-test was a weaker predictor and not statistically significant. These findings suggest that a pre-course CDS test may help to identify students in need of early instructional intervention. Future studies are warranted to further define and implement the use of simulation technology in the assessment of students' psychomotor learning potential. (+info)
Learn-a-prep II as a predictor of psychomotor performance in a restorative dentistry course.
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This investigation assessed whether early student performance with a dental handpiece on a didactic training aid known as the Learn-A-Prep II (LAP II) was predictive of performance on subsequent practical examinations in a preclinical restorative dentistry course. Eighty-one first-year students were given initial handpiece training and formative feedback using the LAP II and were then instructed to independently prepare four LAP II patterns within the pattern lines and at a specified depth. Performance on the LAP II was compared with the summative assessment on two subsequent amalgam preparation practical examinations given at the middle (Class II) and end (Complex) of the course. Pattern preparation within the lines did not significantly improve the likelihood of receiving an A or B on the Class II practical (p=0.53) or on the Complex practical (p=0.37). Students who had an acceptable depth on the LAP II were 3.73 times more likely to receive an A or B on the Class II practical than those students who did not have acceptable depth (p=0.03). Performance at an acceptable depth did not significantly improve the likelihood of receiving an A or B on the Complex practical (p=0.15). The LAP II may aid in identification of students who would benefit from early intervention with additional focused instruction. (+info)
E-learning used in a training course on atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) for Brazilian dentists.
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The purpose of this study was to assess the benefits of using e-learning resources in a dental training course on Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART). This e-course was given in a DVD format, which presented the ART technique and philosophy. The participants were twenty-four dentists from the Brazilian public health system. Prior to receiving the DVD, the dentists answered a questionnaire regarding their personal data, previous knowledge about ART, and general interest in training courses. The dentists also participated in an assessment process consisting of a test applied before and after the course. A single researcher corrected the tests, and intraexaminer reproducibility was calculated (kappa=0.89). Paired t-tests were carried out to compare the means between the assessments, showing a significant improvement in the performance of the subjects on the test taken after the course (p<0.05). A linear regression model was used with the difference between the means as the outcome. A greater improvement on the test results was observed among female dentists (p=0.034), dentists working for a shorter period of time in the public health system (p=0.042), and dentists who used the ART technique only for urgent and/or temporary treatment (p=0.010). In conclusion, e-learning has the potential of improving the knowledge that dentists working in the public health system have about ART, especially those with less clinical experience and less knowledge about the subject. (+info)
Faculty impressions of dental students' performance with and without virtual reality simulation.
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This study compared faculty perceptions and expectations of dental students' abilities using virtual reality simulation (VRS) to those who did not use virtual reality simulation (non-VRS) in an operative dentistry preclinical course. A sixteen-item survey with a ten-point rating scale and three open-ended questions asked about students' abilities in ergonomics, confidence level, performance, preparation, and self-assessment. The surveys were administered three times to a small group of preclinical faculty members. First, faculty members (n=12, 92 percent response rate) gave their perceptions of non-VRS students' abilities at the end of their traditional course. Secondly, faculty members (n=13, 100 percent response rate) gave their expectations of the next incoming class's abilities (VRS students) prior to the start of the course with traditional and VRS components. Finally, faculty members (n=13, 100 percent response rate) gave their perceptions of VRS students' abilities after completion of the course. A Tukey's test for multiple comparisons measured significance among survey items. Faculty perceptions of VRS students' abilities were higher than for non-VRS students for most abilities examined. However, the faculty members' expectations of VRS training were higher than their perceptions of the students' abilities after VRS training for most abilities examined. Since ergonomic development and technical performance were positively impacted by VRS training, these results support the use of VRS in a preclinical dental curriculum. (+info)
Effectiveness of a five-step method for teaching clinical skills to students in a dental college in India.
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This study conducted at the PDM Dental College and Research Institute, Haryana, India, had the purpose of developing a teaching method based upon a five-step method for teaching clinical skills to students proposed by the American College of Surgeons. This five-step teaching method was used to place fissure sealants as an initial procedure by dental students in clinics. The sealant retention was used as an objective evaluation of the skill learnt by the students. The sealant retention was 92 percent at six- and twelve-month evaluations and 90 percent at the eighteen-month evaluation. These results indicate that simple methods can be devised for teaching clinical skills and achieve high success rates in clinical procedures requiring multiple steps. (+info)