Diverse and participative learning methodologies: a remedial teaching intervention for low marks dental students in Chile. (49/81)

The purpose of this educational intervention was to diagnose the learning style of a group of low marks (i.e., grades) dental students in Chile and improve their academic achievement by means of remedial teaching. The intervention group was composed of ten students in endodontics and eleven in pedodontics with low marks. These two groups were mutually exclusive. The Kolb test of learning styles was applied to the low mark students group and to the rest of the class (n=72). Diverse methodologies were applied to the low marks students, such as seminars, case-based learning and problem-based learning, directed study, plenary discussions and debate, integration and questions, and web-based learning in an effort to cover all learning styles. Students' perceptions of the educational intervention were assessed by means of a questionnaire. The learning styles of the low marks group were mainly divergent (52.4 percent) and convergent (19 percent). Accommodators and assimilators were 14.3 percent each. The rest of the class showed a very distinct frequencies distribution: divergent 18 percent, convergent 20 percent, accommodators 28 percent, and assimilators 34 percent. After the educational intervention, the mean of the scores obtained by the intervention group in formal evaluations was higher than the average scores obtained before the intervention for both courses. Students' perceptions of the activities were that they were effective for their learning process (76 percent) and that the teaching methodologies were useful mainly to clarify concepts and contents from both courses (82 percent). We can conclude that the use of diverse and participative teaching methodologies in a remedial teaching intervention, to cover all the different learning styles of the students, contributes to improve their marks in formal evaluations.  (+info)

Intraoral cameras as a computer-aided diagnosis tool for root canal orifices. (50/81)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic advantage of a new software tool in combination with an intraoral camera for automatic detection of root canal orifices in life videos via the access cavity of extracted human molars. The performance of a predoctoral dental student analyzing the images of the camera (without automatic detection) was compared with that of an experienced observer. Sensitivity and confidence intervals were provided and compared with histological slices of 200 teeth used for evaluation. The software's sensitivity for detection of root canal orifices was 0.957 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.936 to 0.972). The sensitivity for the observer was 0.906 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.877 to 0.929) compared to 0.847 (95 percent confidence interval: 0.813 to 0.877) achieved by the predoctoral student. The tested software reaches a high sensitivity for automatic real-time detection of root canal orifices with intraoral cameras in direct comparison to histological images. The system might be a useful help for both pre-and postdoctoral students as an aid for the detection of second mesiobuccal root canal orifices.  (+info)

Value of cone beam CT in detection of dental root fractures. (51/81)

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Why intravenous moderate sedation should be taught in graduate endodontic programs. (52/81)

The purpose of this opinion article is to present reasons why intravenous moderate sedation should be taught in graduate endodontic programs. Access to oral health care is an area of much interest and concern, but some patients are unable to get endodontic care because they have special needs. Special needs can refer to patients who fear dentistry itself and other aspects of dental treatment. A variety of phobias and medical, developmental, and physical conditions can make it difficult for some patients to tolerate the endodontic care they need and want. Moderate sedation can help many of these patients. Endodontists in general are not trained to provide intravenous moderate sedation. By incorporating intravenous moderate sedation into endodontic practice, many of these patients can be treated. The first step in achieving this goal is to add intravenous moderate sedation training to graduate endodontic programs. The long-term effect will be to make specialty endodontic care available to more people.  (+info)

Learning curves: what do dental students learn from repeated practice of clinical procedures? (53/81)

It is generally accepted that repetition of procedures is necessary to develop clinical skill in dentistry. Although there is a rich empirical research tradition in medicine establishing competency levels for new procedures, investigations of the shape of learning curves for clinical techniques are rare in dental education. Data were reviewed from three classes (n=465) of students at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in seventeen clinical skills in five departments for which test case (independent performance) data were available. It was hypothesized that a learning curve would be observed with gradually rising scores as a function of amount of repeated test case work and general practice experience. Other factors, such as faculty ratings and clinical GPA, could be expected to modify this curve. No evidence was found that test case performance was affected by number of previous test cases, number of practice (ungraded) procedures previously completed, faculty ratings of technical skill in the discipline by quarter, faculty ratings of patient management and of clinical judgment competencies, overall clinical GPA, and performance on initial licensure examinations. The absence of a pattern showing that amount of prior experience improves clinical performance raises questions about the practice of setting "requirements" for graduation and challenges dental educators to better explain the presumed relationship between practice and performance and the validity of clinical evaluation of performance based exclusively on the objective technical quality of work samples. The literature on learning curves and on competency-based education offer alternative insights into what students are actually learning but schools are failing to measure in the clinical experience.  (+info)

Impact of a prior medical degree on students' dental school performance in Innsbruck, Austria. (54/81)

The purpose of this study was to identify the performance differences between two groups of Austrian dental students (one with a prior medical degree and one without a medical degree) during their dental school training and final dental licensure examination. A specific aim was to determine if having a medical degree is a predictive factor for dental students' scores on the Austrian Dental Admission Test (Austrian DAT), performance in the dental clinic, and scores on final exam. The study consisted of a retrospective analysis of 122 students (thirty-nine with a medical degree and eighty-three without a medical degree) who were enrolled in the Dental Clinic at Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria, between 2001 and 2006. Three performance categories were considered: Austrian DAT results, clinical performance after the first clinical year in dental school, and performance on the final dental licensure examination. Information on students' age, gender, and previous medical degree was collected from official records. Analyses with student's t-test and Pearson's chi-square test revealed that the students with a medical degree had significantly higher Austrian DAT total test scores, grade point averages after the first clinical year, and scores on the final exam. Additionally, those students had significantly better performance on the final exam in prosthodontics and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The linear regression analysis showed that a medical degree had an independent effect on average scores on the final exam, age, and Austrian DAT test scores, while gender showed no statistically significant effect. Overall, the study found that dental students with a prior medical degree had significantly higher Austrian DAT total test scores and performed significantly better in the first clinical year and on the final exam than those without a prior medical degree.  (+info)

Analysis of kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic patterns during root canal preparation with rotary and manual instruments. (55/81)

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Digital video image processing from dental operating microscope in endodontic treatment. (56/81)

Recently, optical microscopes have been used in endodontic treatment, as they offer advantages in terms of magnification, illumination, and documentation. Documentation is particularly important in presenting images to patients, and can take the form of both still images and motion video. Although high-quality still images can be obtained using a 35-mm film or CCD camera, the quality of still images produced by a video camera is significantly lower. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential of RegiStax in obtaining high-quality still images from a continuous video stream from an optical microscope. Video was captured continuously and sections with the highest luminosity chosen for frame alignment and stacking using the RegiStax program. The resulting stacked images were subjected to wavelet transformation. The results indicate that high-quality images with a large depth of field could be obtained using this method.  (+info)