Effectiveness of E-learning on clinical application of dental injection anatomy via simulation manikins

PURPOSE

E-learning is frequently integrated into dental education, yet little is known on the effectiveness of e-learning in both instilling foundational knowledge and facilitating translation of newly acquired knowledge and skill into clinical application. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of learning modality on acquisition of knowledge and translation to clinical skill using objective feedback from oral anesthesia manikins and subjects' self-reported confidence scores.

METHODS

This mixed-method study involved first year dental students (n = 52) who volunteered to participate in a learning intervention, simulation exercise, and survey in 2022. Students were randomly assigned to lecture (n = 26) or e-learning (n = 26) cohorts and then participated in the intervention, postintervention assessment, and a simulation to evaluate correct approaches for each dental block and attempts to success.

RESULTS

All subjects scored significantly higher on post-intervention assessment compared to pre-intervention assessment (8.2 vs. 5.9; p < 0.0001) with no significant differences between intervention groups when comparing preintervention and postintervention scores. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between the two cohorts when comparing abilities to correctly approach each dental block or attempts to success. Finally, all students reported a significant increase in confidence in most categories following intervention and simulation, with no significant differences between lecture and e-learning cohorts.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest students learning via e-learning are equally capable as those learning via lecture at demonstrating newly acquired knowledge and skill in both assessments and clinical simulations. Results support incorporating supplemental e-learning and oral anesthesia manikin exercises for students learning the anatomy of dental injections.

Does the Level of Confidence Exhibited by Dental Students Predict the Outcome of Complete Denture Therapy?

Materials and Methods

Fifty-seven final-year dental students in the year 2019 and the first edentulous patient managed by them were recruited for the study. A fourteen-item questionnaire was given to the students to assess their level of confidence just before commencement of the treatment. Questionnaire for the patients was used to assess their satisfaction both with the operator and the dentures. Clinical outcome of dentures was assessed using ten criteria.

Results

The average confidence level of the students was found to be 2.17 in a 4-point scale. A two-sample test indicated that there is a significant difference in the overall level of confidence between female and male students (p value = 0.004). Moreover, a nonparametric correlation analysis revealed that there is no significant correlation between the overall level of confidence of each student and patient satisfaction regarding student performance, level of satisfaction of patients regarding dentures, and the quality of dentures as assessed by the clinicians (p value = 0.545, 0.877, and 0.801, respectively).

Conclusions

Students' level of confidence in carrying out complete denture procedures is satisfactory. Male students exhibited a better overall level of confidence than female students. However, the level of confidence exhibited by the dental students does not predict patient satisfaction or clinical outcome.