Other
Lisa Lian, DMD (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
New York University, New York, NY
New York University College of Dentistry
Green Brook, New Jersey, United States
Courtney Chinn, DDS
New York University College of Dentistry
New York, New York, United States
Divya Khera, DDS
Assistant Clinical Professor
New York University Dentistry, NY, NY
New York, New York, United States
Divya Khera, DDS
Assistant Clinical Professor
New York University Dentistry, NY, NY
New York, New York, United States
Courtney Chinn, DDS
New York University College of Dentistry
New York, New York, United States
Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual pediatric diagnosis and treatment planning exercises amongst dental students in their pediatric clinical course during remote versus traditional instruction.
Methods: This retrospective study collected data from third and fourth year dental students who completed four diagnosis and treatment planning surveys from March 2020 to March 2021. Data from 848 surveys, representative of 120 D3s and 92 D4 students, was scored. Independent T-tests were utilized to analyze students' performance on various levels – comparisons of progression over time, school year, and type of learning were performed.
Results: Students who experienced a “traditional” learning format demonstrated a statistically significant difference in total domain score (Mean Difference (MD): +1.106, P < .001), occlusion (MD:+0.448; P < .001), caries identification and restorative treatment (MD: +0.323; P=.003), and pulpal diagnosis and treatment (+.215; P=.05) when compared to students who experienced “remote” instruction.
Conclusion: Students who learned in the traditional learning setting that involved hands-on clinical patient care performed either better or equal to students that were in the purely remote learning environment. Remote learning is an adequate learning tool and can be a helpful way to learning fundamentals. However, pure remote instruction cannot replace the learned in-patient experience.