ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the utility of simulation videos with embedded quiz items compared and in combination with live hands-on demonstrations of dental procedures. METHODS: Thirty-three videos with embedded items were developed to help students understand the procedures they had to practice in the simulation laboratory. Videos were uploaded to the university LMS platform for students to watch and complete the embedded items as many times as they liked. All 76 students from 2021 and 73 from 2022 Integrated Dentistry III courses were invited to participate in the study. Practical (OSCE) and theoretical (MCQ) exam grades of the 2021 academic year, when interactive videos replaced live demonstrations, were collected and compared to those of the previous years (2017-2020) when only live demonstrations were performed, as were those from the 2022 academic year, when videos were complemented with hands-on live demonstrations. At the end of each year, a perception questionnaire was voluntarily completed by the students. RESULTS: Assessment grades were significantly higher in the 2021 academic year when interactive videos were incorporated versus the 2017-2020 period when only live demonstrations were performed. However, the combination of interactive videos with live demonstrations performed during 2022 showed the highest exam grades. Seventy-nine percent of students answered the questionnaire, highly valued the utility of the interactive videos and liked the embedded items. Overall, they stated that they learned from the videos. CONCLUSIONS: Interactive videos of preclinical procedures with embedded items combined with live demonstrations can significantly enhance students' learning and are valued by students.
ABSTRACT
SUMMARY: The dentogingival junction (DGJ) is an adaptation of the oral mucosa composed of epithelial and connective tissues intimately related with the mineralised tissues of the tooth. The histological evidence available is mainly based on studies in animals, separate evaluations of hard and soft tissues, and studies using conventional histological techniques that eliminate the enamel from preparations. The aim of this study was to carry out a review of the existing evidence on histological techniques available for study of the tooth and periodontium in conjunction in humans. A scoping review was carried out of the available literature referring to study of the tooth and the periodontium in conjunction in humans, in the Web of Science (WoS), EMBASE, Scopus and SciELO databases, using the terms "Histological Techniques"[Mesh]) and "Epithelial Attachment"[Mesh]. One hundred and fifty-nine articles were found, of which 54 were selected for full- text reading. Ten were finally included in the qualitative synthesis, and we applied the Anatomical Quality Assurance (AQUA) checklist for analysis the methodological quality of the selected articles. The results showed that the only articles with a low risk of bias in all five domains according to the AQUA criteria corresponded to Silva et al. (2011) and Agustín-Panadero et al. (2020). Finally, we conclude that the quality of the histological sections to observe tissues that simultaneously contain the tooth and the periodontium, is conditioned by the selected technique and by the care required in certain specific tasks during the histological processing of the samples.
La unión dentogingival (DGJ) es una adaptación de la mucosa oral compuesta por tejidos epitelial y conectivo íntimamente relacionados con los tejidos mineralizados del diente. La evidencia histológica disponible se basa principalmente en estudios en animales, evaluaciones separadas de tejidos duros y blandos y estudios utilizando técnicas histológicas convencionales que eliminan el esmalte de las preparaciones. El objetivo de este estudio fue realizar una revisión de la evidencia existente sobre las técnicas histológicas disponibles para el estudio del diente y el periodonto en conjunto en humanos. Se realizó un scoping review de la literatura disponible referente al estudio del diente y el periodonto en conjunto en humanos, en las bases de datos Web of Science (WoS), EMBASE, Scopus y SciELO, utilizando los términos "Histological Techniques"[Mesh]) y "Epithelial Attachment"[Mesh]. Se encontraron 159 artículos, de los cuales 54 fueron seleccionados para lectura de texto completo. Diez fueron finalmente incluidos en la síntesis cualitativa, y se aplicó la lista de verificación Anatómica Quality Assurance (AQUA) para el análisis de la calidad metodológica de los artículos seleccionados. Los resultados mostraron que los únicos artículos con bajo riesgo de sesgo en los cinco dominios según los criterios AQUA correspondían a Silva et al. (2011) y Agustín-Panadero et al. (2020). Finalmente, concluimos que la calidad de los cortes histológicos para observar los tejidos que contienen simultáneamente el diente y el periodonto, está condicionada por la técnica seleccionada y por el cuidado requerido en ciertas tareas específicas durante el procesamiento histológico de las muestras.
Subject(s)
Humans , Tooth/anatomy & histology , Histological Techniques , Epithelial Attachment/anatomy & histology , Checklist , Gingiva/anatomy & histology , Periodontium/anatomy & histologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an online module in promoting study strategies based on neuroscience applied to education for first-year dental students at the University of the Andes in Santiago, Chile. METHODS: Four weeks after the start of the 2018 first academic semester, all 82 first-year dental students (72% females, 28% males, average 19.0 years old) were invited to voluntarily and anonymously complete the self-reported Study Strategies Questionnaire (SSQ) in a session of an Introduction to Dentistry course, which served as a baseline. Subsequently, the session included an interactive workshop on learning how to learn so that students could analyse how the human brain learns and relate this information to mental tools to foster learning. Furthermore, during the semester, students were sent information via email to reinforce the content they were exposed to during the learning how to learn activity so that they could use the toolbox of study techniques to improve their learning in all subjects. At the end of the semester, students were invited to voluntarily and anonymously complete a second SSQ to assess the effects of the study intervention. Exam marks from the previous (2017) and studied year (2018), as well as both SSQ results, were compared and analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). RESULTS: A total of 75 and 71 students answered the SSQ before and after the intervention, respectively. The mean exam mark from 2017 was 63.7% (SD = 8.8), whilst in 2018, it was 69.6% (SD = 5.0) (p < .044); the effect size of the intervention was 0.75. The most significant changes observed after the intervention were reductions in the number of students who studied whilst checking messages on their smartphones (p = .001), studied by highlighting and/or underlining in their notes or textbooks (p ≤ .0001) and studied the day before an examination (p ≥ .0001). On the contrary, there were significant increases in the number of students who studied without access to social networks (p = .046), wrote notes or words in the margins of texts (p = .001), practised self-testing (p = .001) and studied the day before an examination (p ≤ .0001). CONCLUSIONS: An online module to promote evidence-based study strategies in first-year dental students can have an impact on increasing students' marks as well as on some practices that can improve their academic achievements and learning.
