Effectiveness of Different Teaching Methods to Enhance Dental Students' Knowledge and Restorative Cement Manipulation Skills

Abstract

Introduction:The present study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of flipped learning and smart class compared to the traditional teaching method in two arenas of learning: acquisition of theoretical knowledge and practical skill in manipulating dental cement. Methods:60 first-year undergraduate dental students were divided into three study groups and exposed to three teaching methods namely Traditional Teaching (TT), Smart Class (SC), and Flipped Learning (FL) of three different dental restorative cement. Each teaching method was followed by an evaluation of the ‘knowledge assessment score’, a live demonstration of the cement manipulation, and the participants ‘skill assessment score’. The scores obtained were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA test for statistical significance. Results: The ‘knowledge assessment score’ was significantly high in the FL group (p-value - 0.001), however, there was no significant difference between SC and TT groups (p-value - 1.0). The ‘skill assessment score’ in FL and SC groups was significantly higher (p-value 0.001), yet there was no significant difference between FL and SC groups (p-value 0.798). Discussion: Of the three teaching methods assessed, flipped learning proved to be more effective in the knowledge acquired and clinical competence demonstrated when compared to other techniques in dental education.