Perceptions of Indian dental students about online training on preclinical orthodontics during the COVID pandemic: A qualitative study

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine students’ perceptions about online training in preclinical orthodontics during the COVID lockdown. After obtaining ethical approval this phenomenological descriptive qualitative study was conducted for sixty minutes on two different days. It reported students’ experiences during the pandemic through focus group discussions. These were recorded on audio and video platforms. The researchers then transcribed and analyzed the recordings and codified the answers into categories to determine the emerging topics until a saturation point was reached. The core emerging themes were (1) Angst and apprehensions (2) Perception about the learning experience (3) Challenges encountered. Even though online learning has been a useful tool for delivering didactic (theoretical) concepts, we attempted to teach preclinical orthodontics to students of final year BDS. Students reported being skeptical and worried at first, but they soon were able to overcome the initial apprehensions and perform well.