Post-impact evaluation of an e-learning cross-infection control CD-ROM provided to all general dental practitioners in England

Evaluation of a 3‐D Interactive Tooth Atlas by Dental Students in Dental Anatomy and Endodontics Courses

“…These twenty‐four articles in the dental education literature either proposed development and assessment guidelines/techniques, curricular applications, and best practice heuristics for this type of educational material or reported the results of evaluations of the effectiveness of these educational materials by one or more of the following: 1) comparison of pre‐ to post‐training learning gains among students who used DVDs and CDs alone or in combination with other CAL techniques, sometimes in comparison to passive controls (no training) or active controls (students who learned by other methods, usually lectures); 2) appraisal of students’ perceptions of the value and usability of the educational materials; 3) measurement of changes in students’ attitudes about a particular health care issue or their confidence concerning a specified topic or skill; and 4) assessment of students’ satisfaction with the DVD‐based learning experience and/or their preference for studying by DVD versus other methods. Dental applications described in these articles included educational modules on implantology, 8 dental care for special needs patients, 9 oral health care for children with Down Syndrome, 10 cross‐infection control, 11 dental care for geriatric patients, 12 tobacco cessation, 13 anatomy, 14 , 15 therapy for partially edentulous patients, 16 radiology, 17 , 18 patient assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning in periodontics and endodontics, 19 – 21 orthodontic appliances, 22 case‐builder templates for assessment and treatment planning simulations, 23 , 24 blended learning modules combining CDs or DVDs with other learning materials in several disciplines, 25 – 27 and orthodontics 28 – 31 . Four studies involving combinations of CAL and DVD‐based materials in orthodontics instruction were described in a review article by Rosenberg et al 32 Johnson and Schleyer 33 , 34 and Eaton et al 35 reviewed guidelines and methods for developing, evaluating, and effectively using educational software including interactive DVDs.…”

Participation in continuing professional development by dental practitioners in Victoria, Australia in 2007

“…Effectiveness of CPD has been described in the literature in two ways: the practitioner gaining knowledge and skill, and an improvement in practice management or treatment provided by practitioner and to patients respectively. A number of studies have shown CPD to be effective (4,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12), with several authors reporting that up to 70% of the respondents felt that they had changed their clinical practice after attending a CE course (9,13). However, these were self-reported changes to clinical practice, and there was no independent verification of actual changes, or whether these changes resulted in benefits to the dentist or patient.…”

The Use of Independent, Interactive Media for Education in Dental Morphology

“…Many believe that the addition of innovative online courses into dental curricula will provide asynchronous material and actively engage students. Current examples of dental e‐curricula include modules on dental terminology, 22 implantology, 23 oral manifestations of systemic illnesses, 24 geriatric dental care, 25 tobacco cessation, 26 diagnosis and treatment planning, 27 , 28 clinical simulations depicting many disciplines, 29 – 40 orthodontics, 41 – 46 anatomy, 47 , 48 dental morphology, 49 – 51 pharmacology, 52 radiology, 53 , 54 histology, 55 and distance education programs 56 , 57 . Tan et al 53 described an e‐learning course that totally replaced a face‐to‐face radiological sciences course and reported no compromise in learning outcomes.…”