Digital multimedia instruction enhances teaching oral and maxillofacial suturing

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Surgical Skills Training
• Medical Simulation

Background:

• Intraoral suturing is a fundamental skill for dental professionals.
• Traditional teaching methods may not fully optimize skill acquisition.
• Digital multimedia offers a novel approach to surgical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a digital multimedia instructional tool for intraoral suturing.
• To compare the effectiveness of DVD-based instruction versus written materials for teaching suturing techniques.

Main Methods:

• A DVD was created detailing instruments, materials, and techniques for intraoral suturing.
• Dental students were divided into two groups: one using written materials, the other using the DVD supplement.
• Performance was assessed using a standardized 10-criterion grading rubric on a simulated model.

Main Results:

• Students utilizing the DVD demonstrated superior performance in intraoral suturing compared to the control group.
• Objective evaluation indicated enhanced proficiency among students who engaged with the digital multimedia resource.

Conclusions:

• The developed DVD serves as an effective educational tool for teaching intraoral suturing to dental students.
• Digital multimedia instruction has the potential for widespread adoption in dental curricula to improve surgical skills.
• This approach can enhance learning outcomes and standardize the teaching of essential clinical procedures.