Effects of an interactive simulation material for clinical dentistry on knowledge acquisition

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of interactive simulation materials with decision making in knowledge acquisition and anxiety reduction. Dental students in their fourth year at Tokyo Medical and Dental University were randomly divided into Groups I and D. Participants read a scenario, learned with interactive-type (Group I) or display-type (Group D) learning materials about pulpectomy, and took the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-JYZ, a quiz for measuring learning effects, and a questionnaire for evaluation of the material. Except for requesting decision making in the interactive-type material, the contents of both materials were the same. The results were compared using the unpaired Student's t-test, Fisher's exact test, and the two-way repeated measures ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test. The mean quiz score was significantly higher in Group I than in Group D (I: 75.4±1.4, D: 60.6±2.7, p<0.001). There was no significant correlation between the groups and the responses except for one question about operability (p<0.05). A significant main effect on state anxiety was found between examination points (p<0.001), and state anxiety significantly increased after reading the scenario (p<0.001) and reduced after learning (p<0.001). Interactive simulation materials with decision making might be effective in knowledge acquisition.