Comparison of Live-Video and Video Demonstration Methods in Clinical Orthodontics Education

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of live-video and video demonstration methods in training dental students in orthodontic emergency applications. A total of 105 fifth-year dental students at a dental school in Turkey participated in the study in 2018. A pretest was given to the students to evaluate their level of knowledge about band cementing and re-bonding of brackets. Subsequently, two clinical applications were demonstrated with either live-video or video demonstration. During the live-video demonstration, the lecturer gave information about the steps of the procedure while performing the clinical application on the patient using a camera attached to the loupes. The students were able to see the process on the screens. During the video demonstration, previously recorded videos of those clinical applications were shown, and information was given to students in a classroom. On the next day, posttests were given to the students. The posttest also asked students to give their opinions about both methods. The results showed that the mean posttest scores on the video demonstration were significantly higher than on the live-video demonstration. However, no significant difference between the demonstration methods was found with regard to increase of scores from pre- to posttest. Most students preferred use of the two demonstrations together for education in the clinical orthodontics lecture. This study found that the two demonstration methods had comparable effects on increasing students' level of knowledge. However, from the students' perspective, the two should be used together to achieve the highest effect.