Educational gaming for dental students: Design and assessment of a pilot endodontic-themed escape game

The concept of escape games dedicated to dental students is a new learning experience that has not yet been extensively explored. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the impact and perceived value of an endodontic-themed escape game as assessed by fourth-year dental students.

This study was conducted at the University of Nantes, Faculty of Dental Surgery using a cross-sectional pre- and post-test research design to assess students' changes in performance. Students in the fourth year of dental surgery study (n = 18) were divided in four groups for this study. The answers to the pre-test/post-test were 50 true/false questions. Moreover, a 20-question perception survey was given to all the participants after completion of the escape game. The study data were collected in May 2019. An unpaired t test analysed the mean differences between the groups.

The results showed a statistically significant increase in post-test results (75.33% ± 10.17% of correct answers) compared to the pre-test results (67.33% ± 5.94% of correct answers) P < .05. Analysis of variance revealed that this change in score was not significantly different between the four groups. The students perceived the endodontic-themed escape game to be relevant. A one-sample t test indicated that students' mean (SD) perception 4.4 (0.7) was statistically significantly higher than the mean value of the evaluation scale P < .001. The students found this educational game to be a useful experience that helped them recall/apply knowledge whilst promoting teamwork.

Therefore, this type of game can enhance students' learning and motivation.