Teaching Radiographic Caries Detection and Treatment Planning: A Seminar Using an Audience Response System

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Medical Education
• Radiology

Background:

• Effective radiographic caries detection and treatment planning are crucial skills for dental professionals.
• Traditional teaching methods may not fully engage students or address individual learning needs in complex diagnostic tasks.
• Audience response systems (ARS) offer potential for interactive and anonymous feedback in educational settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and evaluate a seminar model for teaching radiographic caries detection and treatment planning.
• To assess the variability in caries registrations among dental and dental hygiene students.
• To gauge student attitudes towards the use of an audience response system (ARS) in the learning process.

Main Methods:

• A two-module seminar incorporating an ARS for interactive learning and patient case studies.
• Students performed digital scoring of caries on bitewing radiographs, with repeated scorings using ARS for immediate feedback.
• An observational study analyzed 1,624 caries registrations from 150 students; a questionnaire assessed 63 students' attitudes towards ARS.

Main Results:

• Variability in caries registrations was observed, particularly on restored or difficult-to-assess tooth surfaces.
• A significant majority of students (94%) responded positively to the use of ARS in the seminar.
• No significant difference in satisfaction with the ARS module was found between dental and dental hygiene students.

Conclusions:

• The ARS-based seminar model provides an engaging and interactive learning environment for radiographic caries detection.
• While variability exists in caries detection, the seminar equips students with basic skills in detection and treatment planning.
• The ARS positively impacts student learning by ensuring anonymity and promoting active participation.