Live Podcasting as an Educational Intervention in Dentomaxillofacial Radiology: Controlled Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Medical Education Technology
• Radiology Education

Background:

• Health professions education increasingly uses podcasts, but synchronous, interactive formats are rare in dental curricula.
• Traditional dental education often lacks engaging, real-time digital learning tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, implement, and evaluate a synchronous, case-based live podcast (LP) for dentomaxillofacial radiology education.
• To assess the acceptability and impact of LPs on student knowledge and clinical application skills.

Main Methods:

• A controlled cohort study compared a live podcast (LP) group with a standard teaching control group (CG) in third-year dental students.
• Student acceptability was measured via a questionnaire and open-text responses 6 months post-course.
• Knowledge and clinical application were assessed using radiology and interdisciplinary tests.

Main Results:

• Students highly rated the LP format for structure, interactivity, and relevance, reporting increased motivation and engagement.
• No significant differences in radiology knowledge tests were found between the LP and CG groups.
• The LP group demonstrated superior performance in the interdisciplinary clinical application test, particularly in restorative dentistry.

Conclusions:

• Live podcasts (LP) offer a feasible, scalable, and engaging method for enhancing clinical reasoning in dental education, especially during the transition to clinical practice.
• While not impacting theoretical radiology knowledge, LPs significantly improve applied clinical skills and student motivation compared to standard lectures.