Acting It Out: A Classroom Activity to Improve Knowledge and Visualisation of Space Management Principles in...

The preclinical dental curriculum has a heavy emphasis on the care of adults and permanent dentition. Students have less exposure to the care of the child and topics pertaining to primary and transitional dentition as well as developing occlusions. Therefore, students often struggle to understand the impact of premature loss of primary teeth, the concepts of space management, and clinical applications of this knowledge. To address this challenge, an active learning experience was developed and integrated into the D2 Paediatric Dentistry lecture series (December 2023).

Students used dental models made from foam board to physically act out scenarios where different primary teeth were prematurely lost and simulated the effect the missing tooth had on the occlusion, with and without space management. The activity also allowed selection of the appropriate space maintenance appliances. Pre- and post-tests were used to understand learning gains and students' experiences.

Data confirmed that most students (55/64) had no or limited exposure to space management concepts prior to the module. Additionally, students' knowledge and confidence increased as a function of the training (the activity and lecture). The majority of students indicated that the active demonstration was helpful (m = 3.47/4) and engaging (m = 3.41/4); they also confirmed that it helped visualise space management processes (m = 3.43/4).

Overall, these data suggest that this easy-to-implement activity is a helpful tool for teaching space management in paediatric dentistry modules and could be adapted to aid students in visualising other dental processes or concepts in the health sciences.