Assessing the Efficacy of Digital Pedagogy in Teaching Periodontal Suturing: A Pre/Post Test Evaluation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of video-based instruction on dental students' self-confidence and objective suturing performance compared with traditional teaching alone.

A pre-test-post-test experimental study was conducted among 40 fourth-year dental students, randomly assigned to an intervention group (video-assisted learning) or a control group (traditional instruction only). Baseline data were collected using a validated 12-item pre-test questionnaire assessing perceived knowledge, confidence, and practice of suturing. All students attended an introductory lecture on simple interrupted and figure-of-eight suturing techniques. The intervention group received two expert-recorded instructional videos over 2 weeks. Suturing performance was evaluated using a standardized preclinical assessment scored by two calibrated examiners (ICC ≥ 0.8). Postintervention perceptions were measured using a 7-item feedback questionnaire. Data were analyzed using paired and unpaired t-tests with significance set at p ≤ 0.05.

Participants demonstrated low baseline clinical exposure to suturing (63.4% reported no prior practice). Video-assisted learning significantly improved students' confidence, engagement, perceived relevance, and satisfaction (p < 0.001). The intervention group showed significantly higher suturing performance scores than the control group in self, peer, and faculty assessments for both techniques (p < 0.001). Gender-based analysis revealed significant improvement among males in faculty-assessed simple sutures (p < 0.05), while females showed significant gains in self and peer assessments (p < 0.05).

Digital pedagogy, particularly video-based instruction, effectively enhances periodontal suturing skills and student confidence and should be integrated into preclinical dental training.