Perception of the Contribution of Video Demonstrations in Dental Practical Training

Abstract

Objectives: Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become integral part of our our students’ daily lives. Their use in practical teaching facilitates the learning process. With the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstration videos were integrated into the pre-clinical practical activities. This work aims to evaluate the students’ appreciation of the demonstration videos made for the pre-clinical practical activities (PPA) of the removable partial denture for the students of the 5th semester.Methods: The Removable Prosthodontics Department professors produced 10-minute didactic video recordings describing the themes of the pre-clinical practice activities. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted during the 2021–2022 academic year to assess students’ perceptions of the effectiveness and relevance of these videos. Data were collected using an anonymous questionnaire given to student volunteers at the end of the third year (June 2022).Results: The majority of students favorably appreciated the role of videos in saving time during the session, reducing stress, and better understanding of practical gestures, as well as the average length of videos, the quality of videos in terms of sound, magnification, and the usefulness of text annotations.Conclusion: Videos allow students to preview the practical gestures severaltimes before the PPA session to better see the demonstration with sufficient magnification and to reduce stress. Both techniques have proven to be effective, and their combination will bring better satisfaction to the students.