ABSTRACT
Background/purpose: Previous studies have shown that digital microscopy is an indispensable tool for teaching oral pathology laboratory course. Despite this, our institute relies solely on recommended/reference book images for oral pathology practicals, neglecting both light and digital microscopy methods. Gathering students' feedback on these methods is essential before considering digital microscopy as part of the oral pathology curriculum. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the usefulness of light and digital microscopy among second-year dental students. Materials and methods: The study was conducted from December 6 to December 7, 2023, in the Department of Oral Pathology, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences. The study involved the selection of five cases from the oral pathology course, followed by feedback on students' diagnostic skills, learning impact and acceptance rate of light and digital microscopy using an online questionnaire. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare students' responses and P-value < 0.05 was set as statistically significant. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in diagnostic scores between light microscopy and digital microscopy (P < 0.05). Statistically significant differences favoring digital microscopy were observed in various aspects, including interpreting variations, diagnosis, time efficiency, and image clarity. Conclusion: Although diagnostic scores were lower, digital microscopy was perceived as a useful method for enhancing diagnostic skills among dental students. Both light microscopy and digital microscopy are viable options for oral pathology practicals, however, digital microscopy was preferred by students due to its time efficiency and clear image quality.
ABSTRACT
In oral pathology, virtual clinical scenario illustrating dentist-patient interactions can be utilized by both students and health professionals to deliver/gain knowledge and make clinical diagnosis of oral lesions. Role play is also an educational technique which is designed to engage and motivate students in classrooms. This study aimed to compare usefulness of virtual clinical scenario and role play in learning oral pathology among second-year dental students. The students were randomly divided to one of the two groups: virtual clinical scenario group (n = 50) and role play group (n = 50). Virtual clinical scenario group was provided with virtual clinical cases of oral lesions through Google Forms whereas role play group was exposed to virtual clinical cases of oral lesions through role playing activity. Both groups underwent assessments before and after the intervention. Students' perceptions on usefulness of both techniques in terms of diagnosis, visual parameters and impact on learning were evaluated by feedback questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 27.0. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare pre-test and post-test scores. Additionally, the scores and students' responses from both groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. A P-value of < 0.05 was set as statistically significant. Students in both groups showed significantly higher post-test scores compared to their pre-test scores (P < 0.001). However, the role play group outperformed the virtual clinical scenario group, with a significantly higher post-test score (P = 0.04). Furthermore, feedback concerning role play was significantly higher than that for the virtual clinical scenario across multiple aspects (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that role play emerges as the preferred method, significantly enhancing dental students' learning experiences in oral pathology.