Effectiveness of and Dental Student Satisfaction with Three Teaching Methods for Behavior Guidance Techniques in Pediatric Dentistry.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different types of instructional styles traditional lecture with and without video examples and contemporary format that simulated a flipped classroom on dental students' learning of behavior guidance techniques (BGTs) in pediatric dentistry. The study also sought to determine if students had an improved comfort level with BGTs with these instructional methods, if videos improved learning and comfort with BGTs, and if there were differences in outcomes by gender. All 96 second-year dental students at one U.S. dental school were recruited to participate in the study in 2017. Students were randomly divided into three groups: contemporary instruction (CI), traditional instruction with video (TIV), and traditional instruction with no video (TI). CI students watched a 20-minute mini-lecture and were divided into discussion groups led by calibrated faculty members. TIV students received 50 minutes of traditional lecture with video examples. TI students received a traditional lecture with no video examples. All groups completed a questionnaire prior to and on completion of the course. The questionnaire assessed students' learning and perceptions of the learning experience. All students participated in the course and the assessments, for a 100% response rate. The students' post-course scores improved for all teaching methods (TI>CI>TIV) with no significant differences among them. CI students rated comfort with BGTs and usefulness of videos higher than the other groups, but the difference was not statistically significant. Students rated their satisfaction with and usefulness of the course high for all groups (>3 on a four-point scale). Learning style and comfort treating children were not statistically significant by gender. Overall, the students reported high satisfaction with all the teaching methods. Although the differences were not statistically significant, discussion groups were ranked highest in satisfaction and usefulness.