Showing 10 results for Education
Sh Kheirbakhsh, A Alaee, F Shahsavari, M Dehnoee,
Volume 2, Issue 3 (7-2017)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Regular evaluation of the efficiency of instructors is highly important to promote the quality of instruction. This study aimed to assess the perspective of senior dental students about the priorities that must be considered in instructor evaluation.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, the significance of instructor assessment from the viewpoint of 132 senior dental students was evaluated in five domains of teaching skills, personal characteristics and skills, communication skills, adherence to educational regulations, and assessment skills. The frequency of the overall significance of each item and the domains as well as the effect of demographic and socioeconomic factors on the results were analyzed by Chi-square test.
Results: 84.4% of students believed that instructor assessment was important. Teaching skills acquired the highest score (90.6%), followed by communication skills (89.4%), personal characteristics and skills (83.8%), and educational regulations (70.9%) with statistically significant differences (P<0.0001). Students gave the highest score to the teaching method (98.5%), followed by the ability to well discuss the topic, conveying the topic, and mastery of the content (96.2%). The lowest score was given to the adherence to the order of educational contents set by the educational committee (42%) and to the usefulness of homework (49%). No significant association was noted between gender, age, grade point average (GPA), the parents' occupation, or interest in dentistry as a profession with the students' opinions about the instructor assessment form and the five domains (P=0.2).
Conclusion: Educational workshops may enhance the teaching and communication skills of instructors, may increase the satisfaction of students with the instructors' performance and may yield greater educational achievements.
M Rezai, T Farrokhnia, M Vatanpour, S Lesan, Sh Yazdipour,
Volume 3, Issue 2 (4-2018)
Abstract
Background and aim: Lack of proper assessment of students' knowledge regarding theoretical contents leads to disappointment and negligence by weak students. This study assessed multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of oral and maxillofacial medicine courses in the first semester of the academic year 2014-2015.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, questions of theoretical oral medicine courses 1, 2, and 3 were assessed according to twelve items in Millman's checklist, including clearness of stem, negative option for stem, specific option, contrastive option, positive words in stem and options, writing structure of stem, duplicated option, the spelling of stem and options, vertically of options, positivity of stem and options, and use of "all of the above" and "none of the above" phrases in options. Difficulty and discrimination coefficients of each question and the rate of compliance with Millman's principles were evaluated using Excel 2007 and SPSS 16. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Regression analysis.
Results: The responses of 219 students to 113 MCQs were evaluated. In theoretical course 1 with 40 MCQs, discrimination coefficient was 0.36±0.2, difficulty coefficient was 73.2±15.02, and correlation coefficient was 0.58. In theoretical course 2 with 35 MCQs, discrimination coefficient was 0.2±0.04, difficulty coefficient was 70.91±25.13, and correlation coefficient was 0.47. In theoretical course 3 with 38 MCQs, discrimination coefficient was 0.3±0.19, difficulty coefficient was 68.73±26.89, and correlation coefficient was 0.5. The percentage of compliance with Millman's principles was 81.88%, 83.58%, and 84.42% in courses 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
Conclusion: The weakest discrimination coefficient was noted in theoretical oral medicine 2. The high percentage of simple difficulty coefficient in the three theoretical courses indicates the necessity of training faculty members in designing questions.
S Baghery Moghadam, F Mirzaei,
Volume 5, Issue 2 (5-2020)
Abstract
On 20 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global concern that poses a high risk for countries like Iran with vulnerable health systems. In Iran, virtual education began a few weeks after the suspension of universities. However, this was difficult for the field of dentistry to achieve as practical courses cover most of the academic semester. In this article, we state the problems among dental schools of Iran during the outbreak of COVID-19.
F Sayar, B Hatami, N Akhondi, E Amini, Sh Pourkarimkhani,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (8-2020)
Abstract
Background & Aim: Oral hygiene instructions are routinely provided at schools by health mentors and dentists. Recently, oral hygiene instruction by peers has gained popularity. This study aimed to compare the effect of oral hygiene instruction by dentists and peers on the level of knowledge of twelve-year old children.
Methods and Materials: In this interventional randomized clinical trial, four schools were randomly selected. The level of oral health knowledge of students was assessed by a pretest. Oral hygiene instructions were then provided by dentists in control schools and by peer mentors in test schools. Knowledge of students about oral health was evaluated in the two groups immediately and after 1 month post instruction. The mean test scores were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and compared between the groups using two-way and repeated measures ANOVA.
Results: Oral hygiene instruction enhanced the overall knowledge of students about oral health immediately and at one month after the instruction compared with baseline in both groups (P<0.05). The overall knowledge score of students in the test group was higher than that of the control group immediately and at 1 month after the instruction (P<0.05).
Conclusions: It appears that oral hygiene instruction by peer mentors can effectively increase knowledge acquisition with regard to oral health-related topics. Thus, peer mentoring in health-related topics is recommended as a practical and cost-effective approach. Considering the different pattern of learning in boys, repetition and reinforcement of instruction can promote their knowledge level in long-term.
N Sahaf, M Ghasemi, N Askarizadeh,
Volume 6, Issue 1 (3-2021)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Hearing impairment is a leading challenge in the education of deaf children. Compared to normal children, hearing-impaired (HI) children have poor oral health due to a lack of communication skills and effective health educations. This leads us to search for a proper method to educate these children. The present study aimed to assess the effect of different educational methods on the oral health of 7-13-year-old HI children in Tehran.
Material and Methods: In this clinical trial, 76 HI children, aged 7 to 13 years, were selected from elementary schools of deaf children in Tehran according to the entry criteria. They were examined, and the baseline plaque and gingival scores were recorded using the Silness and Loe plaque index (PI) and the Loe and Silness gingival index (GI). The children were randomly divided into two groups; one group was educated using a dental model, and the other group watched a guided training video. Oral health education was reinforced two weeks later. Reexamination was carried out 4 months later. Data were statistically analyzed using t-test with SPSS version 20.0.
Results: There was a significant reduction in plaque and gingival scores in both groups after health education (P<0.05). The highest reduction in plaque and gingival scores was seen in the dental model group.
Conclusion: In a comparison between the two educational methods (dental model and video), training using a dental model is more efficacious in improving the oral health of HI children. Continuous school-based oral health education programs for HI children need to be considered.
F Rashidi Maybodi, A Haerian Ardakani, M Khabazzadeh Yazdi,
Volume 6, Issue 4 (9-2021)
Abstract
Background: General familiarity with medical ethics sometimes does not meet the needs of dentists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethical challenges faced by senior dental students and dentists.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 50 senior dental students and 50 dentists were selected from Yazd city, Iran. A questionnaire with three domains (demographic information, hypothetical scenarios, and some three-choice questions about ethical issues) was used to collect data, and the data were analyzed by the Chi-square test.
Results: The mean age of students and general dentists was 24±2 and 30±2 years, respectively; 42% of the respondents were males, and 58% were females. Except for one item (dentist's right to refuse treatment) (P<0.05), no significant difference was found between the two groups (P>0.05). The most common challenges faced by the participants were compromising treatment due to cost issues (77.1% of students and 71.4% of dentists) and noticing sub-standard treatments performed by other dentists (64% of students and 58% of dentists). Unawareness about the right way to criticize other dentists was the least commonly reported challenge (28% of students and 36.7% of dentists). A significant difference was found in the frequency of encountering sub-standard treatments performed by other dentists between the two groups (P=0.031). A significant difference in the frequency of a particular challenge between males and females was seen only in one item (disagreement with other colleagues on the appropriate treatment plan) and only in the students’ group (P= 0.040).
Conclusion: This study showed that dental practitioners had faced a variety of ethical challenges, that need to be addressed in dental education. However, the results of this study may not be generalizable to other cities.
Kowsar Ebrahimi, Arezoo Alaee, Afshin Haraji,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Positive attitude of dentists towards the professional ethical principles can improve the quality of provided services and minimize occupational stress. This study aimed to assess the attitude and professionalism in education of dental residents at the School of Dentistry of Islamic Azad University, Tehran.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on all dental residents attending the School of Dentistry of Islamic Azad University in Tehran in 2022. Data were collected using the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) professionalism questionnaire, which was translated to Persian by Aramesh, and its validity and reliability were confirmed. This questionnaire includes two parts of (I) demographic information, and (II) questions regarding the perception of professionalism at work (totally 17 questions) in four main domains of excellence, honor/integrity, altruism/respect, and empathy. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and analyzed by one-way ANOVA and regression test.
Results: Of 57 dental residents, 26.3% were males and 73.7% were females. The mean total score of professionalism was found to be 114.96±23.45 out of 153, and the overall percentage of professionalism was calculated to be 75.13%±15.33% out of 100%. The percentage of professionalism score in the third-year and higher residents was 8% higher than that in second-year residents (P=0.052). The mean percentage of professionalism score was not significantly correlated with the field of specialty, gender, age, participation in related courses, or grade point average (GPA) (P>0.05).
Conclusion: It appears that attitude and professionalism of dental residents of School of Dentistry of Islamic Azad University of Tehran in 2022 were optimal. The honor/integrity domain acquired the highest, and the altruism/respect domain gained the lowest score.
Khadijeh Einolahzadeh, Afshin Bahmani,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (9-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Fissure sealant therapy is one of the most effective strategies to prevent dental caries. Sealants fill the occlusal grooves of the posterior teeth and prevent the accumulation of microorganisms and subsequent development of caries as such. This study aimed to evaluate parental education on fissure sealant therapy.
Materials and Methods: A search was conducted in seven international databases or websites including BioMed Central, Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, and Seer, and two national databases (SID and Magiran) for relevant articles on the Iranian population published between 2011 and 2021. Of a total of 3,980 articles retrieved by the initial search, 7 articles were selected with experimental and quasi-experimental designs. The interventions were in the form of educational programs with follow-up sessions, examinations, and preventive services at different times. The variables included knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, fissure sealant, and dental caries.
Results: All the tested variables significantly changed after the educational intervention.
Conclusion: According to the results of the reviewed interventional studies in Iran, instruction of oral health-promoting behaviors and fissure sealant therapy to parents has a positive effect on the practice of the parents concerning fissure sealant therapy. It also appears that interventions based on theoretical education and changing behavioral models can be effective in promoting oral health practice.
Donia Sadri, Alireza Rajabi,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (3-2025)
Abstract
Background and Aim: This study aimed to assess the critical thinking skills (CTS) of a group of Iranian dental students.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 355 dental students of the Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University in the clinical training period (academic years 3-6) in 2022-2023. The CTS of students were evaluated by using the valid and reliable Persian version of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). Correlations between the CTS total and domain scores with demographic variables were analyzed by the multiple linear regression and Pearson’s correlation tests (alpha=0.05).
Results: A total of 260 questionnaires were filled out and returned, yielding a response rate of 73.2%. The mean age of the participants was 23.90±2.89 years. There were 60.8% females and 39.2% males. Of all, 74.2% were single, and 25.8% were married. Also, 34.2% had an extracurricular clinical dental practice. The mean total CTS score was 10.66±2.83 out of 34, which had a significant correlation with the academic level (P=0.005), such that the mean CTS score was significantly higher in senior dental students. The mean CTS score had no significant correlation with age, gender, marital status, or extracurricular clinical practice (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The mean CTS score of dental students of the Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University was lower than the standard average, highlighting the need for educational interventions to improve it.
Vini Mehta, Snehasish Tripathy, Shalini Aggarwal, Ankita Mathur, Aida Meto,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (3-2025)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Several studies have investigated the application of crossword puzzles in educational sectors. However, little research has particularly addressed their application and effectiveness in dentistry. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to map the current evidence regarding the inclusion of crossword puzzles in dental educational programs and their influence on the educational outcomes of dental students.
Materials and Methods: We electronically searched the PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar databases and hand-searched pertinent article references to solicit appropriate studies. A narrative synthesis was performed since the studies were heterogeneous in the result parameters.
Results: Crossword puzzles provide students with an enjoyable and engaging learning experience, improve cognitive skills like comprehension and problem-solving, and promote active learning. They have received substantial backing from dental students for inclusion in the dental curricula.
Conclusion: Incorporation of crossword puzzles and other gamified approaches could be a promising option to enhance dental education practices.
