Impact of the DC/TMD instructional video on the practical skills of undergraduate students-A single-blinded, randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION

Competencies in the clinical examination of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) can be achieved by self-instruction. This study aimed to identify the impact of the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) instructional video on the practical examination skills of undergraduate students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One week prior to completing an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) addressing the examination of patients with TMD, undergraduate students in their third year received either the DC/TMD manual (control group) or additionally watched the instructional video once (intervention group). After passing the OSCE, a feedback questionnaire was completed by the students.

RESULT

Fifty undergraduates were recruited to take part in the OSCE prior to their first clinical course. The sum scores achieved in the stations were higher in the intervention group, but missed significance. Participants of the intervention group more often agreed that completing the OSCE stations was easy, which was significant for one station (P = .023). 95.8% of the participating students supported the implementation of the video in dental education.

DISCUSSION

Due to the conception of the study, the video was only presented once to ensure that the control group had no access to the medium at all. However, it might be interesting to investigate whether repeated watching of the video enhances its effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical competencies in the examination of TMD patients can be achieved by self-instruction with the DC/TMD manual and instructional video. Watching the video for educational purposes was highly recommended by undergraduate students.