Sivamani Chidambaram Rajmohan, Rajmohan Sudha, Manickam Sivakumar, Mallikarjuna Rachappa, Nalawade Triveni, Saraf Sanjay
Department of Prosthodontics, Oman Dental College, Muscat, OMN.
Department of Preclinical Conservative Dentistry, Oman Dental College, Muscat, OMN.
Cureus. 2024 Feb 20;16(2):e54581. doi: 10.7759/cureus.54581. eCollection 2024 Feb.
The development of computerized aids for dental education offers potential benefits in teaching complex procedures, such as the design of removable partial dentures (RPDs). This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a novel computerized tool in enhancing the ability of both dental students and practicing dentists to design RPDs, as well as to evaluate its utility as an interactive educational instrument.
A cohort comprising a total of 75 individuals (25 practicing dentists and 50 undergraduate dental students) was enlisted. Participants were introduced to an online interactive application tailored for the design of RPDs. They were tasked with resolving clinical scenarios that necessitated the formulation of an RPD. Throughout the exercise, users were provided with hints addressing errors made during the process, fostering self-directed learning for improved RPD design. Post-interaction, the perceptions of both dentists and students regarding the tool were gauged through a comprehensive questionnaire.
The deployment of the online interactive application demonstrated significant promise in the effective design of RPDs, facilitated by self-directed learning. It also appeared to enhance the proficiency of practicing dentists in formulating partial dentures.
The computerized aid evaluated in this study provided an effective platform for both dental education and practice. It not only supported self-directed learning in the design of RPDs but also improved the efficiency of professional dentists in their clinical design work.
牙科教育计算机辅助工具的发展为教授复杂程序（如可摘局部义齿（RPD）设计）带来了潜在益处。本研究旨在评估一种新型计算机化工具在提高牙科学生和执业牙医设计RPD能力方面的效果，并评估其作为交互式教育工具的实用性。
招募了一个由75人组成的队列（25名执业牙医和50名牙科本科生）。参与者被介绍了一个专为RPD设计量身定制的在线交互式应用程序。他们的任务是解决需要制定RPD的临床场景。在整个练习过程中，为用户提供了针对过程中出现错误的提示，促进自我导向学习以改进RPD设计。互动结束后，通过一份综合问卷评估牙医和学生对该工具的看法。
在线交互式应用程序的使用在RPD的有效设计方面显示出巨大潜力，这得益于自我导向学习。它似乎还提高了执业牙医制作局部义齿的熟练程度。
本研究中评估的计算机化辅助工具为牙科教育和实践提供了一个有效的平台。它不仅支持RPD设计中的自我导向学习，还提高了专业牙医临床设计工作的效率。
