[The integration of a computer learning program for x-ray cephalometric analysis into student training].

A computer program was written for teaching undergraduate students definitions and localizations of reference points on cephalometric X-rays. The efficacy of the program as a teaching method was tested by comparing two junior/sophomore groups. While one group attended a conventional lecture for an hour, the other worked with the computer program for the same length of time. Prior to and immediately after instruction by the two methods each group marked reference points on various cephalometric tracings, which were then compared for accuracy. The result was that the students who worked with the computer marked significantly more reference points correctly than their counterparts who attended the lecture. 80% of the students belonging to the group which used the computer judged the program to be a positive educational experience. Such computer training proved to be an efficient tool for teaching students simple facts which require memorization and, equally important, the use of such educational aids. At the same time frees the instructors to dedicate more of their time to teaching more complicated and complex subject matters. A further benefit of the training program described in this article is that it can also be used to train chairside orthodontic assistants in private orthodontic practices.