Evaluating the Effectiveness of Periodontal Data Collection Practices in Second-Year Dental Students

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the time taken for second-year dental students to collect periodontal data and to assess their confidence level in preclinical activities. Methods: Second-year dental students at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry (LLUSD) paired up as clinician and patient and participated in three periodontal data collection preclinical activities. A total of 91 sample data were included. The time that students spent on periodontal data collection was recorded. A presurvey and three postsurveys were conducted to evaluate students’ confidence. One sample t-test, the Freidman test, Pairwise comparisons and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: One sample t-test result showed that there was statistically significant time improvement between first and second data collection and between second and third data collection (p-values < 0.001). Results for postsurvey 2 with the Kruskal-Wallis test showed collection times were significantly lower among students who reported confidence in collecting data [H(1) = 5.60, p = .018)]. Conclusions: Statistically significant time improvement through periodontal data collection activities were seen. Students’ confidence level and improved data collection time were especially related during the second data collection. Practical implications: This study signifies that multiple practice sessions in training can be a valuable learning tool to reduce the amount of time that students need to complete the task and increase students’ confidence level.