Enhancing Dental Carving Skills of Preclinical Dental Hygiene Students Using Online Dental Anatomy Resources

Background: A key role of dental carving is enhancing manual proficiency and dexterity of dental hygiene students. Yet, utilizing Supplementary Online Dental Anatomy Resources (SODAR) as a supportive teaching approach has demonstrated the ability to improve carving skills. Objective: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of SODAR training in improving the quality of dental carving skills and knowledge among preclinical Saudi male students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A basic double-blinded randomized controlled trial of 30 preclinical Saudi dental male students was conducted between January and April 2019. Participants were classified into an experimental group that received SODAR training (n = 15) and a control group comprising students who did not receive SODAR training (n = 15). The t-test and Fisher's exact test were performed to assess differences in theoretical knowledge between the two groups. While Cohen's d test, t-test, and Pearson correlation were conducted to evaluate differences in students' dental carvings. Results: Students with SODAR training performed better on practical carving sessions than those without intervention (P-value < 0.001). However, SODAR intervention had no significant effect on the theoretical knowledge evaluations in both the groups. Conclusion: SODAR training demonstrated its ability to support students learning in practical carving sessions: however, no effect on theoretical knowledge was observed. Future research should focus on factors that impact carving teaching strategies, including the quality and depth of online learning content, students' perceptions of online learning, and experiences of teachers who run the online resources.