MedEdPORTAL (Oct 2013)
Tooth Eruption
Abstract
Abstract Tooth eruption is the process by which the developing tooth changes position and moves into the oral cavity towards the opposite occluding tooth. Eruption is a continual process that occurs over the entire life of the tooth. This resource provides a review of this process across the life-span of the tooth using animation and is to be used with dental and dental hygiene students. Students navigate through a progressive series of labeled images and animations with accompanying text that give an overview of tooth eruption, shedding of primary teeth, and examples of clinical correlations. The module opens with stated learning objectives and closes with a multiple-choice selftest. Within the module, images and animations illustrate the main histological processes that mediate and support tooth eruption. Thirty second- and third-year dental and dental hygiene students who had previously taken an oral course with a traditional tooth eruption lecture were asked to review the learning module and complete a standardized survey. Ninety-three percent of students felt that the material was at an appropriate level for a first-year oral histology course. Ninety-six percent felt that the module was very effective in conveying the information and 83% felt that it was easy to follow. Thirteen percent felt that the material was very challenging. Sixty-six percent felt that the animations were very helpful in visualizing the concepts while 24% felt that the animations were essential for learning the material. One-hundred percent of the students found the selftest questions an important part of the module, and 86% felt the questions were challenging. Fourteen percent felt the questions were too easy. Ninety-six percent of the students favored the use of the module in learning tooth eruption, while 70% preferred having a traditional lecture supplemented with the module. Twenty-six percent favored primarily using the module with faculty assistance with questions (one student preferred learning tooth eruption entirely by traditional lecture). One-hundred percent of the students would recommend the learning module to students learning tooth eruption for the first time.
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