Impact of the Dental Anatomy Course Trainings on the Psychomotor Skills of Students

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the dental anatomy course on the psychomotor skills of dental students.Material Methods: The study was carried on 121 volunteer students of the dental anatomy course. The 9-hole-peg- test (9-HPT) was used for psychomotor skills assessment at the beginner vs. experienced status (fall vs. spring terms). Test completion time in seconds (sec) was used as primary data. Dominant (DH), and non-dominant hand (N-DH), gender, academic success at the higher education admission test (GPA), and the course’s final assessment scores of training were used as variables. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS V23. Paired samples t-test, the MANOVA test, and Spearman's rho correlation were used for statistical analyses (p<0.05).Results: The participants' DH scores improved from 20.55±2.48 to. 18.32±1.84 sec (p≤0.001), while N-DH scores improved from 22.78±2.66 to 20.52±2.52 sec (p≤0.001). Female's DH scores were 20.16 ± 2.37 vs. 17.90 ± 1.59 sec (p≤0.001), the N-DH scores were 22.40 ± 2.48 vs. 19.83 ± 1.95 sec (p≤0.001) among the fall and spring terms, respectively; while males’ DH scores were 21.30 ± 2.56 vs. 19.13 ± 2.04 sec (p≤0.001), and the N-DH scores were 23.52 ± 2.86s vs. 21.88 ± 2.95 sec (p=0.003). Females’ DH scores were better than males for fall (p=016) and spring (p≤0.001) terms, and N-DH scores were better for fall (p=027) and spring (p≤0.001) terms. Neither GPA nor 9-HPT scores affected the course’s end-of-term practical exam notes.Conclusion: The dental anatomy course significantly contributes to the psychomotor proficiency development of the students.