Implementation of game-based training in oral rehabilitation of edentulous patients in an undergraduate dental course.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease-19 dramatically changed the learning conditions of dental students, with restricted access to training sessions and clinical practice. The "Playdent" project proposed the integration of serious games (SGs) in the third-year curriculum, based on tailor-made scenarios questioning the first dental visit of edentulous patients, and examined whether training with the games would advance students' learning outcomes. Test scores of 89 students, allocated either to a "test" group that accessed SGs during a 4-week test period in addition to conventional lectures or to a "control" group that benefited solely from conventional lectures, were measured before and immediately after the test period. The subsequent satisfaction of students was assessed in the "test" group. Scores obtained after the 4-week period significantly increased within the "test" group (11.1% ± 24.9%, p = 0.04, degree of freedom [df] = 30) while they did not change within the "control" group (p = 0.21, df = 57). Qualitative feedback expressed by students who played SGs during the 4-week period demonstrated that 71% of them rated the SGs as satisfactory and 91% of them judged the consistency of SGs content with lectures to be satisfactory. Game-based learning showed a positive impact on the learning outcomes of third-year students. Qualitative assessments provide insights into the pertinence of SGs offered in addition to traditional lectures of third-year complete denture courses. SGs may consolidate skills in oral rehabilitation acquired through traditional passive learning formats proposed in preclinical courses.