Using Concept Videos to Teach Predoctoral Dental Students About Intraoral and Extraoral Photography.

Abstract

IntroductionClinical photography in dentistry has become a vital part of dental education and clinical practice. Dental students seek demonstrations that help them visualize and understand new concepts and clinical procedures. Few multimedia resources are available that provide instruction regarding clinical photography for dental students. The concept videos serve as adjunctive teaching tools for predoctoral dental students in taking clinical photographs.MethodsI created the three concept videos on intraoral and extraoral photography by recording narrated PowerPoint slideshows. After sessions on basic photography concepts and digital camera operation, I used concept videos to show how to take comprehensive quality dental photographs in a step-by-step manner and to demonstrate positions of an operator and a patient. I collected feedback using an electronic survey sent to all 33 third-year dental students who participated.ResultsEleven students completed the survey; all students responded favorably to this method of instruction. Individual comments were also positive on helpfulness, conciseness, and applicability.DiscussionThese concept videos were shown to be a helpful resource for dental students in enhancing their knowledge and skills in obtaining dental photographs. Multimedia resources that helped provide students with practical tips and suggestions could supplement clinical chair-side teaching with faculty and further advance their knowledge and skills. Future studies could include more interactive platforms for better student utilization of the resource, and also compare students' performance before and after watching the videos.