Teaching Radiographic Caries Detection and Treatment Planning: A Seminar Using an Audience Response System

This study presents a seminar model for teaching radiographic caries detection and treatment planning at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo. The seminar is based partly on an audience response system (ARS) and uses patient cases to focus on caries risk assessment and treatment planning. This paper describes the seminar design, implementation, learning outcomes, and observational study of variability in caries registrations and students’ attitudes to use of ARS. Dental and dental hygiene students participate in two seminar modules. Module 1 aims to develop and increase individual student skills in radiographic caries lesion detection, scoring, and differential diagnosis. Students perform trial registrations on bitewings using an ARS with anonymous live polling, and scorings are discussed in plenum. Students then perform individual registrations on 12 bitewing pairs. Using digital scoring, students detect and grade caries lesions on all approximal and occlusal tooth surfaces. After the session, students use the ARS to repeat scorings on selected tooth surfaces, and results are again discussed in plenum. Module 2 involves group exercises on 4 patient cases that are later presented with plenary discussions. In total, 1,624 caries registrations performed by 150 students attending the seminar between 2016 and 2018 were assessed for variability between students. As expected, variations in caries registrations were observed between students, mostly related to restored surfaces or tooth surfaces that were otherwise difficult to register. In 2022, 63 dental and dental hygiene students attending the seminar answered a questionnaire about use of ARS. The responses were scored using a five-point Likert scale. Overall, no significant difference in satisfaction with the ARS-based module was observed between dental and dental hygiene students (χ 2 test, p > 0.05). The majority of the students were positive toward the use of ARS (94%), but some disagreed on the role of ARS in usefulness for understanding the seminar content (3.2%), and in increasing their confidence in radiographic registration of caries (3.2%). The ARS-based module provides a positive learning environment that ensures student anonymity, interactivity, and engagement, and combined with the other seminar module gives students basic skills in caries detection and treatment planning.