Natural Model Training, an Alternative Way to Enhance Learning in Pediatric Dentistry

Objective: Educational teaching of the diagnosis of resorbed root for pulpectomy in deciduous teeth radiography has always been a big challenge in pediatric dentistry. The purpose of the study was to propose a new practical methodology to improve the quality of learning in students of dentistry. Materials and Methods: Extracted deciduous teeth were molded in the transparent epoxy resin as their real position in the jawbone. Then, their own pre-extraction radi- ographs were attached to them. Forty dental students were randomly allocated to the control group of conventional teaching and experimental group of natural model train- ing. All participants were attended in a validated exam and the data were analyzed. A questionnaire was designed with an answer choice in Lickert scale to measure the stu- dents' attitude towards the new method and finally the data were reported with de- scriptive statistics. Results: The mean of the learning degree in the experimental group was graded 9.2± 3.2 and was significantly higher than 5.8± 1.1 which belongs to the participants of the conventional method as control (p= 0.04 <0.05). Conclusion: Considering the limitation of this study, using natural models in radiography training will improve the diagnostic competency and the student’s educational satisfaction in pediatric dentistry.