Effectiveness of Periodontal Flap Surgery Multimedia Instructional Program Compared to Standard Lecture

background and aim: the aim of this study was to compare the knowledge and skill performance obtained by dental students exposed to two different instructional modalities for periodontal flap surgery: a computer-assisted learning (cal) multimedia software program and traditional lecture. materials and methods: in this experimental study, fifty volunteer fourth-year dental students with similar grade point average (gpa) scores, with the age range of 22 to 27 years, were divided into two groups (n=25). they all completed a pretest. the test group used a multimedia software, while the control group attended a lecture with the same educational content. immediately after the lecture and after the students of the software group have finished watching the program, they completed a test consisting of 14 questions. then, they were all assigned to perform some skills of periodontal flap surgery on an animal model. the performance of each student was assessed using a questionnaire of 13 items. data were analyzed using independent samples t-test, fisher's exact test, and pearson's chi-squared test. results: there were no differences in prior knowledge between the two groups at the baseline. the software group had a final average exam score of 12.8+1.50, and the lecture group had an average score of 10.24+1.36; the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). the cal group had superior performance in some skills related to periodontal flap surgery (9.98±4.63 and 4.26±4.07, respectively; p<0.000). conclusion: the multimedia software program can be used as an adjunct to traditional education or as a means of self-instruction in teaching periodontal flap surgery techniques.