Does exposure to a procedural video enhance preclinical dental student performance in fixed prosthodontics?

To try to alleviate the issue of dental students having an inadequate field of view during live demonstrations of fixed prosthodontic preparations, an instructional video depicting the step-by-step procedures involved in an all-ceramic tooth preparation and provisional crown fabrication (practical exam 1, PE1) was created. Fifty-five second-year dental students were given a personal copy of the video after a lecture and an in-class viewing of the material. Throughout the course, students watched live demonstrations of tooth preparations and then practiced individually on mannequins. The scores achieved by the students on three practical exams (PE1, PE2, and PE3) were compared to those recorded by a class one year prior to the development of the video. The students exposed to the video performed significantly better on PE1 in comparison to the previous year's class, as well as compared to their own performance on the other two practical exams that had no supplementary teaching aids. A significant, moderate-level correlation was detected between exposure to the video and PE1. Ninety-six percent of the students reported on their end-of-year evaluation that the video helped them to prepare for PE1. The results of this study suggest that instructional videos may aid in the teaching of fixed prosthodontics.