Evaluating a Team-Based Learning Method for Detecting Dental Caries in Dental Students

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the team-based learning environment facilitated the competencyof third year dental students in caries detection and activity assessment. Corresponding data were achieved usingdigital radiographs to determine the carious lesions in three clinical cases. The distribution of the caries evaluationsfor each of the 36 students and the 12 teams were tabulated for each mesial and distal surface of each tooth for thethree patients. In the first stage of the evaluation, students worked individually for caries assessment. In the secondstage, twelve teams of three students each performed the assessment. The teams had a significantly larger percentageof accurate anterior caries evaluations (54%) than the individual students (33%) (X2 = 5.50; p = .019), but also sawsignificantly more carious lesions when there was no lesion (126%) compared to the students working singly (85%)(X2 = 7.55; p = .006). The individual students, however, were significantly more likely to incorrectly call incipientcaries active (81%) than the teams (14%).