A flipped classroom approach for dental undergraduate pre-clinical skills training in fixed prosthodontics

Proficiency in practical areas of pre-clinical dentistry must be demonstrated by students in a simulated environment before commencing treatments on patients. Time within simulation teaching laboratories is a finite resource, and this time pressure can lead to behaviours that are detrimental to fine motor skill development. The objective of this case study was to apply a flipped classroom approach for dental undergraduates during pre-clinical skills training to increase time for simulation. A flipped classroom method was implemented during the fixed prosthodontic (dental crown or ‘caps’) component, with lectures and instructional videos delivered in advance of practical sessions. A student evaluation questionnaire was completed by 64 of the 71 participating students (90.14%) and this was compared to the previous cohort who received the traditional didactic face-to-face demonstrations. Statistically significant improvements were identified by students in several areas. Simulation is a widespread teaching modality in healthcare education; adopting a flipped classroom approach can help educators deliver this training in a manner that enhances student development and the current case study is one such positive example in the field of undergraduate dental education. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .