Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Education Success in Dentistry

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every moment of human life, as well as education, and the face-to-face education in dentistry faculties has been transformed into distance education. This study aims to compare the efficiency of online and face-to-face education by comparing the passing grades of first-year students of the faculty of dentistry in both theoretical and practical courses during the face-to-face and online learning process. Material and Methods: The grades of a total of 211 first-year students were included in the study. 96 of these students were students who received online education in Harran University Faculty of Dentistry in 2019-2020. The remaining 115 students were students who received face-to-face education in the 2023-2024 academic year. The grade passing scores of the students included in the study in theoretical (Knowlegde of Materials) and practical (Tooth Morphology and Manipulation) courses were compared. Independent t test was used to compare normally distributed paired groups. Results: In our study, the practical and theoretical course passing grades of 96 online and 115 face-to-face students were compared. No statistically significant difference was found between the online education exam grade point averages (68.35±13.17) and face-to-face education exam grade points (68.00±8.26) of the students in the practical course (p=0.276). In the theoretical course, the online education exam grade point averages of the students were calculated higher than the face-to-face education exam grade point averages (p=0.03). Conclusions: While there is no difference between online and face-to-face education exam grades in practical courses, the grades of students who received online education in theoretical courses were calculated higher. We think that success is higher in online theoretical courses due to the advantages such as the ability to record lessons and watch them again after the lesson.