Evaluation of Dental Student’s Preferences for Digital Resources

Background: This study examines dental student’s usage habits, platform preferences and perceptions of reliability regarding digital educational resources. Methods and Findings: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with third-, fourth- and fifth-year students at the Faculty of Dentistry. Data from a structured questionnaire administered via Google Forms were analyzed using SPSS v25.0 software. In addition to descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests were applied; the significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: Most of the 333 students who participated in the study said they used digital resources more than once a week. YouTube was the most frequently used platform, while AI-based chatbots such as ChatGPT stood out, particularly for exam preparation and summarizing topics. Although 61% of participants found digital resources reliable, approximately half remained uncertain about their accuracy. A significant difference was found between grade level and digital resource usage (p<0.05), while no difference was found in age and gender. Conclusion: Dental students use digital resources extensively in their educational processes. However, concerns about content reliability and insufficient verification habits highlight the need to integrate digital literacy and ethical awareness training into the curriculum.