Trial of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in basic training for operative dentistry

Abstract

We investigated the efficiency of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in basic training of operative dentistry. The training was done for 33 hours for third year dental students using manikins. An instructor guided the groups of 13 to 14 students. The training included demonstrations by the instructors. After the basic training, the students' skills were evalvated by OSCE. Placement of the Tofflemire matrix, spatulation of glass ionomer cement, placement of rubber dams and placement of composite resin fillings were included in the OSCE. Over 50% of the students failed to properly place the Tofflemire matrix, 54% of them properly spatulated the glass ionomer cement, and 48% properly punctured the rubber dam sheet. High success rates were recorded for the bonding procedures, composite resin placement, contour adjustment and light-activation of the resin. Low success rates were recorded for subjects where the procedures were performed on the manikin or where the demonstration of the procedures had not easily been observed by the students. This study indicated that OSCE could be used to evaluate the students' skills and that the demonstration method should be improved to increase the students' level of understanding.