Dj. Pollard et Jc. Davenport, AN EVALUATION OF TRAINING GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS IN PARTIAL DENTURE DESIGN USING A COMPUTER-ASSISTED-LEARNING PROGRAM, British Dental Journal, 177(11-12), 1994, pp. 405-409
The authors of this paper produced a computer-assisted learning (CAL)
program on aspects of partial denture design which covered the topics
of surveying, support and indirect retention. Version 1 of the program
was evaluated by 65 general dental practitioners, the majority of who
m did this at their own homes or practices whilst the rest came in to
the School of Dentistry. Participants were of varied ages and computer
experience. A total of 85% of the participants found the program easy
to use and 78% claimed the program had improved their knowledge of pa
rtial denture design, although less than half thought it had improved
their practical skills. Opinions varied on which of the three topics w
ere the most useful, and interest in future CAL material for dentistry
was high. The study shows that CAL can be an acceptable, effective an
d enjoyable form of training for general dental practitioners who have
access to modern microcomputers.