Evaluation of Online Orthodontics Course Perceptions and Learning Levels of Dentistry Faculty Students

Aim This study aimed to evaluate the perceptions, learning levels, and overall experience of dental school students regarding the online Orthodontics course Material and method In this cross-sectional study, 145 participants answered a 25-question survey using Google Forms. The questionnaires were sent to the study participants via e-mail. The findings were analyzed by the Pearson Chi-Square test when the sample size assumption was met (n>5) and Fisher's Exact test when it was not met. Multiple Chi-Square test was used to investigate the relationship between multiple-choice questions. Results A total of 145 participants answered 25 survey questions between February 2022 and May 2022. It was determined that 62.1% of the participants were female and 75.9% were 4th-grade students. It was determined that 57.9% of the participants attended all online courses. Although most of the participants thought that online orthodontic education was well structured (53.1%), well understood (53.8%), had good audio-visual quality (60%), was a good option for orthodontic theoretical learning (54.5%), and provided motivation (42.8%), only 36.7% preferred online education to face-to-face education. It was found that the majority of the participants (37.2%) thought that the amount of online education in the future curriculum should be in the range of 0-25%, regardless of the pandemic. Conclusion Although students' perceptions and evaluations of online courses were found to be positive, they prefer face-to-face education.