Digital Dental Education: Perceptions, Outcomes, and Satisfactions of Dentistry Graduate Students

Background: The conduct of online graduation in dentistry classes (BDS) was made obligatory during COVID-19 pandemic and students had to face many problems while taking online courses. There was a dire need to bring about the necessary changes to make distance learning more successful in the future. Objective: The study aims to assess the outcomes and general problems faced by students while taking online classes. Study type, settings & duration: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi from February to March 2022. Methodology: The data was collected using a structured questionnaire Google Forms containing 35 questions, with convenience sampling from 194 students after completion of final assessment. All the completed forms were evaluated for the results using SPSS 26. Results: According to the results from 194 students, the quality of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was satisfactory with suitable service quality by administrative, technical, and learning assistance through teachers. Instructors played an active role in online education with their responsiveness and timely feedback, most of them believed that it was good to use technology. Students’ digital competencies were reasonable, but most preferred the traditional face-to-face teaching methods. Most of the students scored grades A and B (24.1% and 43.6% respectively) in final assessments with distance learning. Conclusion: The impact of e-learning quality on student performance was satisfactory as most of them scored well in the final assessment and online is strongly mediated by student understanding and satisfaction.