Emergency Medicine · Medical Literature
Bridging theory and practice: the effect of emergency medicine training on dental students' knowledge and clinical performance.
Abstract
Medical emergencies during dental procedures are not uncommon. Given the high-risk nature of dentistry and the necessity for immediate patient management, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a targeted educational intervention by expanding assessment parameters for knowledge and performance, including follow-up evaluations. This educational interventional study was conducted in 2023 with 60 senior dental students recruited via an open call. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups using a random number table. All participants underwent a theoretical and practical assessment based on the American Heart Association (AHA) standardized examination. The intervention group participated in a hands-on emergency medicine and resuscitation workshop, followed by theoretical and practical assessments at one- and three-months post-intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Independent t-tests and ANCOVA were used for between-group comparisons, while repeated measures ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests were applied for within-group analyses. A significance level of 0.05 was adopted. The mean scores from the workshop questionnaire at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at one- and three-month follow-ups showed a statistically significant improvement over time in the intervention group (p < 0.001), while no significant change was observed in the control group (p = 0.808). Similarly, practical exam scores demonstrated a significant time-dependent improvement in the intervention group (p < 0.001), with no meaningful change in the control group (p = 0.999). The emergency medicine workshop-covering both basic and advanced resuscitation-significantly enhanced the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of senior dental students. Moreover, the sustained impact observed over time underscores the long-term value of such educational interventions.
Clinical relevance
Does a hands-on emergency medicine and resuscitation workshop, benchmarked against American Heart Association (AHA) standards, significantly improve theoretical knowledge and practical clinical performance in senior dental students compared to controls, and are gains sustained at one and three months post-intervention? __SNAPSHOT__ {"studyDesign":"Randomized controlled educational interventional study (parallel two-arm, pre-post design with repeated follow-up assessments)","setting":"Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran; single-institution academic dental school (2023)","sampleSize":"n=60 senior dental students (intervention: 30, control: 30; allocation inferred from equal randomization — not explicitly confirmed in the abstract)","population":"Senior (final-year) dental students at a medical university in Iran, recruited via open call; baseline characteristics (age, sex distribution, prior CPR training) not reported in the abstract","intervention":"Hands-on emergency medicine and resuscitation workshop covering basic and advanced resuscitation techniques, followed by theoretical and practical assessments at baseline, immediately post-intervention, one month, and three months post-intervention","comparator":"Control group: underwent the same pre-intervention theoretical and practical AHA-standardized assessments without receiving the workshop; assessed at equivalent time points","primaryOutcome":"Change in scores on AHA-standardized theoretical knowledge questionnaire and practical examination across four time points (baseline, immediate post-intervention, 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up)","followUp":"Three months post-intervention (with intermediate assessment at one month)","fundingSource":"Not reported"}
Key findings
Using repeated measures ANOVA with LSD post-hoc testing for within-group comparisons and independent t-tests with ANCOVA for between-group comparisons, the intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in both theoretical knowledge questionnaire scores (p < 0.001) and practical examination scores (p < 0.001) across the four measurement time points. The control group showed no significant change in theoretical scores (p = 0.808) or practical scores (p = 0.999) across the same period. Specific mean scores at each time point, absolute score differences, effect sizes (Cohen's d or eta-squared), confidence intervals, and NNT are not reported in the available abstract. The magnitude of knowledge and skill retention at three months relative to immediate post-workshop scores (i.e., whether a decay curve was observed) is not described quantitatively. No adverse events associated with the workshop were reported.
Practice implications
This study establishes that a structured, AHA-aligned, hands-on emergency medicine and resuscitation workshop produces statistically significant short- to medium-term gains in both theoretical knowledge and practical performance among senior dental students compared to an untrained control group, with documented follow-up at three months. The study does not establish whether these gains translate into improved real-world patient outcomes during actual dental emergencies, as the endpoint is assessment score performance rather than clinical behavior under authentic conditions. The findings are applicable to senior dental students in academic settings in Iran; generalizability to dental students in other health systems, practicing dentists, or dental auxiliaries is uncertain. The study does not adequately represent students from lower-resource settings, graduate dental practitioners, or those with prior emergency training. Clinical importance of the score improvements cannot be fully appraised without reported effect sizes or absolute score differences. IMPORTANT NOTE: This summary is based on the published abstract only; the full text was not accessible at the time of analysis. Conclusions regarding specific effect magnitudes, group baseline comparability, blinding procedures, and statistical model assumptions require full-text review. __LIMITATIONS__ Abstract-only availability: precise effect sizes, mean score values, confidence intervals, and full statistical tables are not reported, precluding assessment of clinical versus statistical significance.,Small sample size (n=60 total): insufficient power to detect modest effects or to conduct meaningful subgroup analyses; risk of Type I or Type II error is elevated.,Single-institution, single-country study conducted at one Iranian academic dental school; findings may not generalize across health systems with different dental curricula or emergency training baselines.,Participant recruitment via 'open call' introduces potential selection bias: students with pre-existing interest or higher baseline knowledge in emergency medicine may have self-selected into the study.,Blinding: the nature of a hands-on workshop intervention makes blinding of participants to group allocation inherently impossible; assessor blinding is not described in the abstract.,Endpoint is surrogate (examination score), not patient-centered clinical outcome; it is unknown whether improved scores correspond to improved performance in actual dental emergency events.,Three-month follow-up, while an advance over most prior studies, is insufficient to determine long-term retention given existing literature showing CPR skill decay within 3–6 months in non-practicing healthcare students.,Lack of reporting on baseline comparability between groups for prior CPR/emergency training, which is a key potential confounder.,Funding source not reported; potential conflicts of interest cannot be assessed.,The control group received no alternative intervention, so it is not possible to isolate the specific active components of the workshop (hands-on practice, social learning, structured feedback) from a general didactic effect. __BOTTOM_LINE_CATEGORY__ promising_but_preliminary __BOTTOM_LINE__ A single-center randomized educational trial (n=60) found that a hands-on AHA-aligned emergency medicine and resuscitation workshop significantly improved both theoretical knowledge and practical performance in senior dental students, with gains persisting through three months, while controls showed no change. Effect sizes, absolute score changes, and confidence intervals are not reported in the abstract, limiting full appraisal of clinical importance. The findings support the educational value of structured, practical emergency training for dental students, but are insufficient to mandate curriculum changes without replication in larger, multi-institutional cohorts and confirmation that score gains translate to real clinical performance.