A survey on dental students’ perception regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study aimed to assess the students’ opinion about the efficiency of online teaching and also about the methods and features to be implemented even after this pandemic period would pass. METHODS: A questionnaire was formulated in order to evaluate the students’ perception about the teaching methods used by the Faculty of Dentistry, which was distributed through email. RESULTS: The answers of 208 students were analyzed. There were 157 women and 51 men, 119 were from Cluj County, while 89 were from other Romanian counties; 102 of the students were in the 4(th) year of study, while 62 were still in the preclinical years (1(st), 2(nd), 3(rd)), and the rest of 44 of the subjects, were in the 5(th) or 6(th) year of study. 85.8% of the respondents were satisfied with the traditional lectures, 51.7% considered that online lectures were more useful than the traditional. 187 (88.6%) of the students were satisfied with the traditional practical activities, while 37 (16.1%) believed that online activities were more useful to them, 111 (52.6%), believed that they were able to communicate better with the teacher during the online lectures. CONCLUSIONS: Overall positive responses were reported regarding the acceptability and usability of online learning. The students viewed online learning helpful as a supplement to their learning rather than a replacement for traditional teaching methods.