Assessment of a Practical Guide to Periodontal Instrumentation as a Device to Enhance Learning in Dentistry

Aim (s): Periodontal instrumentation performed with hand instruments has been proven to be an important, although a difficult procedure. A Practical Guide for Periodontal Instrumentation (PGPI) was developed by the authors, containing drawings and graphs with the purpose of instructing dental students. The aim of this study was to assess the application of the PGPI as a tool for learning periodontal scaling and root planning (SRP). Materials and Methods: participants were divided in three groups: Group 1) second-year undergraduate dental students (n=25); Group 2) third-year undergraduate dental students (n=54); and Group 3) post-graduate students from the periodontology program (n=12). Group 1 performed SRP in a training model using the PGPI as an instruction device. Groups 2 and 3 responded to a questionnaire regarding the difficulties and satisfaction of the PGPI. Cohen’s Kappa coefficient was used to analyze the inter-rater agreement between the two evaluators. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the questionnaire response between groups 2 and 3 (p0.05). Conclusions: This study found that the PGPI can be a valuable teaching tool for undergraduate and post-graduate students in learning how to perform periodontal instrumentation with hand curettes.