Chatbot Versus Lecture in the Teaching of Endodontic Diagnosis for Undergraduate Students-A Pilot Study.

Purposes: This study compared a chatbot with an expository interactive lecture as a tool for teaching pulpal and periapical diagnosis in undergraduate dental education.

Methods: A chatbot and an expository interactive lecture were used to deliver the topic of pulpal and periapical diagnosis based on the American Association of Endodontics guidelines. A total of 24 second-year students in a 4-year undergraduate program were enrolled. An initial test (Test A) with 10 multiple-choice questions was applied to all students. Then, the students were randomly assigned to two different groups: Lecture (control) and Chatbot (experimental). The Lecture group attended an expository interactive lecture delivered by an endodontist. Simultaneously, in the Chatbot group, the chatbot was delivered to the students through the Telegram Messenger application. After 50 min, both groups were submitted to the same test (Test B). Subsequently, the Control group used the chatbot, while the Experimental group attended a lecture by the same faculty. After the split activity, all the students replied to a questionnaire with their perceptions regarding both activities. Statistical analysis was performed with the significance level set at 5%.

Results: Twenty-two students replied to the questions. Both Lecture and Chatbot groups showed significant grade improvement (Lecture: from 6.18 ± 2.08 to 8.45 ± 1.28; Chatbot: from 5.55 ± 1.63 to 7.91 ± 1.58). No difference in the initial and final average grades was detected between the groups. Overall, the chatbot was considered more fun and simpler while the lecture was preferred for understanding (p < 0.05). Chatbot was rated 4.95/5 for ease of use.

Conclusions: The chatbot was as effective as an interactive lecture in delivering the basic content of pulpal and periapical diagnosis. The students' perception was that the chatbot was simpler and more fun than the lecture; however, the interactive lecture is a better tool to fully understand the topic. The professor is irreplaceable when discussing the content.