Comparing Army Dental Specialists Knowledge of Treating Dental Avulsion Before and After Receiving Educational Material

INTRODUCTION: Severe dental injuries on the battlefield affect mission readiness and create financial and logistical issues in providing timely and appropriate care for injured Soldiers. Currently, the Army Dental Specialist (68E) training curriculum does not include any training on the management of traumatic dental injuries. This study aimed to compare knowledge retention and confidence following 2 educational approaches: an educational handout alone versus a handout combined with a 15-minute in-person lecture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two cohorts (n = 34) enrolled in the Preventive Dentistry Specialty Advanced Skill Identifier (X2) program for Dental Specialists at Joint Base San Antonio participated in this study. Each class received a pre-test, educational handout, and a post-test administered 4 weeks later to assess their knowledge retention on the management of dental avulsion at the point of injury. The experimental group also received a 15-minute, in-person, PowerPoint-based lecture with an opportunity to ask clarifying questions of a dental provider. RESULTS: Both groups exhibited improvement from pre-test to post-test, with the combined study participants' mean overall improvement being 17.4%. There were no statistically significant differences between the Control and Experimental Groups in improvement of pre-test versus post-test scores. The Control Group demonstrated a greater mean score increase, although this difference was not statistically significant. Additionally, the confidence level within the Experimental Group increased significantly compared to the Control Group, despite no significant corresponding difference in score increase between the groups. CONCLUSION: Although no significant difference in knowledge gain was observed between educational delivery methods, the findings highlight the need to expand the current curriculum to include training on traumatic dental injuries.