Abstract
Background: This study aimed to determine the effect of multimedia-based and traditional teaching methods on the quality of dental student preparation by evaluating its smoothness, occlusal reduction, and the presence of undercut in the pre-clinic period. Methods: This study was conducted on 60 pre-clinical dental students, who were divided into two groups of A and B. Group A was trained through Multimedia-based teaching methods, including PowerPoint, instructor demonstration, and procedural videos, and group B was trained by traditional education methods, which only included instructor demonstration. The computer-aided design (CAD) system was used to evaluate the preparation factors of smoothness, presence of undercuts, and occlusal reduction on the second premolar and first molar teeth. Results: A significant difference was found between the frequency of smoothness in two education groups for teeth 5 and 6 (P = 0.026, P = 0.022). However, there was no significant difference between the frequency distribution of occlusal reduction in the two education groups (P = 0.383 and 0.168, for teeth 5 and 6, respectively) and was no significant difference between the undercut frequency in the two education groups (P = 0.365 and 0.078 for teeth 5 and 6, respectively). Conclusions: Based on the results, multimedia-based education can effectively promote two challenging preparation factors, including occlusal reduction and smoothness among pre-clinical students.