To research on the effect of three-dimensional digital design software in the teaching of dental morphology.

Fifty-two undergraduates majoring in stomatology from grade 2019 of School of Stomatology, Guangzhou Medical University were randomized by SPSS software into two groups (Group A and B) with 26 cases in each. Tooth morphology courses of anteriors and posteriors were delivered in sequence to both groups with a cross-over design. In the first course on anteriors, traditional classroom teaching was applied in group A while digital classroom teaching in group B. During the second course on posteriors, students of group A were engaged in digital classroom teaching while group B in traditional classroom teaching. In-class quizzes and surveys were conducted to evaluate the application effect and satisfaction degree of the three-dimensional digital design software in the teaching of dental morphology from the perspective of students. The results of the two groups were analyzed by independent sample t-test and descriptive analysis.

With the application of three-dimensional digital design software, students had better performance in the quizzes. In the teaching of anteriors, the test scores of the digital group and traditional group were (30 ± 4) and (27 ± 8) without statistical significance (t = -1.459, P = 0.151) . In the teaching of posteriors, the test scores of the digital group and traditional group were (53 ± 9) and (47 ± 9) , respectively, with statistical significance (t = -2.455, P = 0.018) . The results of questionnaire demonstrated that most students highly approved the following viewpoints: "Three-dimensional virtual dental model can truly represent the anatomical characteristics of teeth and it is vividly shown to help students understand the knowledge of dental morphology and provide a better interactive learning experience".

Three-dimensional digital design software-aided tooth morphology teaching is conductive to improve academic performance to some extent and it is worth of promotion in other knowledge modules. This paper can serve as an example for reform and innovation of digital dentistry teaching.