Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) significantly impacted teaching worldwide and posed major challenges to the delivery of teaching. Currently, limited research exists on undergraduate orthodontic teaching practices in the UK prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while no data exists on teaching during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design and Setting: National cross-sectional survey of dental schools in the UK, using a mixed methods approach.
Aim: To describe undergraduate orthodontic teaching delivery and assessment in the UK in the pre-COVID-19, peri-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 periods.
Method: A bespoke, 20-item online questionnaire was developed and pre-tested locally with people involved in delivering undergraduate teaching at the University of Leeds. The questionnaire was disseminated to fifteen undergraduate orthodontic leads in the UK. Questions related to the timing (years in which teaching takes place), delivery methods, hours of teaching allocated, assessment methods and staffing at all three periods. Feedback was gained from the participants as well as inquiring what student feedback they had received on COVID-related changes to teaching.
Results: Responses were received from eleven dental schools in England and Scotland (representing 69% of all UK dental schools). Variation was identified in teaching practices, assessment and staffing for undergraduate orthodontic teaching prior to COVID-19. During the peak of the pandemic, clinical and face-to-face teaching were replaced with online teaching methods. A blended approach remained in the post-COVID-19 period. Respondents had mixed perceptions regarding the impact of COVID-19, with some feeling that it had a negative effect on clinical teaching while others felt it was an opportunity to improve their delivery of teaching. Student feedback was reported to be mainly positive.
Conclusions: Variation existed in the delivery of undergraduate orthodontic teaching, and this persisted during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic itself, as well as staff shortages and reduced clinical chair capacity, have influenced the delivery of undergraduate teaching and stimulated the use of more online resources. The development of new online resources during the COVID-19 lockdown and the retention of a blended approach to teaching in the post-pandemic period requires further evaluation of their effectiveness due to the mixed feedback provided by respondents and students.
