Background: Dentists' competence and comfort level in detecting oral cancer may be strongly influenced by their dental school training. The purpose of this study was to compare the demonstrated knowledge of oral cancer topics among students receiving lectures and those learning the material through self-instruction at two dental schools.
Methods: Students at School 1 received 17 hours of lectures on various topics in oral cancer, including epidemiology, etiologic factors, histopathology, clinical appearance, clinical management and treatment, and oral complications. Lecture topics reflected material in the assigned text. Students at School 2 received only an introductory lecture, followed by a ten-week self-paced course using the same text used in School 1. At the end of the courses, the students at the two schools received identical 50-item final examinations.
Results: The students who had received the lectures and assigned readings scored significantly higher than did those assigned self-instruction alone (mean score of 91.2% vs 81.3%; p < 0.0001). This difference remained after statistical adjustment for entering grade-point average and Dental Aptitude Test score.
Conclusions: Self-study of assigned readings may result in lower levels of knowledge of oral cancer topics than more traditional lecture-based teaching. The impact of this difference on clinical performance has not yet been demonstrated.