DENTAL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE LEARNING DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC - A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN BULGARIA

Oct 15, 2026

Dental preclinical students’ viewpoints are examined regarding remote education implemented during COVID-19 school closures and the perceived effectiveness of online learning, alongside related educational and personal experiences. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 258 second- and third-year students at the Medical University-Sofia in Dec 2020/Jan 2021. Results show broad approval of suspending face-to-face classes but frequent dissatisfaction with online teaching and concern about negative educational effects, financial issues, vaccination intention, and fears of side effects. Limitations are acknowledged and gaps are proposed to improve future learning environments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose and Method

Findings

Implications for Research and Practice

DOI: 10.20535/2410-8286 .231011 DENTAL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE LEARNING DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN BULGARIA Nadya Avramova (Corresponding author), Ivanka Mihaylova, Krassimira Yaneva-Ribagina, Boyko Bonev, Stanislav Nenov Department of Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University-Sofia, Bulgaria [nadya.avramova@fdm.mu-sofia.bg](nadya.avramova@fdm.mu-sofia.bg) Purpose. As dental education was significantly influenced by the novel coronavirus pandemic, this study aims to investigate preclinical dental students’ perspectives on the implementation of remote education and school closure due to COVID-19 pandemic, self-reported effectiveness of on-line learning as well as their educational and personal experiences. Method. A self-administered questionnaire was posted online to a total of 258 out of 516 second and third-year preclinical dental students in Dec 2020/Jan 2021 at Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University-Sofia, Bulgaria. Survey items focused on 3 general domains: student attitude, assessment, and concerns regarding online learning; student current knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 pandemic and student opinion of pandemic psychological impact on public health, personal experiences and intention for vaccination. Findings. Onehundred and sixty-nine students responded to the survey (response rate 65.5%) . Most of them (70.4%) approved suspension of faceto-face classes due to the COVID-19 crisis. Eighty percent expressed dissatisfaction toward online teaching sessions and agreed that this will have negative effects on their education. Fifty-eight percent did not find remote education more stressful than in-person training. More concerns were expressed about financial issues than mental health problems. Intention for getting vaccinated was expressed by 53.3% and 40.8% thought that the vaccine would cause many side health effects. Implications for research and practice. Within the limitations of the study, identified gaps in online education could help increase effectiveness of learning environment and create opportunity to enhance education for the future. Dental student thoughts about COVID-19 vaccinations provide valuable information to administrators, public health professionals and policy makers to improve efforts towards preserving, protecting, and promoting public health. Keywords: coronavirus; dental students; online education; COVID-19 vaccine; public health. Introduction As of March 2021, approximately one year after the first lockdown due to the novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), the current pandemic has caused more than 114,751,575 cases in 192 countries and regions, causing >2,549,260 global deaths (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2020) . Prior to the present pandemic, there have been previous outbreaks of other viral respiratory infections-seasonal flu, Spanish flu (H1N1), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), etc. (Deery, 2020; Ghai, 2020) . However, they did not result in long-term global disruptions. According to the Resolution on Oral Health, which has been adopted by the Executive Board (EB148) of the WHO in Geneva, oral health services are among the most affected essential health services because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 77% of the countries reporting partial or complete disruption (WHO, 2021) . Therefore, the recent coronavirus disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus represents a serious public health issue (Al-Ansari, 2020) . Furthermore, according to some authors it is believed to be the worst public health crisis of the 21st century (Hung et al., 2020) . The novel coronavirus pandemic caused significant impact on all aspects of life, including dentistry, provision of dental care and dental education (Elangovan et al., 2020; Sukumar et al., 2020) . In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study described in the document?

The study investigates preclinical dental students’ perspectives on implementing remote education and school closure due to COVID-19, including self-reported effectiveness of online learning and their educational and personal experiences.

How was the questionnaire administered and to whom?

A self-administered questionnaire was posted online to 258 out of 516 second- and third-year preclinical dental students in Dec 2020/Jan 2021 at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University-Sofia, Bulgaria.

What were the main findings about online learning and face-to-face classes?

Most respondents approved suspending face-to-face classes, but around 80% expressed dissatisfaction with online teaching sessions and agreed it would negatively affect their education. About 58% did not find remote education more stressful than in-person training.

Oct 15, 2026

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