Teaching Anatomy in a Clinical Context in Dental Education: Analysis of the Impact of Two Controlled Educational Interventions on Examination Performance and Motivation.

BACKGROUND

Anatomy provides the foundation for core competencies in dental practice, including oral surgery, radiological interpretation, anaesthesia, emergency management and interdisciplinary patient care. However, evidence on clinically contextualized anatomy teaching in undergraduate dental education remains limited.

METHODS

Two controlled educational interventions were conducted within the preclinical dental curriculum at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin: a radiology-integrated head and neck anatomy course and a neuroanatomy-focused case-based learning (CBL) course. Across four cohorts, 157 students participated (55 intervention, 102 control). Performance was assessed using structured written examinations and analyzed as total, spatial-anatomical, and MCQ performance.

RESULTS

Students participating in the interventions achieved higher examination scores than controls. The imaging-based intervention was associated with higher, but non-significant, total examination scores (21.26 ± 6.96 vs. 19.17 ± 6.08; d = 0.33; p = 0.188), whereas the neuroanatomy-focused CBL intervention resulted in significantly higher overall examination performance (23.59 ± 7.12 vs. 20.20 ± 6.88; d = 0.49; p = 0.044). Across both interventions, effects were more pronounced in spatial-anatomical than MCQ-based assessment domains. Spatial-anatomical performance was higher in both intervention groups and reached significance in the neuroanatomy-focused course (18.74 ± 6.05 vs. 15.37 ± 5.98; d = 0.56; p = 0.021), whereas MCQ-based outcomes showed only minor differences. Student evaluations were positive and higher in the neuroanatomy-focused course.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinically contextualized anatomy teaching was associated with improved examination performance, particularly in spatial-anatomical domains. The neuroanatomy-focused CBL intervention demonstrated the largest educational effects and highest student acceptance. These findings support the integration of clinically relevant anatomy teaching into early dental curricula.