Acceptability of interactive post-endodontic restoration decision making application among undergraduate dental students.

Background/purpose: Selecting an appropriate coronal restoration after root canal treatment requires careful consideration, however, there is a lack of established web-based tool that is based on clear guidelines for suitable post-endodontic restorations. Hence, we aimed to design and determine the acceptability of an interactive application to aid the decision making process for post-endodontic restoration among the undergraduate dental students.

Materials and methods: A web-based post-endodontic restoration decision making interactive application, (RestoSmart) was developed after a detailed review of available literature. Seventy undergraduate dental students of IMU University were recruited in the study. A validated questionnaire was given to the participants before and after the use of RestoSmart to answer the provided mock clinical scenarios. Obtained data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26 software package.

Results: The statistical analysis demonstrated that RestoSmart was acceptable among the undergraduate dental students (P < 0.05). Initially, participants recognized the potential benefits of designing an interactive application, 74% believing that it may enhance decision making and 76% emphasizing its user-friendliness. Additionally, close to half of the participants expressed the willingness to use interactive tools in future. Following the use of RestoSmart, there was a notable increase in favorability, with 94.2% finding it helpful in the decision making and 94.3% acknowledging its user-friendliness. Furthermore, 87.2% expressed intent to use RestoSmart in future.

Conclusion: RestoSmart was useful for decision making and user friendly. While overall response was positive, there exist some areas for improvement such as ease of use, updating evidence-based guidelines, and establishing its helpfulness in teaching and learning.