The Effectiveness of Live and Prerecorded Video Demonstrations in Teaching Restorative Dentistry to Undergraduate Students: Cohort Study.

Background: Mastering complex psychomotor skills is essential in undergraduate dental education; however, traditional live demonstrations (LDs) face limitations such as high instructor-to-student ratios and restricted viewing angles. Prerecorded video demonstrations (VDs) offer scalable, repeatable instructions and the ability to integrate multimedia cues but may lack real-time interaction and immediate feedback. There is limited evidence comparing these teaching modalities, particularly regarding gender differences, in the acquisition of restorative dentistry skills. Objective: This study aimed to (1) compare first-year dental students' knowledge acquisition and procedural performance following a LD versus a prerecorded VD of a class II amalgam restoration and (2) evaluate whether gender influences outcomes within each demonstration method. Methods: A total of 51 students enrolled in an Introduction to Operative Dentistry course (2024-2025) participated in this cohort study. The students were randomized into 2 groups: LD (26/51, 51%) or VD (25/51, 49%). Both groups received identical lectures and demonstrations of a standardized class II cavity preparation and amalgam restoration. Knowledge was assessed via preprocedural and postprocedural multiple-choice questionnaires, and the procedural performance was graded by 2 blinded raters using a 10-point rubric. Student perceptions were measured with an 8-item Likert survey. Mixed ANOVA and independent and paired 2-tailed t tests evaluated between-group and within-group differences, while gender analyses used factorial ANOVA. Interrater reliability (interclass correlation coefficient=0.991) was confirmed. Results: The baseline knowledge scores did not differ between the 2 groups. After the demonstration, knowledge was significantly higher with LD (mean 71.22, SD 17.3) than VD (mean 58.4, SD 21.7; P=.02; Cohen d=0.65). The LD method demonstrated significant within-group improvement (P<.001; Cohen d=0.83). Procedural grading favored LD (mean 8.3, SD 0.9 vs mean 7.9, SD 1.0); however, results were not statistically significant (P=.08; Cohen d=0.50). No significant differences were found in the student perception survey. Gender analysis revealed that male students in the LD group achieved higher postknowledge scores (mean 74.0, SD 12.3 vs mean 55.0, SD 24.3; P=.03), greater score improvements (P=.03), and higher grading scores (mean 8.5, SD 0.6 vs mean 7.6, SD 1.3; P=.03) compared to those in the VD group. No significant differences were observed among female students. Conclusions: LDs yielded superior knowledge acquisition and better performance compared to VDs, particularly for male students. VDs remain a viable alternative when supplemented with interactive elements and instructor feedback. Blended teaching models integrating live and video methods may optimize the demonstration experience for the students, thus enhancing the learning outcomes.