The impact of a smartphone application and internet resource usage on dental education

Abstract

Background: Smartphones are being used for several educational purposes. The Internet serves a vital role in the dissemination of information. Objectives: This observational cross-sectional study aimed to identify the most common smartphone applications/health Internet sites visited by dental care providers in the KSA and to assess factors that impact on the choices of the Internet site/applications by dental care providers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was used. Data on demographics and smartphone usage were collected. Besides, participants were able to add their suggestions at the end of the study using a free open box. The statistical significance was at P > 0.05. Results: A total of 151 valid responses were collected. Of these, the majority were female (57.6%). All the participants had a smartphone, and 36.4% spent 6 to <8 h surfing. Google Scholar (81.5%) was the most used source for finding information, followed by PubMed (69.5%) and Wikipedia (49%). Almost 95.4% of participants used their smartphones to read scientific papers. Nearly 71.5% of respondents said that they used their smartphones for social networking. Conclusions: Most dental care providers regularly use smartphone applications/health Internet sites for education and research. In this study, we found many Internet sites and applications commonly used by the interns, which can be reviewed, updated, and utilized by the curriculum committee and included in the teaching process as this will save time and effort in training.