Effect of gamification applications on success of dentistry students.

Background: Gamification, the use of game materials in education, has been used in several scientific fields, and studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in student comprehension.

Aim: To evaluate whether the success of 4^th- and 5^th-grade dentistry students increases when using the gamification applications Kahoot! and Mentimeter.

Methods: An experimental design was used to measure the effect of gamification applications on students who were taught using the traditional method. For this purpose, Mentimeter and Kahoot! applications were used in this experimental study. Three groups of 4^th- and 5^th-grade students were formed: Mentimeter, Kahoot!, and control groups. The effect of gamification applications on achievement was evaluated by administering a post-test to these groups after the instructional process. One-way analysis of variance and t-tests were used for statistical analyses.

Results: A total of 35.5% of the students were in the Mentimeter group, 29.8% in the Kahoot! group, and 34.6% in the control group. Of the total number of students, 54.8% were female and 45.2% were male, while 52.2% were 5^th-grade students and 47.8% were 4^th-grade students. The overall grade point average was found to be 66.65 (range, 24-100). There was a statistically significant difference in average success scores between students of different groups (P = 0.003 < 0.05) and grades (P = 0.036 < 0.05). The average success score was the highest in the Mentimeter group (71.64) and the lowest in the Kahoot! group (62.15). In the control group, this score was 65.41. The average success score was higher for students in the 5^th-grade (68.16) and for female students (68.84).

Conclusion: Gamification has a great potential in the education of dentomaxillofacial radiology students. Mentimeter outperformed both the Kahoot! and the traditional method in terms of average student success rates.