Abstract:

Aim of the study:
The development of digital technologies, particularly in the field of education, has significantly advanced over the past decade. The practical utility of these educational tools became evident with the global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Although these tools have proven effective, they generate substantial additional costs for educational institutions.

Materials and methods:
This study aims to assess the extent to which students from the Faculty of Dental Medicine at Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timișoara, are familiar with and satisfied with the integration of digital technologies in the teaching-learning process. To achieve this, a questionnaire comprised of 13 questions was conducted, addressing not only the students' specialization and year of study but also topics related to e-learning methods, virtual and augmented reality, the usefulness of traditional versus digital education, and the types of devices used in the learning process.

Results:
A relatively small percentage of students currently use the Moodle platform available at the university, despite the majority expressing the opinion that e-learning is superior to traditional learning. Nearly half of the students reported having had the opportunity to use AR/VR applications, with tablets and laptops being the most frequently used devices.

Conclusions:
Although students from the dental medicine programs were only moderately satisfied with digital learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, they acknowledged the usefulness of digital systems as a complementary method to traditional education.

Keywords:

Dental medicine, digital education, e-learning, student questionnaire.