Challenges and Opportunities of Virtual Education from the Perspective of Dentistry Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has widely affected education, and different types of virtual education have been widely used. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the challenges and opportunities of E-learning from the perspective of dentistry, students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on all dental students in clinical wards. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 17, and descriptive statistical methods and Kruskal-Willi’s test were used. Results: A total of 167 students participated in this study, and 73% were satisfied with virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic era. In addition, 76% of the students were confident with the quality of offline educational content. The students’ satisfaction rate with interacting with the professors in the virtual education system was 78%. Students mentioned that the most crucial advantage of offline virtual education was the possibility of studying several times and at any time, and the most significant drawback was the lack of eye contact with professors. Conclusions: Based on the results, online education in dentistry could be helpful. A variety of E-learning methods encourage student-based education. Therefore, reducing the cognitive burden of educational content and increasing interactive activities are recommended to improve the quality of education.