title: Transition from glass to digital slide microscopy in the teaching of oral pathology in a Brazilian dental school.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several medical and dental schools have described their experience in the transition from conventional to digital microscopy in the teaching of general pathology and histology disciplines; however, this transitional process has scarcely been reported in the teaching of oral pathology. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to report the transition from conventional glass slide to virtual microscopy in oral pathology teaching, a unique experience in Latin America.
  
  
  METHODS
  An Aperio ScanScope® scanner was used to digitalize histological slides used in practical lectures of oral pathology. The challenges and benefits observed by the group of Professors from the Piracicaba Dental School (Brazil) are described and a questionnaire to evaluate the students' compliance to this new methodology was applied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An improvement in the classes was described by the Professors who mainly dealt with questions related to pathological changes instead of technical problems; also, a higher interaction with the students was described. The simplicity of the software used and the high quality of the virtual slides, requiring a smaller time to identify microscopic structures, were considered important for a better teaching process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Virtual microscopy used to teach oral pathology represents a useful educational methodology, with an excellent compliance of the dental students.
authors.affiliation: Oral Diagnosis Department (Pathology), Piracicaba Dental School - UNICAMP, Av. Limeira, 901 CEP 13.414-903, Piracicaba - São Paulo - Brazil, pavargas@fop.unicamp.br.
authors.forename: Felipe-Paiva
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Alan-Roger
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Santos-Silva
authors.forename: Márcio-Ajudarte
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Oslei-Paes de
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Pablo-Agustin
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Vargas
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010339:Pathology, Oral / Q000193:education*; D012575:Schools, Dental; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires