Kahoot! Impact: Game-based learning puts a smile on dental hygiene education

A new study from a dental hygiene training program in Canada confirms what research across health professional education keeps showing: game-based learning works.

Key takeaways

• The vast majority of studentsin the dental hygiene study agreed that Kahoot! helped them with their studies and that playing in class was fun.
• 75% of studentsreported that in-class competition was a direct source of motivation.
• Across health professional education, research shows Kahoot! improves test scores, engagement, and knowledge retention.

Dental hygiene students report 100% satisfaction with Kahoot!

Despite a growing evidence base for game-based learning in health professional education, one field had been absent from the research: dental hygiene. That changed with a recent study at the University of Alberta, where researchers introduced Kahoot! into a third-year course exploring social determinants of health, public health principles, and epidemiology.

Every student who responded to the survey agreed that Kahoot! kept them attentive and engaged. They reported learning new things while playing and believed the games had a positive impact on their overall learning. They universally described the experience as fun and wanted similar opportunities in other courses.

As one student put it: "It is engaging and allows me to use active recall to better reinforce my understanding and knowledge of course content."

75% of students reported that in-class competition motivated them to engage more deeply with the material, and that playing Kahoot! had a positive impact on their exam scores. The leaderboard gave students valuable information about their own progress, transforming abstract concepts into tangible feedback: Do I understand this material? Where do I stand? What do I need to review?

Motivation and instant feedback drive better learning outcomes

Health professional education faces a unique challenge: students must master complex theoretical content while developing practical skills and clinical judgment. Traditional lectures can feel disconnected from the hands-on realities of patient care.

Game-based learning addresses this in two ways.

First, it drives motivation by satisfying core psychological needs. Self-determination theory suggests we're driven by needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. The joy of a correct answer satisfies competence. Control over our responses fulfills autonomy. The shared experience of playing with classmates strengthens relatedness. When these needs are met, students don't just play to win, they play because they genuinely want to learn.

Second, it provides immediate feedback. Students discover what they know and don't know in the moment, not weeks later on an exam. For instructors, seeing which questions challenge the class reveals gaps in understanding before they become problems. The dental hygiene researchers noted that Kahoot! serves as a driver for discussion and debate, prompting students to think critically and apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios.

Consistently supporting learning across health professional education

The dental hygiene results mirror what researchers have found in nursing, pharmacy, and medical education. At the University of Coimbra, pharmaceutical sciences students recognized Kahoot! as a valuable active learning strategy. At the University of Valladolid, nursing students showed amplified motivation and participation. A randomized controlled study in pediatric emergency nursingalso found that students using Kahoot! achieved significantly higher exam scores.

Across different topics, research shows that game-based learning improves engagement, and engagement improves outcomes. A meta-analysis of independent studies confirmed that Kahoot! can improve students' performance on a typical test by a full letter grade.

How to implement game-based learning effectively

The research across health professional disciplines points to a few key practices:

• Frame it as practice, not performance.When students understand that kahoots are for learning rather than judgment, they engage more freely.
• Make it consistent.Regular use drives the strongest results. Try once a week, with 4-5 questions to start the lesson.
• Use the data.When you see which concepts are challenging the class, you can address misunderstandings immediately.
• Debrief after the game.The most valuable learning often happens in the discussion that follows. Using game results as a start for deeper exploration connects the playful experience to meaningful outcomes.

When learning feels like play, students show up differently

Health professional education demands a lot: complex content, heavy workloads, and high-stakes assessments. Finding ways to make learning engaging, without sacrificing rigor, is an ongoing challenge.

What the research shows, from pharmacy to nursing to dental hygiene, is that game-based learning delivers. Students don't just tolerate it; they embrace it. They find it fun, they find it helpful, and they want more of it.

This dental hygiene study may be the first of its kind in its field, but it's part of a much larger story. When learning feels like play, students show up with minds on and ready to engage, and this drives real results for student achievement both in the classroom and in the field.