Special Issue - Science communication: Making research accessible - Interactive science communication: A case study from a dental exhibition - December 2025

Tired of online misinformation?

Take a good look and find out how an interactive exhibition, blending physical displays with digital content, was used to better connect science with everyone.

Health misinformation requires a shift in how research is communicated. We present a case study on an interactive strategy used during an MSCA fellowship.

We set up the “Open Wide: Feeling like a dentist” exhibition in the University of Birmingham Dental Hospital entrance lobby. We aimed to turn research on common dental myths into an accessible, engaging public experience. The approach blended physical displays with videos and digital quizzing to provide an interactive experience that highlighted issues related to dental misinformation.

Here, we outline how to use an exhibition to create an interactive communication tool for public engagement actions.

The challenge and the innovation

Traditional academic outputs often fail to engage the general public. This creates a knowledge vacuum, allowing misinformation to thrive. Our challenge was to directly address the MSCA fellowship's goals, evaluate new technologies in dental education, and provide practical guidance on tackling digital fake news. For this, we used a multi-platform exhibition.

We made the clinical world tangible by displaying dental equipment and historical patient record forms, aiming to demystify and contextualise clinical practice. We then introduced engaging digital elements, including tablets with targeted quizzes. The idea was to use a combined approach to overcome the barrier to passive learning.

The display gave the audience the opportunity to actively engage with the content. The digital content proved to be an important, structured tool to measure their interaction with the display.

Implementation and process

Melissa Grant organised and curated the exhibition, strategically positioned near the lifts. The digital stations drew interest, attracting users to test their knowledge from July to October 2019.

The Fake News quiz was popular, using provocative questions about teeth whitening with lemon juice, charcoal toothpaste, and bleaching. The fake-or-true quiz comprised three yes-or-no questions. Using evidence-based information and providing immediate feedback. We recognised that the instant correction mechanism is an important aspect for fighting misinformation.

Collaborations with other researchers supported the tangible elements. These included a clinical demonstration video recorded by Satnam Virdee and the ideas of my MSCA supervisor, Professor Damien Walmsley. This ensured that the content was innovative and clinically reliable.

Marco Antonio Dias da Silva

Marco Antonio Dias da Silva is an Associate Professor of Oral Biology/Teledentistry. He completed an MSCA fellowship at the University of Birmingham in (2017–2019), researching digital tools for education. Keen on using emerging technologies, he is currently an MSCA fellow at the Universities of Oulu and Brescia (from 2024), researching digital health applications. His research involves using AI to improve learning in the classroom and clinical settings.

Take-home messages

The project's success confirms the power of two-way communication. The instant feedback was an effective tool for correcting common misinformation. By blending a physical, contextual setting with targeted digital interaction, we created an effective and easily replicable model. Our strategy helped us understand our patients’ beliefs and misconceptions, which was fundamental in helping to write the final report of the fellowship.

We encourage other researchers to use similar approaches to move beyond traditional dissemination. The integration of digital tools, historical context, and current-day myths worked particularly well, enhancing the impact of public engagement. We recommend focusing on the immediate feedback loop and user experience as the key drivers of measurable public engagement. Giving users a second opportunity to test their knowledge also boosted confidence and reinforced learning.

What has changed since then...

Today, it is much easier to produce different types of content. Engagement actions like that could benefit a bit more from social media integration. Most visitors would prefer to use their own devices instead of the provided tablet. QR codes can be placed in strategically visible areas with impactful phrases to drive attention and direct access.

But misinformation is now much more wellorganised, and some subjects may draw a potentially polarised audience. Attention should also be given to AI-generated content, its association with deepfake technologies, and data privacy-related issues.

The Lemon Quiz Photo, fighting Dental Myths. A screen capture from the interactive quiz demonstrating common pieces of health misinformation. [Dias da Silva, Walmsley] (CC BY 4.0).

Nevertheless, a captivating in-person interactive exhibition still draws lots of attention, and each participant is also a potential promoter of the whole experience. 

Conclusion

The Open Wide Exhibition successfully converted research on dental misinformation into an accessible, engaging, and effective educational tool. By using an interactive exhibition to tackle public dental myths, we helped empower visitors to become more critical consumers of information. Our work demonstrates a viable strategy for researchers willing to publicly bridge the gap between science and society.

Ackowledgement

Marco Antonio Dias da Silva is an MSCA COFUND fellow. He receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (MSCA grant 2430429511).

Marco Antonio Dias da Silva

Orcid 

University of Oulu/University of Brescia

Federal University of Campina Grande

marco.diasdasilva@oulu.fi

Satnam Singh Virdee

Orcid

University of Birmingham

Melissa Grant

Orcid

University of Birmingham

Anthony Damien Walmsley

Orcid

University of Birmingham