Objective　To understand and compare the online learning effect of students majoring in stomatology and dental technology under the background of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control

and to analyze the advantages and challenges of online teaching

so as to provide reference for the reform of teaching mode of stomatology education. Methods　A questionnaire survey on online learning was carried out among 267 students majoring in stomatology and 92 students majoring in dental technology in Chongqing Medical University. The results were statistically analyzed by SPSS 21.0

and chi-square test or rank sum test was used to count the data. Results　Computers and mobile phones are the main tools for students to study online. 52.92% of students used computers and 38.72% used smart phones. About 80% of the students said that they could adapt to online learning

and there was no statistical difference between the students of two majors. The online learning time of students majoring in stomatology was mainly 4-6 hours

while that of students majoring in dental technology was 2-4 hours

with statistical significance. However

the latter were more likely to ask questions to teachers than the former

and the proportion of students who often asked questions to teachers was 29.35% and 20.60%

respectively

with statistical significance. A small number of students of both majors failed log on the platform to learn and complete all the teaching materials on time. More than 50% of the students thought that online teaching was not as effective as offline teaching

and offline teaching was more conducive to mastering curriculum knowledge

without statistical differences between the students of two majors. They thought that the unsmooth learning platform

poor network conditions at home

and insufficient teaching materials prepared by teachers were the main reasons that affected the online learning effect. Conclusion　The online teaching is an important and also an advisable way to maintain teaching activities during the epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19. It will be the direction of further research on the education and teaching reform to make full use of information technology

combine the advantages of online teaching and traditional classroom teaching

and actively explore the blended teaching mode from the perspective of specialty and course characteristics.