Students using virtual reality simulators had better tooth preparation angles: BMC

A new study published in the journal of BMC Oral Health showed that comparing students who utilized virtual reality simulators to those who did not, the former performed better in terms of tooth preparation angles.

It has been suggested that dental students' preparation abilities may not be sufficiently developed by preclinical instruction. As technology advances, computer-aided simulations are being used more often in dentistry education. Though it's yet uncertain if these characteristics result in faster or better skill learning, virtual reality (VR) patient simulators offer practice in a realistic setting with frequent, detailed, and objective feedback. This study is to find out how virtual reality simulations affect students' clinical readiness.

The exocad® DentalCAD program, a CAD software, was used in this study to measure TOC (Total Occlusal Convergence) angles from the tooth preparation data of 100 fourth-year students who practiced preparation using a virtual reality device and had real patient experience, as well as a group of 100 fifth-year students who had no prior virtual reality experience but had real patient experience.

The SPSS software was used to examine the data gathered from these measurements. To compare various experience contexts, 25 randomly selected participants from each group were prepared in a phantom model in addition to this study. Thus, to assess the students' opinions of this novel training approach, a questionnaire was lastly given to the group that had received simulator instruction. 

According to the descriptive statistical study, 4th-year students' average preparation angles were lower than that of 5th-year students. Thus, it is feasible to conclude that grade levels have a statistically significant impact on all surface preparation outcomes.

The average preparation angles taken based on the tooth surfaces of the 4th and 5th grades are as follows, according to descriptive statistics about patient preparation experience. The averages of the mesial, distal, and buccal surfaces are relatively close to one another, but only on the palatal surfaces do the averages of the fourth grade (12.46) and the current average of the fifth grade (15.22) differ significantly.

There are statistically considerable differences between grade levels and the preparation outcomes of all surfaces (p < 0.05), according to the findings of the Independent Samples T-Test that was done in the context of grade levels and four surface areas. Overall, the findings revealed that when all dental preparation data was averaged, 4th-year students who practiced in a virtual reality simulator had lower average angles than 5th-year students who only got traditional instruction, suggesting a value closer to the ideal.

Reference:

Dündar, B., Gönüldaş, F., Akat, B., & Orhan, K. (2025). The effect of virtual reality simulators on tooth preparation skills of dental students. BMC Oral Health, 25(1), 422. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-025-05812-x