Clinical motor skills are essential to train dental students. There is evidence that imagery serves to acquire and improve motor skills, since imagining an action, activates the same neural areas as when this is physically performed. The aim of this pilot randomized clinical trial was to examine the feasibility of tridimensional visualization associated with mental imagery on the development of fine motor skills of dental students compared to conventional training. Seventeen dental students without previous preclinical experiences, between 18-25 years old were recruited. After giving a theoretical lecture on the inlay preparation, participants were randomly allocated in two groups. The Experimental Group (N=9) performed daily 30 minutes of "mental practice" after visualizing a video showing the execution of an ideal inlay preparation alternating it with black screen periods to facilitate the imagery. The Control Group (N= 8) performed a 30 minutes "hands on practice" daily of the same preparation. On the fifth day, both groups carried out an inlay preparation physically, which was scanned and overlapped to the virtual preparation to assess accuracy. The execution time and accuracy of the preparation performed with regard to an ideal preparation were compared between groups. The learning style and fine motor skills at baseline were similar in all participants (P>0.001). No statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of accuracy. The time of execution in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group. This pilot study showed that visualization associated to mental imagery could develop fine motor skills in dental students, requiring less execution time than physical practice.

IntroductionClinical motor skills are essential to train dental students. There is evidence that imagery serves to acquire and improve motor skills, but there is scarce information on its application in dental education. In order to broadly map the available evidence and to detect knowledge gaps in the mental training used to develop motor skills in dentistry, a scoping review was conducted.Materials and MethodsA structured search was conducted to identify relevant references from the Web of Science, Scopus and MEDLINE/PubMed databases for studies addressing mental training methods applied to develop motor skills in dentistry.ResultsA total of 758 articles were screened and four were selected, all of which were randomized clinical trials. Three studies investigated the effectiveness of visual imagery, and one investigated kinesthetic imagery. The research theme identified was motor skill acquisition.ConclusionThe reviewed studies indicate the usefulness of mental training for skill acquisition in dentistry. To improve the generalizability of the results, further research with standardized mental training on motor skills in dentistry is needed.

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ResumenEl campo chileno ha sufrido grandes transformaciones en el transcurso de su historia. El presente artículo se propone analizar, desde un enfoque interdisciplinario, la reformulación del estatuto laboral de los trabajadores agrícolas inscrito en el Código del Trabajo bajo la idea de establecer el nuevo estatuto del temporero, una iniciativa que remonta al año 2008 cruzando dos gobiernos y que hoy se encuentra en debate parlamentario para su reformulación, rechazo o promulgación. Se analiza desde una perspectiva crítica, cómo el Estatuto da cuenta del proceso de transformación productiva del campo expresado en una neoliberalización y empresarización del trabajo agrícola, que ha transformado especialmente a los trabajadores, tanto respecto a sus relaciones con su empleador, como a sus formas de organización, en específico la actividad sindical. El particular modelo modernizador heredado desde los tiempos de la dictadura militar y que hasta la fecha no ha sido sustancialmente modificado, ha traído como anomalías, por una parte lo que los empresarios denominan escasa fidelización de los trabajadores para con sus empleadores, y por otra la desvinculación de los trabajadores con sus referentes de lucha históricos, como los sindicatos. palabras clave: trabajadores agrícolas, sindicalización, neoliberalización, Flexibilidad laboral, estatuto del temporero.