Assessment of a preclinical training system with indirect vision for dental education

Abstract

The aim of the present study is the evaluation of a pre-clinical training system using indirect vision for dental education purposes. The study population was undergraduate dental students between the ages of 18-20, at the beginning of their first dental course. From a total of 105 students, those presenting some condition that would have had influence on their manual skills and those who for some circumstance left the study after beginning it were excluded, resulting in 69 students (51 female and 18 male) taking part in the study. The study design involved two sessions separated by a 7-day interval in which the students used a reflection box to develop psychomotor skills in mirror use. In every session they performed an initial evaluation test, some training exercises and a final evaluation test. The evaluation tests and the training exercises consisted in following a curved, straight or convoluted shape in the reflection box. Four groups of students were used who trained in different ways using curved or straight lines. Evaluation of the tests was based on the number of errors made and the time to completion. All students showed an improvement in their performance of following curved and straight lines with indirect vision after this form of training. The results after the first training session were statistically significant, while the further improvement was not significant after the 2nd training session. Those students who trained first with curved lines and later with straight lines produced more errors than the other groups. Female students performed better than male students in this assessment.

An evaluation of the preclinical prosthodontic training at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Bergen, Norway

“…In order to improve the students' competence in this field, not only were the number of preparations increased from nine in the old curriculum to 11 in the new one, but a number of supplementary endeavours were introduced. Important in this respect, unlike the old curriculum, the preparations were performed solely on phantom heads using indirect mirror vision, which is considered more relevant to the clinical requirements (10). Also, newer types of preparations for inlays, veneers and bonding technique were added.…”

Coordinación mano-ojo con visión indirecta identificada mediante los dispositivos DIVIN y TrazaCav / Hand-eye coordination with indirect vision identified by DIVIN and TrazaCav devices

“…Por otro lado, el estudio de Díaz et al (2001) también tuvo por objetivo la evaluación de un sistema de entrenamiento preclínico con visión indirecta para la educación dental, donde la población estudiada fueron alumnos en edad de 18 a 20 años, al principio de su primer curso dental. El diseño involucró dos sesiones separadas por un intervalo de siete días en que los estudiantes utilizaron una caja de reflexión para desarrollar la psicomotricidad en el uso del espejo.…”

Students’ Perceptions of Dental Anatomy Course at the University of Jordan = رأي الطلاب في مادة تشريح الأسنان العملي في الجامعة الأردنية

“…As the development of manual skills and the continuous improvement and acquisition of new motor dexterity skills are the basics for dental practice (3,4) , dental anatomy courses that have a tooth carving element begin to develop students' psychomotor skills for restoring teeth to proper form and function at an early stage in the dental curriculum (1) . This is done through a combination of two-dimensional drawing projects and exercises to carve teeth from oversized wax blocks (1,5) .…”