Examining gaze behavior in undergraduate students and educators during the evaluation of tooth preparation: an eye-tracking study

Abstract

Background Gaze behavior can serve as an objective tool in undergraduate pre-clinical dental education, helping to identify key areas of interest and common pitfalls in the routine evaluation of tooth preparations. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the gaze behavior of undergraduate dental students and dental educators while evaluating a single crown tooth preparation. Methods Thirty-five participants volunteered to participate in the study and were divided into a novice group (dental students, n = 18) and an expert group (dental educators, n = 17). Each participant wore a binocular eye-tracking device, and the total duration of fixation was evaluated as a metric to study the gaze behavior. Sixty photographs of twenty different tooth preparations in three different views (buccal, lingual, and occlusal) were prepared and displayed during the experimental session. The participants were asked to rate the tooth preparations on a 100 mm visual analog rating scale and were also asked to determine whether each tooth preparation was ready to make an impression. Each view was divided into different areas of interest. Statistical analysis was performed with a three-way analysis of the variance model with repeated measures. Results Based on the participants’ mean rates, the “best” and the “worst” tooth preparations were selected for analysis. The results showed a significantly longer time to decision in the novices compared to the experts (P = 0.003) and a significantly longer time to decision for both the groups in the best tooth preparation compared to the worst tooth preparation (P = 0.002). Statistical analysis also showed a significantly longer total duration of fixations in the margin compared to all other conditions for both the buccal (P < 0.012) and lingual (P < 0.001) views. Conclusions The current study showed distinct differences in gaze behavior between the novices and the experts during the evaluation of single crown tooth preparation. Understanding differences in gaze behavior between undergraduate dental students and dental educators could help improve tooth preparation skills and provide constructive customized feedback.