Preliminary User Evaluation of a New Dental Technology Virtual Simulation System: Development and Validation Study

Abstract

Background With the advancements in the dental health care industry, the demand for dental technicians has increased. Dental technicians should be thoroughly assessed and trained in practical skills and pass professional certification examinations to ensure that they are competent to work closely with dentists. Unfortunately, such training courses and tests are in short supply worldwide. The use of virtual simulation technology can help solve these problems. Objective This study presents a new strategic framework design for a certified dental technician practical examination called as the certified Objective Manipulative Skill Examination of Dental Technicians (OMEDT), which is based on the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). We present the development and validation of the OMEDT system, a new virtual simulated training system, to meet the demands of the OMEDT framework. The combination of OMEDT and the OMEDT system can solve the complex problems encountered in the certified dental technician practical examination with excellent efficiency, high quality, and low cost. Methods The OMEDT framework design was constructed according to the OSCE guide and the Chinese vocational skill standards for dental technicians. To develop the OMEDT system, we organized a new framework based on the virtual learning network platform, the haptic feedback system, and the real-time dental training and evaluation system. The effectiveness evaluation of the OMEDT system was divided into 2 phases: in the first phase, 36 students were recruited to use the test module to finish the task and their performance data were collected and analyzed; and in the second phase, a questionnaire was administered to 30 students who used the system for their studies and graduation exams. Results The OMEDT and the corresponding skill training virtual simulation OMEDT system were developed, and preliminary user evaluation was performed to assess their effectiveness and usefulness. The OMEDT system was found to improve students’ practical skills by training with the evaluation results. In addition, several key research topics were explored, including the effects of positive feedback of the knowledge of results on the improvement of the students’ skill level and the common sense transformation of educators in the virtual simulation technology environment. Conclusions The development of OMEDT and the OMEDT system has been completed and their effectiveness has been verified.

Virtual and Interprofessional Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Dentistry and Dental Technology: Development and User Evaluations

“…Consistent with the results of previous OMEDT studies [ 56 ], the use of CAD technology in viOSCE significantly reduced the time spent at each station for the dental technology students. Some dental technology students complained about the slowness of the CAD program.…”

“…The intraoral digital model was a clinical plaster model scanned using Lab Scanner (E4; 3shape). Each dental student used our previously developed Objective Manipulative Skill Examination of Dental Technicians (OMEDT) system [ 56 ] to observe the intraoral digital model and to design a removable partial denture (RPD) framework. At the end of the design task, the dental student submitted the design and then discussed the design with the dental technology student; the dental student could make modifications if they wanted to.…”

Efficacy of a Virtual 3D Simulation–Based Digital Training Module for Building Dental Technology Students’ Long-Term Competency in Removable Partial Denture Design: Prospective Cohort Study

“…Intraoral scanning produces 3D virtual casts that can improve precision, and it is readily accepted by the patient compared to the traditional impression method, producing models with higher accuracy [41,42]. The digital workflow allows dental technicians to design directly on these models and to perform postprocessing of multiple scanning data [14,43], thus rendering the entire workflow efficient and convenient. However, despite the rapidly increasing adoption of digital workflows in dental practices worldwide, preclinical education in dentistry and dental technology is typically lagging at imparting the relevant skills to students [12,44,45].…”

“…In our previous work, we reported a digital RPD (D-RPD) module under the framework of the certified Objective Manipulative Skill Examination of Dental Technicians (OMEDT) system, which is a free web-based application for computer-aided drawing and 2D sketch-based RPD design training for dental and dental technology students [14]. This prospective cohort study aimed to report a significant update to the D-RPD module and to further explore the optimal design of the D-RPD module for teaching.…”

Pilot Study on the Development and Integration of Anthropomorphic Models within the Dental Technician Curriculum

“…Almost one-third of the dental technician students reported an absence of previous experience during their training, which was due to the lack of digital technologies in their current curriculum. However, this type of training is in high demand, due to the continuous development of novel dental technologies [32]. Among the students in this cohort who reported prior exposure to digital technologies, females and younger participants demonstrated greater familiarity with these technologies compared to their male and older peers.…”