The objective of this study was to adapt a manual dexterity test to a pre-clinical training setting and to determine its reliability. Ninety-two students in the final year of their undergraduate program in dentistry at the School of Dentistry of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, were evaluated. After the development of the Dental Manual Dexterity Assessment (DMDA), its reliability was evaluated in a reproducibility study. Two examiners evaluated twenty subjects’ test cubes in duplicate under the naked eye and using an X-ray view box and determined the subjects’ final scores on the DMDA. The examiners waited a week between their two scoring sessions, which were referred to as the first assessment and the second assessment. The intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility study was performed using an intra class correlation coefficient (ρ). A descriptive statistical analysis was performed, and the prevalence of the level of manual dexterity and the time required to complete the test were estimated using a point estimation and a 95% confidence interval. Both intra-examiner reproducibility (ρ1=0.892; ρ2=0.938) and inter-examiner reproducibility (ρ1st=0.914; ρ2nd=0.813) were classified as “good” or higher. A high prevalence of manual dexterity levels classified as “high” was observed among the subjects evaluated. The adaptation resulted in a valid and reliable instrument for measuring manual dexterity among dental students. The method is simple and may be implemented early on in undergraduate programs in dentistry.

Objectives This study observed the effect of different magnification systems on dental students’ real and perceived fine motor skills. Methods This was a laboratory-based experimental study. Students in the fifth year of an undergraduate dentistry program (N = 92) participated in this study. The dependent variables were real motor skills, perceived motor skills and time required to complete the fine motor skills test. The independent variable was the use of a magnification system under four conditions. For each condition, the Dental Manual Dexterity Assessment was performed, which consisted of inserting the #3195FF bur into targets positioned on a Styrofoam plate. The accuracy of each penetration of the targets was scored, using a point system with a maximum possible score of 246 points. Students’ perceived fine motor skills were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) that ranged from zero for no skills to ten for maximum skills. A descriptive statistical analysis and the repeated measures ANOVA were performed (α = 0.05). Results The Galilean and Keplerian loupes were found to positively affect students’ real fine motor skills (p<0.01); however, perceived fine motor skills and time were significantly better (p<0.01) under the naked eye. Conclusions Dental students’ real fine motor skills were better when Galilean and Keplerian loupes were used, but the perceived fine motor skills were not.