Training in tooth preparation utilizing a support system

Abstract

Tooth preparation is an essential technique for dental treatment, but it is a skill not easily learned by a dental student. To facilitate this leaning process, a new tooth preparation support system with a parallel link mechanism was developed. This study reports the educational efficiency of this system for dental students. Dental students with no experience in clinical practice were selected and divided into two groups; one trained with this support system; and the other, with freehand preparation. They prepared axial walls in right maxillary second premolars and molars mounted in a phantom manikin with an air-turbine handpiece. Convergence angles of the axial walls and parallelisms between axes of prepared teeth were evaluated. Training with the support system led to significantly smaller convergence angles and parallelisms as compared with freehand preparation training. With the freehand preparation after training, the convergence angles and parallelisms became smaller in the group trained with the support system than those trained with freehand. The above findings suggest that training in tooth preparation utilizing the newly developed support system can be one of practical programs that are useful for dental students to achieve greater competency in tooth preparation.

Evaluation of tooth preparations - A comparative study between faculty members and pre-clinical students

“…Tooth preparation constitutes a basic technique for dental treatment and therefore plays an essential role in pre‐clinical dental education (1, 2). Learning the widely differing forms of tooth preparation places high demands on both students and faculty in terms of three‐dimensional conceptualisation, precision, reproducibility and evaluation (3).…”

Effects of Evaluator's Fatigue and Level of Expertise on the Global and Analytical Evaluation of Preclinical Tooth Preparation

“…Tooth crown preparation was selected for investigation because it constitutes a basic technique for dental treatment and therefore plays an essential role in preclinical dental education. 2,36,37 Moreover, learning the widely differing forms of tooth preparation places high demands on both students and faculty in terms of 3D conceptualization, precision, reproducibility, and evaluation. 37 The shortage of senior faculty in dental schools places an extra burden on the existing staff regarding consistent student evaluation to avoid conflicts with the students.…”

Assessment of undergraduate students’ tooth preparation for full veneer cast restorations

“…In addition, possibly the length and content of the preclinical course in both institutions might have an impact on the clinical performance of the students. Training in clinical or preclinical courses without utilizing proper teaching aids [29][30][31] or support systems [32] could have a negative impact on the operative performance of the students.…”