Getting the "feel" of it: the non-visual component of dimensional accuracy during operative tooth preparation

The purpose of this study was to determine what portion of a dentist's dimensional accuracy in the use of the high-speed rotary handpiece for operative tooth preparation can be attributed to visual control during the preparation. Dental students in a performance simulation laboratory recorded an 87.5 per cent handpiece control accuracy during a maxillary occlusal preparation, using normal intraoral mirror vision. When visual contact was eliminated during preparation, the accuracy declined only 13 per cent, to 74.5 per cent. The results of this study lend support to the development and use of dental clinical simulations and approaches which encourage proprioceptive and other non-visual skills, in addition to visual skills, during preclinical and clinical dental education.