Use of virtual reality as a learning environment in dentistry

Second Life (SL) is an online virtual world with a social environment that may serve as a valuable learning supplement to traditional preclinical teaching methods. The educational advantages of this virtual world include immersion and interactivity. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of using 3-dimensional interactive platforms (3DIPs) designed in SL to that of traditional teaching methods for developing students' understanding of dental clinical situations that are difficult to simulate in real life. For this study, 3DIPs were developed to compare the acquisition of 3 learning objectives: understanding concepts, procedural aspects of interaction with the patient, and spatial interpretation of anatomical structure interactions. A representative dental topic, the use of a semiadjustable articulator, was selected. A quasi-experimental design with 2 groups and pretest-posttest comparison was used. The students in the control group received the conventional teaching established for the subject, which does not include SL experiences. The students in the experimental group received conventional instruction and had access to all 3DIPs for 4 weeks without limitation. The pretest and posttest consisted of a multiple-choice test with 20 questions. A Student t test was used to compare the test results of the groups (significance level α = 0.05). The posttest scores for the understanding of concepts and spatial interpretation were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between groups in posttest scores on the topic of procedural aspects. Students who used cooperative methods for acquisition of knowledge were observed to be highly motivated. The results suggest that the SL environment helps students to understand anatomical interactions that are difficult to observe in real life, is attractive to students, and contains tools with high didactic potential.