Mobile virtual tooth morphology teaching environment for preclinical dental students

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Extended Reality
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Extended reality (XR) encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality, and mixed reality as digital learning tools.
• VR enables interactive experiences within simulated environments.
• Traditional methods of teaching dental morphology are supplemented by digital learning concepts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate dental students' attitudes towards a mobile virtual reality (VR) application for learning tooth morphologies.
• To compare the effectiveness of VR learning against conventional textbook methods.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-two first-year dental students participated in the study.
• Students used a mobile VR application for one week at home.
• A questionnaire assessed intuitive handling, supplemental learning, and overall satisfaction using predefined answers, visual analog scales (VAS), and free text responses.

Main Results:

• 44% of students reported a better understanding of dental morphologies with VR compared to traditional learning.
• The VR learning environment received a median VAS score of 75.8% for potential use in other dental topics.
• Haptic, visual, and auditory feedback were rated positively with VAS scores of 73.9%, 80.0%, and 71.6%, respectively.

Conclusions:

• The VR dental learning environment offers a valuable supplementary educational resource for dental morphology.
• Over 85% of participating students recommended the VR application for dental morphology education.