Virtual 3D tooth creation for personized haptic simulation training in access cavity preparation.

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Medical Simulation
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Personalized medicine tailors care to individual patients.
• Access cavity preparation is a critical, irreversible endodontic procedure.
• Realistic training is essential for dental students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a personalized 3D virtual reality approach for endodontic training.
• To demonstrate the creation of patient-specific dental models for simulation.
• To evaluate the use of a haptic virtual reality simulator for practicing access cavity preparation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a framework to generate a 3D virtual tooth model (STL file) from cone beam computed tomography data.
• Utilized the Simodont® haptic virtual reality dental simulator for personalized training.
• Simulated access cavity preparation on a virtual model of tooth #26.

Main Results:

• Successfully created a personalized 3D virtual tooth for simulation.
• Provided a platform for unlimited practice of access cavity preparation.
• Demonstrated the feasibility of using virtual reality for realistic endodontic training.

Conclusions:

• Personalized 3D virtual reality training can enhance endodontic education.
• Virtual practice of access cavity preparation may minimize clinical errors.
• This approach can potentially improve endodontic treatment outcomes.