Using Digital 3D Models for Faculty Calibration and Measurement of Calibration Effectiveness: A Feasibility Study

Faculty calibration is necessary for consistent assessment of dental students, yet many calibration activities rely on attendance, discussions, or static images rather than objective evidence of evaluator agreement. This study evaluated the feasibility of using digital three-dimensional (3D) tooth preparation models to support faculty calibration and measure calibration effectiveness.

This feasibility study was conducted using anonymized standard tessellation language files exported from student full-coverage crown preparations in a preclinical fixed prosthodontics course. Ten representative cases were selected from approximately 200 preparations by two experienced faculty members to reflect a range of performance levels and common preparation errors. Fifteen faculty members participated in a 1-h calibration session that included rubric review, instruction on evaluation criteria, and orientation to the 3D viewing software. Faculty then independently evaluated each case across eight preparation criteria. Inter-rater reliability was analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

The mean completion time was 51.3 min. The average-measures ICC was 0.841, indicating good inter-rater agreement among faculty evaluators. Faculty feedback and implementation observations suggested that the digital 3D model environment, which allowed rotation, magnification, sectioning, and measurement, supported the visualization of preparation features that could be difficult to evaluate using two-dimensional images alone.

Digital 3D models provided a feasible method for faculty calibration and enabled objective measurement of calibration effectiveness. This approach may help dental schools move beyond attendance-based calibration toward evidence-based evaluation of faculty agreement, although additional studies are needed across institutions, procedures, and larger faculty samples.