Manual Dexterity Admission Tests and Pre-Clinical Performance of Dentistry Students

Dental school admissions typically include various forms of assessments including manual dexterity tests (MDT) and interviews. While MDTs have long been used, their value as predictors of pre-clinical performance in dental school remains unclear. In Singapore, the dental school admissions assessment comprises an MDT and the Multiple Mini Interviews. The MDT assesses psychomotor ability using a series of manual tasks.

This commentary examined the relationship between MDT performance and pre-clinical technique performance of dental students in Paediatric Dentistry at the National University of Singapore between 2017 and 2022 (n = 363).

MDT performance demonstrated a significant positive correlation with percentile-normalised pre-clinical technique scores (τ = 0.180 [range: 0.145-0.304], p < 0.05). This association suggests that MDTs may capture psychomotor abilities relevant to subsequent pre-clinical performance. Manual dexterity remains central to the practice of dentistry, and having an objective measure for it may provide useful information when selecting potential candidates and support their subsequent training.

While MDTs should not be considered a stand-alone admission tool, these findings support their continued use alongside other admissions assessments as an indicator of readiness for pre-clinical training.