Pen and instrument grips and clinical performance in dental students

The hand grips used by 114 students for holding dental handpieces and pens were examined, classified, and related to each student's grade in a broadly-based assessment of clinical performance. It was found that there was a marked tendency for students with unusual dental handpiece grips to be in the lower clinical grades. More surprisingly, there was a similar simple relationship between unusual writing pen grips and clinical grades. No difference in clinical performance was detected between students using the two generally recommended forms of handpiece grip. The results have implication for interceptive and remedial teaching of dental students experiencing manipulative difficulties.