Virtual dental surgery as a new educational tool in dental school.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The virtual environment of the Voxel-Man simulator that was originally designed for virtual surgical procedures of the middle ear has been adapted to intraoral procedures. To assess application of the simulator to dentistry, virtual apicectomies were chosen as the pilot-test model. METHODS: A group of 53 dental students provided their impressions after virtual simulation of apicectomies in the Voxel-Man simulator. RESULTS: Fifty-one of the 53 students recommended the virtual simulation as an additional modality in dental education. The students indicated that the force feedback (e.g. simulation of haptic pressure), spatial 3D perception, and image resolution of the simulator were sufficient for virtual training of dental surgical procedures. CONCLUSION: The feedback from dental students involved in this pilot-test has encouraged our interdisciplinary group to continue further development of the simulator with the goal of creating new training strategies in dental and medical education.