Clinical competency development with handmade simulator in highly realistic paediatric dentistry scenarios.

INTRODUCTION: The use of simulation is extremely useful in pregraduate students. However, there is a very small number of simulators adapted to paediatric dentistry. A paediatric simulator was created to use in simulated scenarios for paediatric dentistry using an actress in the role of mother. The objectives of the present study were three. First, to analyse the perception of clinical competencies acquired by the students. Second, to examine the realism perceived by the students. Finally, to analyse the influence on the perception of clinical competencies after the integration of a handmade simulator in the Paediatric Dentistry III course. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight clinical scenarios were carried out with a modified Erler Zimmer simulator for children, a professional actress in the role of the mother and two students (in the roles of dentist and assistant) on a paediatric dentistry case of pulpal pathology. The educational intervention was evaluated on 114 students by means of questionnaires with Likert-type answers applied pre- and post-simulation. RESULTS: The perception of clinical competence in the students increased an average of 0.956 points in relation with the initial clinical evaluation, finding a strong correlation between the perception of subsequent competence and all the perceived realism, with significant statistical differences in all cases. The realism of the simulated participant (professional actress) was the best rated by the students, although not significantly. The realism of the mannequin was positively and strongly correlated with the perceived realism of the cabinet. CONCLUSION: Simulation using a handmade mannequin with a professional actress in a simulated dental office increased the perception of clinical competence in 4th year dental students and raised the level of overall realism perceived by the student.

Perception of Realism and Acquisition of Clinical Skills in Simulated Pediatric Dentistry Scenarios.

Simulation, depending on the modality and fidelity of the scenarios, is an important resource for clinical teaching and achievement of learning outcomes in dentistry. The objectives of this study were to compare the degree of realism perceived by students and teachers in a simulated scenario, and to assess the level of competence acquired by the students. METHOD: In the Pediatric Dentistry course, eight clinical scenarios were carried out, each one using a modified Erler Zimmer child simulator (handmade), a professional actress and two students (dentist and assistant) on the same pediatric dentistry case consisting of a pulp abscess in tooth 8.5. A total of 114 students in the 4th year of dentistry studies participated in the pediatric dentistry course. Questionnaires with Likert-type answers were elaborated to evaluate the educational intervention, applying them before and after the simulation. RESULTS: The realism best valued by the students was that of the simulated participant and the worst that of the manikin, the latter being strongly related to the realism of the office. It was observed that students' perception of clinical competence increased as the overall realism of the scenario increased (p-value = 0.00576). CONCLUSION: This research suggests that the creation of scenarios using handmade mannequins and simulated participants achieves a high level of realism, increasing the level of clinical competence perceived by dental students.

Train Strategies for Haptic and 3D Simulators to Improve the Learning Process in Dentistry Students.

Dental training faces the growing shortage of extracted teeth and the ethical precepts of Bionot learning on patients and reducing the environmental damage that preclinical trainings generate. Haptic and 3D simulators reproduce pathologies and provide a greater magnification of the processes, reducing water expenditure and pollution, but their curricular integration is complex. Two resources of complementary use (informative written manual and video tutorial) were designed to facilitate the theoretical and technical domain (know how the simulator works and make it work), as well as the advanced management of the simulator (operate the simulator autonomously, without setbacks). After 5 years of using these resources, an evaluative study was conducted with 175 students and 32 teachers. The aim was to assess the student's perception of knowledge/learning, its statistical relationship with the didactic resources used and compare these results with the teachers' perception of their students' knowledge/learning. Spearman's Rho coefficient and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were performed. Both students and teachers considered that the technical domain (make the simulator work) was the domain that prevailed the most. There was a tendency for students not to value much the necessity of a specific preparation prior to using the simulator. This tendency resulted in a low level of study of both the written manual and the video tutorial. In conclusion, both students and teachers considered that the best strategy of knowledge/learning was the direct exchange with the simulator.