Journal of dental education
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the preclinical use of a training model in local anesthesia teaching on the subsequent clinical administration of a local anesthetic. Sixty-five dental students gave their first injection to a fellow dental student: twenty-two students after previous experience on a training model and forty-three without this training. ⋯ However, the recipients of the injection considered students who exercised on the training model significantly more confident and calm, and reported a near-significant decrease in level of pain during insertion of the needle and feeling of a tingling lip. These results suggest that use of preclinical training models in local anesthesia teaching may have beneficial effects.
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The use of haptic devices in the medical field has become widespread in the last decade. In this study, a visio-haptic dental training system is developed using haptic and stereoscopic devices. Several advantages are offered by such a simulation system, including effective learning without any fear of making mistakes on a patient, possibility of repeating various dental operations, ease of evaluating student performance, and low-cost dental training even without an instructor. ⋯ The implementation details and the software structure used are described. Finally, detailed performance tests by a group of dentists are conducted, and the results of these tests are presented. The performance tests found that dentists have a strong motivation to use the system and that in the aspects of usability, clarity, effectiveness, help/support provided, and satisfaction, the users' responses were above average.
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The vision of the American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) is embodied in its new slogan: building consensus and leading change to prepare graduates for an undiscovered future. The ADEA CCI envisions a future in which dental practice is vastly different from what it is today and dental education must be very different for graduates who face a future of unimaginable scientific discovery. ⋯ The ADEA CCI has developed a variety of policy recommendations, strategies, and resources to help policymakers, dental educators, and dental graduates better prepare for this undiscovered future. A key resource is twenty-two commissioned white papers that cover diverse topics, such as curriculum reform, facilitating change, faculty development, student assessment, and academic leadership.