Using 3D simulation, students are able to see where the cavity is, where they can scrape, and where they should fill in the hole left by the cavity drilling
For future dentists, this kind of practice is extremely useful, as they can feel the vibration of the tool, and the device itself indicates what the patient would feel. At the end of the procedure, the simulator produces a report to inform the student about his performance.
The technology makes it possible to get closer to reality: the students see the tool moving on the tooth, they can follow the progress of the work on the screen and even see small rains of virtual debris coming from the work area.
This technology brings students closer to what really happens in the clinic, without involving patients
says University of Saskatchewan College of Dentistry program dean Walter Siqueira. Students will therefore be much better prepared to do procedures.
The University spent nearly a million dollars to acquire ten simulators from the Dutch company SIMtoCARE, which sells these simulators all over the world, from the United States to Qatar, via London.
The simulators are available almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at the dental school located in Saskatoon.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Albert Couillard
Dr. Walter Siqueira says the simulators demonstrate the College’s commitment to providing dental education that is among the best in Canada.
The College is doing important work in educating and training the next generations of oral health care providers, Siqueira notes. According to him, these simulators will broaden the experience of students.
« We are opening the door to new learning opportunities in our preclinical labs to better prepare students for their transition into direct patient care, first in the faculty dental education clinic and then into professional practice. . »
The simulator combines reality (an adjustable phantom head as well as a high-tech handpiece and dental mirror) with virtual reality objects.
“We are the first school of dentistry to have these simulators in Canada,” says Dr. Walter Siquiera proudly.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Albert Couillard
When using the simulator, students are positioned as they would be in a dental clinic, looking down on their patient. A complete virtual representation of the teeth, mouth and tongue is viewed through the simulator’s optical glass.
“If you make a mistake, in simulators you can go back ten seconds and start over and over again,” says SIMtoCARE President and CEO Karel van Gelder.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Fatoumata Traore
A few taps on an adjacent control screen allow users to choose from a selection of virtual tools that can be applied to the handpiece.
Dr. Gerry Uswak, Associate Professor at the College and Registrar of the Saskatchewan College of Dental Surgeons, expects simulators to offer significant benefits in preclinical training.
« We are at the forefront of change in how we train dentists for the future. »
A significant step forward
According to Dr. Uswak, mixed reality simulators are a significant advance over existing simulation methods.
Currently, dental manikins with acrylic teeth are primarily used by first and second year students to learn treatment techniques in a preclinical setting. This prepares students to perform procedures on real patients.
Procedures available for simulation include manual dexterity exercises, operative dentistry, prosthodontics, root canal access cavity, and implantology.
The ability to import a patient’s intraoral scan into the simulator gives students the opportunity to practice a difficult treatment before the patient is seated in the chair.
We capture all this information
emphasizes Dr. Siqueira. For example, you can link to a good filling preparation and then look at the data.
How long did it take? How long was the drilling? Then you get the wealth of data from an entire class…and you can examine the data to determine student performance and areas for improvement
he adds.
With information from Laurence Taschereau and Fatoumata Traore