Performance and perceptions of dental students when using a haptic simulator for tooth preparation for a metal-free crown

Abstract

Objective: To describe the performance and analyze the perceptions of dental students at a private university in Metropolitan Lima when using a haptic simulator for the tooth preparation of a metal-free crown in the posterior region. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational study. Twenty-seven students participated, performing tooth preparation for a metal-free crown on a lower molar using the Simodont® Dental Trainer haptic simulator. Performance was evaluated using a rubric with six parameters (maximum score of 20 points), and the activity was classified as passing (≥11) or failing (<11). Perception of the simulator’s usefulness was measured using a five-point Likert-type survey. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed using nonparametric tests (p < 0.05). Results: 66.67% of the students failed the overall assessment of manual dexterity. Occlusal wear had the highest percentage of unacceptable results (70.37%), and 100% of the participants affected the adjacent teeth. In contrast, the convergence angle showed 74.07% satisfactory results. The overall perception of the simulator was positive (median = 4). Significant associations were found between performance in occlusal wear and the perception of similarity to the actual dental turbine (p = 0.041) and handle control (p = 0.043), as well as between the convergence angle and manual comfort (p = 0.010). Conclusions: Although students reported a favorable perception of the haptic simulator, technical performance was predominantly suboptimal. These findings suggest that a positive perception does not necessarily translate into immediate competence. Haptic simulation should be integrated in a structured and progressive manner into preclinical training, always incorporating instructor feedback.