Benefits and challenges of the integration of haptics-enhanced virtual reality training within dental curricula

Szabolcs Felszeghy; Murat Mutluay; Mikko Liukkonen; Nicla Flacco; Mahmoud M Bakr; Sarah Rampf; Simona-Georgiana Schick; Faisal Mushtaq; Maria F Sittoni-Pino; Kristin Ackerman; Santiago Arias-Herrera; Ben Audsley; Kinga Bágyi; Santiya Bell; Tamás Bistey; Samantha Byrne; Giorgia Carpegna; Esther Carramolino-Cuéllar; Juliana B da Costa; Mark R Durham; Sónnica Galán-Gil; Gábor Gerber; Diego González-Carrasco; Kandace Gourley; Péter Hermann; Outi Huhtela; Hanna Hytönen; Antti Kämppi; Michael Lampe; Carlos López-Roig; Rita Marincsák; David Morton; Masako Nagasawa; Katalin Nagy; László Nagy; Marit Øilo; Cesar Orsini; Ulla Palotie; Mihaela Pantea; Damiano Pasqualini; Anita Pétercsák; Daniela Pino-Valenzuela; Edgar Quenta-Silva; Amitha Ranauta; Gitana Rederiene; Pere Riutord-Sbert; Ewa J Rodakowska; María P Rodríguez-Hopp; Mauricio Saenz-Laguna-Saavedra; Anna L Suominen; Jorge Tricio; Ülle Voog-Oras; Michael D Wolcott; Sila Nur Usta; Peter Lingström; Muhammad A Shazib; Maria C Manzanares-Céspedes; Thomas J Greany; Margrit Maggio; Rebecca Stolberg; Gül Gülsün; Sompop Bencharit; Barry Quinn

doi:10.1002/jdd.13800

Benefits and challenges of the integration of haptics-enhanced virtual reality training within dental curricula

J Dent Educ. 2024 Dec 17. doi: 10.1002/jdd.13800. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Szabolcs Felszeghy¹, Murat Mutluay¹, Mikko Liukkonen², Nicla Flacco³, Mahmoud M Bakr⁴, Sarah Rampf⁵, Simona-Georgiana Schick⁵, Faisal Mushtaq^{6

7}, Maria F Sittoni-Pino³, Kristin Ackerman⁸, Santiago Arias-Herrera³, Ben Audsley⁹, Kinga Bágyi¹⁰, Santiya Bell⁸, Tamás Bistey¹¹, Samantha Byrne¹², Giorgia Carpegna¹³, Esther Carramolino-Cuéllar³, Juliana B da Costa¹⁴, Mark R Durham¹⁵, Sónnica Galán-Gil³, Gábor Gerber¹⁶, Diego González-Carrasco¹⁷, Kandace Gourley⁸, Péter Hermann¹⁸, Outi Huhtela¹, Hanna Hytönen¹, Antti Kämppi¹⁹, Michael Lampe²⁰, Carlos López-Roig¹⁷, Rita Marincsák¹⁰, David Morton²¹, Masako Nagasawa²², Katalin Nagy²³, László Nagy¹¹, Marit Øilo²⁴, Cesar Orsini^{25

26}, Ulla Palotie¹⁹, Mihaela Pantea²⁷, Damiano Pasqualini²⁸, Anita Pétercsák¹¹, Daniela Pino-Valenzuela²⁹, Edgar Quenta-Silva³⁰, Amitha Ranauta⁹, Gitana Rederiene³¹, Pere Riutord-Sbert¹⁷, Ewa J Rodakowska²⁴, María P Rodríguez-Hopp³², Mauricio Saenz-Laguna-Saavedra¹⁷, Anna L Suominen^{1

33}, Jorge Tricio³⁴, Ülle Voog-Oras³⁵, Michael D Wolcott⁸, Sila Nur Usta³⁶, Peter Lingström³⁷, Muhammad A Shazib⁸, Maria C Manzanares-Céspedes³⁸, Thomas J Greany³⁹, Margrit Maggio⁴⁰, Rebecca Stolberg⁴¹, Gül Gülsün⁴¹, Sompop Bencharit⁸, Barry Quinn⁴²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Dentistry, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
² Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
⁴ School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Department of Conservative Dentistry, Clinic for Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Diseases, Heidelberg Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁶ Centre for Immersive Technologies, University of Leeds & NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds, UK.
⁷ NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds, UK.
⁸ Workman School of Dental Medicine, High Point University, High Point, North Carolina, USA.
⁹ Queen Marry University of London, London, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
¹¹ Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
¹² Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹³ Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, Dental School, Turin, Italy.
¹⁴ Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Biosciences, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
¹⁵ School of Dentistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
¹⁶ 2nd Department of Anatomy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁷ ADEMA-HEALTH Group IUNICS, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain.
¹⁸ Clinic for Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
¹⁹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
²⁰ School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
²¹ University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
²² Division of Bio-Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry & Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
²³ School of Dentistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
²⁴ Department of Clinical Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
²⁵ Centre for Dental Development and Research, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
²⁶ Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
²⁷ Department of Fixed Prosthodontics and Occlusology, Faculty of Dentistry, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
²⁸ Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
²⁹ Department of Operative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
³⁰ Facultad de Estomatología, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
³¹ European Dental Hygienists Federation, Utrecht, Netherlands.
³² Facultad de Salud y Odontología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile.
³³ Oral Health Teaching Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
³⁴ Faculty of Health and Dentistry, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
³⁵ Institute of Dentistry, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
³⁶ Gulhane Faculty of Dentistry, University of Health Sciences Ankara, Ankara, Turkey.
³⁷ Department of Cariology, Institute of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
³⁸ Human Anatomy and Embryology Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
³⁹ Department of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
⁴⁰ Division of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁴¹ American Dental Education Association, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
⁴² Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

PMID: 39690427
DOI: 10.1002/jdd.13800

Abstract

Background: Haptics-enhanced virtual reality (VR-haptic) simulation in dental education has evolved considerably during the past decade, representing a promising resource of simulation-based training opportunities to support conventional practice. We aim to summarize current literature on the applications of VR-haptics in learning, practicing, and teaching dental education.

Methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, focusing on research articles published between January 2010 and January 2024. Out of the 667 articles that matched the search terms (dentistry, education, haptic, teaching, training, virtual reality), 105 were screened, and 42 were eligible for full-text reading and utilization. Findings from an ongoing educator survey on the use of VR-haptics in dental education have also been provided.

Results: VR-haptic simulation has been shown to have a supportive role in dental simulation practice. Despite training within a digital world, hand skill transfer to the real world has been demonstrated, which affords educators more flexibility in how to train their students before and during traditional preclinical and clinical practical education. The individualized VR-haptic training and feedback help students in mastering essential working techniques, while also increasing engagement and motivation.

Conclusions: VR-haptics-supported dental education can help students effectively address challenges during their preclinical and clinical training, as well as in their subsequent careers, and it may help mitigate some weaknesses of the current educational system. Validation is a key factor for the acceptance of VR-haptic simulators; thus, further research and verification are needed before VR-haptics could be considered a primary hand skill development method of learning in dental education. VR-haptic simulation may in the future be used as an assessment tool for the students' and clinicians' credentialing process.

Keywords: evidence‐based practice; haptics‐reinforced immersive learning; manual dexterity assessment; simulation training.