Using virtual and augmented reality technologies to teach dental students - News-Medical.Net

Virtual and augmented world technologies are being utilized arsenic an important teaching instrumentality for University of Queensland dentistry students, who signifier with 3D headsets earlier moving connected real-life clients.

Dr Sobia Zafar from the Digital Dental Team astatine UQ's School of Dentistry said technology-enhanced learning had transformed the acquisition of much than 400 students successful the past 4 years.

Training dental students is simply a analyzable process arsenic it requires a batch of good centrifugal skills, arsenic good arsenic hand-foot and oculus coordination.

Despite having simulation sessions to supply a creaseless modulation into clinics, 87 per cent of students said they felt they needed further grooming earlier being enactment successful a real-life setting.

That's wherefore we decided to embed some virtual and augmented world technologies into our classes to supply extra, immersive grooming for students.

Virtual world allows students to signifier successful a harmless environment, marque mistakes they tin rectify, and amended their assurance earlier entering a session to dainty existent clients."

Dr Sobia Zafar, Digital Dental Team, UQ's School of Dentistry

When wearing a virtual world headset, students interact with 3D holographic images that let them to spot done tegument to research the quality body, peculiarly the parts applicable to their studies specified arsenic caput and cervix anatomy.

With the augmented world exertion students deterioration a headset and built-in sensors mimic their movements arsenic they navigate a virtual dental session and interact with a virtual patient.

Students tin besides signifier administering section anesthesia done bundle co-developed by Dr Zafar and Dr Jessica Zachar, thing caller to this country of teaching.

Their dedication to pupil improvement has been recognized with a commendation successful UQ's 2022 Teaching and Learning Awards.

Dr Zachar said the team's extremity was to supply stimulating learning environments truthful students tin make into well-rounded wellness professionals.

"These integer teaching tools person helped students maximize their imaginable and grow their cognition successful dental trauma management, dental anatomy and section anesthesia administration," Dr Zachar said.

"We privation to acceptable students up to go leaders wrong the assemblage and section community, delivering optimum wellness care.

"It's a large feeling to beryllium recognized for our enactment successful this year's Teaching and Learning Awards.

"We anticipation this inspires different wellness professions to see integer innovative learning arsenic this teaching benignant is not constricted to conscionable dentistry."