COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF TWO DENTAL HAPTIC SIMULATORS FOR ENDODONTIC ACCESS CAVITY TRAINING: A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER PILOT STUDY
Keywords:
Endodontics, Haptic Simulation, Virtual Reality, Endodontic Access Cavity, Dental EducationAbstract
The aim of this study was to compare user evaluations of the SIMtoCARE and UniDraw dental haptic simulators used for endodontic access cavity preparation. This randomized crossover pilot study included a total of 22 participants, consisting of faculty members working in the Department of Endodontics and postgraduate students who had completed at least two years of endodontic specialty training. Participants were randomized into two groups according to the order of simulator use and prepared an access cavity on a virtual mandibular molar using both simulators. Following the applications, participants evaluated both simulators using the same 13 items and a five-point Likert scale. Paired scores for the two simulators were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Holm correction was applied for multiple comparisons. A significant difference in favor of UniDraw was found only in the scores related to the realism of intraoral anatomical structures (p<0.001). No significant difference was found between the two simulators for the other items (p>0.05). The order of application had no significant effect on the evaluations. Ten participants (45.5%) preferred UniDraw, three (13.6%) preferred SIMtoCARE, seven (31.8%) rated the two simulators similarly, and two (9.1%) were undecided. In the open-ended responses, UniDraw’s visual and anatomical presentation and SIMtoCARE’s tactile feedback were highlighted. In conclusion, UniDraw was rated higher in terms of the realism of intraoral anatomical structures, whereas no significant difference was found between the two simulators for the other items. When selecting haptic simulators, the intended educational outcomes and the visual and tactile characteristics of the devices should be considered together.
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