Sara Bkairat 1, Judi Samhouri 1, Teeb Al-Lami 1, Malak Elayyan 1, Manal Awad 2, Vinayak Kamath 3, and Shishir Shetty 4
1BDS, Student, College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Orthodontics, Pediatric and Community Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
3MDS, Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Goa Dental College and Hospital, Goa, India
4PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Date submitted: 29-September-2024
Email: Shishir Shetty (shishirshettyomr@gmail.com)
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Citation: Bkairat S, Samhouri J, Al-Lami T, Elayyan M, Awad M, Kamath V, and Shetty S. Attitude of dental students toward role of virtual reality in dental education. Educ Health 2024;37:402-403
Online access: www.educationforhealthjournal.org
DOI: 10.62694/efh.2024.198
Published by The Network: Towards Unity for Health
Dear Editor,
Over the past few years virtual reality (VR) technology has been included in medical and dental students’ education prior to their clinical interaction with patients.1 There is a recent rise in research related to the application of VR-based technologies in dental preclinical training.2,3 However, there is not much data available regarding the attitude of the student towards VR technologies, especially in dental education. The aim of this survey was to explore dental students’ attitudes towards virtual reality (VR) in dental education. The study also evaluated the change in attitude of the survey respondents following exposure to information regarding VR in dental education.
A double questionnaire-based study was conducted over a period of 18 months, involving 135 dental students, interns, and postgraduates from three medical universities in United Arab Emirates (UAE). At first a pre-validated questionnaire with 11 questions was used for the study.4 Out of 135 respondents, 122 indicated familiarity with VR technology. Among the 122 respondents 33.42% (n=42) recognized that VR was being used in the field of dental education. A video link made by Mahidol Bremen informatics research unit, Mahidol University, Thailand showing the application of VR in dental preclinical training was sent to all the respondents who participated in the survey.5 Among the 135 respondents 21 viewed the video. A second survey with three questions from the first questionnaire was sent to them after they viewed the video.
The results of the survey revealed that the dental students were familiar with the concept of VR. However, only one third of them were aware of its application in dental education. There was a significant change in the attitude of the students after watching the video about the application of VR in dental education. There was no significant difference between pre- and post-video responses regarding cost-effectiveness of VR technologies among the respondents. A significantly higher number of the respondents who watched the video felt that VR technologies would be used by dental colleges in the country within the next five years.
In conclusion, dental students require greater awareness of VR technologies in dental education. A better awareness of VR technologies leads to a better outlook and attitude among students.
1. Mansoory MS, Azizi SM, Mirhosseini F, Yousefi D, Moradpoor H. A study to investigate the effectiveness of the application of virtual reality technology in dental education. BMC Medical Education. 2022 Jun 15;22(1):457. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03543-z
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2. Daud A, Matoug-Elwerfelli M, Daas H, Zahra D, Ali K. Enhancing learning experiences in pre-clinical restorative dentistry: the impact of virtual reality haptic simulators. BMC Medical Education. 2023 Dec 12;23(1):948. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04904-y
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3. Ziane-Casenave S, Mauroux M, Devillard R, Kérourédan O. Influence of practical and clinical experience on dexterity performance measured using haptic virtual reality simulator. European Journal of Dental Education. 2022 Nov;26(4):838–848. http://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12767
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4. Chockalingam S, Sandeep. Knowledge and awareness on VR technology-based learning in dentistry among dental students. 2023 International Conference on Business Analytics for Technology and Security (ICBATS), Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2023, pp. 1–4. http://doi.org/10.1109/ICBATS57792.2023.10111187
5. The Intelligent Virtual Training Environment for Dental Surgery: Research Impact [by Mahidol World]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-B3lyGj3ok
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Education for Health | Volume 37, No. 4, October-December 2024