Prospective Randomized Controlled Study to Evaluate Combining Video Feedback Teaching with Virtual Simulation for Ceramic Veneer Tooth Preparation

Summary

This randomized controlled study evaluated a teaching protocol combining video feedback and virtual simulation for 40 dental students learning ceramic veneer preparation, demonstrating improved practical skills and student satisfaction compared to traditional methods alone.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impact of video feedback teaching combined with virtual simulation for ceramic veneer tooth preparation. A total of 40 prospective dental students who were about to start clinical internship in Jiangsu Medical College between April 2024 and July 2024 were randomly divided by convenience sampling into a control group and a study group. The teaching effect was compared at 1, 2 and 3 months after teaching. After the training, the scores of the two groups of tooth preparations were significantly improved compared with those before training, and the scores of the operating positions were significantly reduced compared with those before training. In addition, the operating position scores of the study group (14.9 ± 2.07) were significantly lower than those of the control group (17.1 ± 1.66; p < 0.05). The study group also achieved significantly higher virtual simulation accuracy scores (89.5 ± 4.2) by the end of the training period. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in the effectiveness of the two sets of tooth preparations. Questionnaire results indicated significantly higher satisfaction and engagement scores in the study group than in the control group (all p < 0.05). Compared with traditional teaching methods, the application of video feedback teaching combined with virtual simulation technology in the preparation of ceramic veneered teeth has a better practical training effect, as supported by both objective performance metrics and subjective learner feedback.

Introduction

Prosthodontics is an interdisciplinary field that integrates theoretical knowledge with practical application¹. With the continuous improvement in living standards, there has been a growing emphasis on aesthetic restoration technology in oral medicine. The clinical success of ceramic veneers, a mainstay of minimally invasive aesthetic dentistry, is highly dependent on the precision of the tooth preparation and the subsequent quality of the restoration’s fit and bond^2,3,4. Recent evidence underscores that optimal clinical performance and longevity....

Protocol

The experimental research study was conducted at the Oral Medicine Training Center of Jiangsu Vocational College of Medicine between April 2024 and July 2024. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Yancheng Stomatological Hospital (Approval Number: Yancheng Dental Ethics Review [2024]09). We have post-registered the study (Clinical registration number: NCT07398794). Informed consent was obtained from all participants for this study.

Participants and groups
Sample size calculation was performed using PASS software based on preliminary test res....

Results

The results showed that there were 20 participants in the study group, comprising 10 men and 10 women, with an average age of 18.19 ± 1.82 years. There were 20 participants in the control group, comprising 12 men and 8 women, with an average age of 18.43 ± 2.10 years, and there were no significant differences in gender, age, or dominant hands between the two groups, as shown in Table 2.

A two-way repeated measures ANOVA (mixed ANOVA) was used to explore the effects of teaching.......

Discussion

Dental preparation is an essential technique in prosthodontics, and the quality of the preparation determines the final restoration effect. This is particularly critical for ceramic veneers, where sub-millimeter inaccuracies in preparation depth, margin geometry, or surface smoothness can compromise the marginal fit, aesthetic outcome, and long-term bond integrity of the definitive restoration^11,25,26. Due to the irreversibility.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
IBM SPSS Statistics	IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA	Version 26	Used for statistical analysis including Shapiro-Wilk test and repeated-measures ANOVA.
PASS software	NCSS, LLC., Kaysville, UT, USA	Version 22	Used for sample size calculation with α=0.05 and test power=80%.