Objective: This study aimed to establish the character and range of manual dexterity skills, identify variables at an individual level that may influence performance scores, and gather perceptual information with regards to the Simodont and its feedback system.
Method: First year Dental (n=48) and Oral Health Therapy (n=31) students for 2013 performed manual dexterity training tasks on the simulators for 120 minutes over two sessions. Parameters recorded include time taken to achieve competency and target area removal percentages, from which error rates and performance scores were calculated. Questionnaires were completed immediately prior to and following simulator use, the first covering background information and expectations of the Simodont, while the second revisiting expectations and experiences of the Simodont.
Result: Participants with sporting involvements (p=0.04), a preference to experiment rather than follow instructions (p=0.01), and used smartphones (p=0.005) and tablets (p=0.05) showed statistically better performance scores. Participants who felt the Simodont sessions were stressful (p=0.001), felt that ‘time went by slowly’ (p=0.001), felt a need for more feedback (p=0.005), or found the instant feedback not useful (p=0.02), showed a statistically lower score. Gender, age, and past times including tinkering and painting did not have significant predictive value.
Conclusion: The Simodont platform provides a novel teaching methodology, however without acceptance, support and correct implementation, the success of this technology is limited. The collected baseline data and insight into cohort characteristics provide the foundations for future studies to best understand and integrate this system.