VIRTUAL reality may yet make practice perfect.
Oral Health Therapy students at the University of Newscastle, in New South Wales, Australia, are using virtual reality to practice how to apply dental injections long before they practice for real.
Using a headset, dental students are transported to a virtual dental clinic where a patient awaits a procedure. Students then access a range of scenarios such as procedures requiring injections to the roof of the mouth or injections between the teeth. A target point gives students the ideal place to put the needle; once the needle is engaged, a virtual gauge displays the milliliters being injected. Even the patient’s skin can be “exposed” to reveal the working nerves and capillaries in order to familiarize students with important anatomical features.
Before virtual reality, lectures and actual demonstrations from teachers are the only exposure of students to the real world. Then they would practice on each other and then treat real patients. “From listening to student feedback over the years, I knew they felt they were missing something between the theory and practicing on their peers and patients,” says Denise Higgins, Lecturer in Oral Health and Simulation Coordinator at New Castle.
“Administering anesthetic needles is an incredibly intricate process, and not something many feel confident doing without extensive practice,” observes Mrs. Higgins who is behind the virtual reality initiative. “Ultimately, we want our patients to feel safe, comfortable and at-ease, which is why it’s crucial to ensure our students feel confident entering the patient clinic.”
Working with the Health Sciences team at Newcastle, Mrs. Higgins has worked to radically change the Bachelor of Oral Health Therapy program, introducing cutting-edge new equipment to help students in their studies. She has developed her own simulator model mouths made of synthetic “skin” somewhat similar to a real human tissue for students to practice on.
“The material is made out of salt, water and fiber, which makes a material similar to the lining inside the mouth,” she says.
“There are simulators on the market that are capable of receiving an injection, but you’re not able to administer the anesthetic solution. With these models, which have a life-like capability, students can inject as many milliliters of local anesthetic as is required for practicing their technique.”
“I developed my idea from proof of concept, to playdough model, to design document and was able to collaborate with a company who brought it to life. To our knowledge, nothing of its kind exists in the same format we have here – the whole process has revolutionized our teaching and has been incredibly rewarding.”
The virtual reality project is a collaboration between the Newcastle’s IT Services Innovation Team and School of Health Sciences.
“What’s fantastic about this new program is we’ve been able to replicate typical scenarios an oral health practitioner would perform on a daily basis – things like administering dental injections in areas that would help anaesthetize nerves for pain management and patient comfort,” says Mr. Craig Williams, the Innovation Team Manager.
“Simulation is a wonderful teaching resource as students can participate in a controlled, standardized and safe environment. They can stop the simulation at any stage to review their progress or if they need to turn to teachers and peers for support. We hope the tool will be useful on a global scale and may eventually apply to anyone working in the field.”/PN
Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, former Dean of the College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists. Honorary Life Member of Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
