A second generation training simulator for acquisition of psychomotor skills in cavity preparation

Thirty freshmen dental students, without prior dental technique laboratory experience, were divided randomly into two groups of 15 subjects. One group (control) was trained in the traditional way while the other group used a newly developed dental training simulator. The results for Class I cavity preparations in the mandibular right first molar indicate that a two-thirds reduction in training time occurred for the group trained by the simulator as compared to the control group. The mean training times were 57 minutes for the control group and 21 minutes for the experimental group. No statistically significant differences in quality were noted.