Limitations of Surface Mapping Technology in Accurately Identifying Critical Errors in Dental Students' Crown Preparations

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Planmeca Compare software in identifying and quantifying a common critical error in dental students' crown preparations. In 2014-17, a study was conducted at one U.S. dental school that evaluated an ideal crown prep made by a faculty member on a dentoform to modified preps. Two types of preparation errors were created by the addition of flowable composite to the occlusal surface of identical dies of the preparations to represent the underreduction of the distolingual cusp. The error was divided into two classes: the minor class allowed for 1 mm of occlusal clearance, and the major class allowed for no occlusal clearance. The preparations were then digitally evaluated against the ideal preparation using Planmeca Compare. Percent comparison values were obtained from each trial and averaged together. False positives and false negatives were also identified and used to determine the accuracy of the evaluation. Critical errors that did not involve a substantial change in the surface area of the preparation were inconsistently identified. Within the limitations of this study, the authors concluded that the Compare software was unable to consistently identify common critical errors within an acceptable degree of error.

Using Assessments of Dental Students' Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy to Aid Practice Management Education

In the past, the typical practice management curriculum in U.S. dental schools was found to place a heavy emphasis on customer service, whereas areas typically stressed in business entrepreneurship and management courses (e.g., long-range planning, competing strategies, and supplier relationship) received less attention. However, future dentists will likely have many points in their careers at which they must decide whether to begin a new business or to associate with a practice, and entrepreneurial and management training can help them make and implement those decisions. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the impact of one dental school's practice management education on students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), a construct examined for the first time in dental education. ESE is an individual's belief that he or she is personally capable of planning for, operating, and managing a successful business. In December 2014, all students in all four classes were asked to complete a survey measuring their ESE. The response rates for each class were D1 94%, D2 91%, D3 87%, and D4 79%. The results showed that the mean scores of the fourth-year class were higher on all five examined dimensions than those of the other three classes. The same was true for the mean for each class with the exception of the competency regarding an individual's perception of his or her abilities to deploy and manage human resources, in which the first-year class had a higher score than the fourth-year class (149.07>146.06). The fourth-year class had statistically significant higher scores than the third-year class, consistent with the implementation of practice management courses in the curriculum.

Productivity of Senior Dental Students Engaged in Comprehensive Care: A Seven-Year Follow-Up Study

The aims of this study were to determine the trend of senior dental students' rate of production of clinical procedures performed in the comprehensive care clinic at one U.S. dental school and to compare that trend to what was reported immediately following inception of that clinic. In addition, total clinic revenues collected were recorded and compared. The periods used for comparisons were 2005 and 2006 combined, the last years before introduction of comprehensive care (called "pre-comp care"); 2007 and 2008 combined, the first two years of comprehensive care (called "post-comp care"); and subsequent years through 2014. The number of procedures and total charges were tracked in the electronic health record, and the total number of student-hours was calculated by multiplying the number of students in the class by the total number of available clinic hours. The rate calculated in this way was then multiplied by a factor of 1,000 for ease of interpretation. The results showed a generally upward trend and a significant increase from post-comp care to 2014 for all procedures combined and for indirect restorations. There was a generally downward trend and a significant decrease from post-comp care to 2014 for direct restorations, extractions, and root planing. There was some up and down fluctuation but no significant change from post-comp care to 2014 for exams. In terms of all procedures, the rate per student/1,000 clinic hours increased from approximately 227 to 419, an 85% increase over seven years. These results show that implementation of the comprehensive care clinic model of clinical education has increased the total clinical productivity of senior dental students at this dental school. Additional studies are indicated to determine the proper balance between a quality education and the financial capabilities of the institution.

Inter- and Intrarater Reliability Using Different Software Versions of E4D Compare in Dental Education

The problems associated with intra- and interexaminer reliability when assessing preclinical performance continue to hinder dental educators' ability to provide accurate and meaningful feedback to students. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the validity of utilizing various technologies to assist educators in achieving that goal. The purpose of this study was to compare two different versions of E4D Compare software to determine if either could be expected to deliver consistent and reliable comparative results, independent of the individual utilizing the technology. Five faculty members obtained E4D digital images of students' attempts (sample model) at ideal gold crown preparations for tooth #30 performed on typodont teeth. These images were compared to an ideal (master model) preparation utilizing two versions of E4D Compare software. The percent correlations between and within these faculty members were recorded and averaged. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used to measure both inter- and intrarater agreement among the examiners. The study found that using the older version of E4D Compare did not result in acceptable intra- or interrater agreement among the examiners. However, the newer version of E4D Compare, when combined with the Nevo scanner, resulted in a remarkable degree of agreement both between and within the examiners. These results suggest that consistent and reliable results can be expected when utilizing this technology under the protocol described in this study.

Effect of Employing Different Typodonts When Using E4D Compare for Dental Student Assessment

The use of computers to aid in instruction and help decrease the subjective component of assessment is steadily increasing. One of the potential barriers to the effective utilization of CAD/CAM technology for assessment purposes is the efficient scanning of the teeth being used for comparison. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if the use of different typodonts, of the same make and model, has any significant effect on the percent comparison results when using E4D Compare. Tooth #30 was prepared by a faculty member to represent what dental students at Georgia Regents University are taught as the ideal preparation for a full gold crown. Ten typodonts of the same make and model were selected for comparison. Three different examples of students' preparations were scanned and compared to the ideal preparation. Each of the three student preparations was subjected to ten trials (occasions), one for each typodont, at five tolerance levels: 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, and 0.5 mm. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to measure the intrarater agreement among the typodonts at the various tolerance levels. The agreement coefficients (0.971-0.984) indicated very little variability attributable to the use of a different typodont. The high agreement coefficients achieved using different typodonts of the same make and model provide evidence for the interchangeability of typodonts when assessing a student's performance in the preclinical simulation environment.