Coming up:
VOXEL-MAN Dental - New Quality and Cost Effectiveness in Dental Education

From phantom heads to virtual reality simulation

Today the preparation of teeth is taught with the help of phantom head units consisting of artificial material for soft tissue, bone and teeth. Our technique of virtual reality simulation not only mimics the look and feel of the real procedures, but has striking new features and advantages that improve quality and cost effectiveness of dental education.

Higher quality of education

Realistic teeth
Training is performed with teeth models derived from real teeth. Unlike plastic teeth, they show the detailed anatomy (enamel, dentine, pulpa).

Natural variability of anatomy and pathology
Sets of teeth with different anatomy and pathology are offered. Students thus can work with realistic pathology (caries) before they see their first real patients.

Standardization
Students undergo standardized training procedures, the results thus being comparable.

Automatic skills assessment
Both the process and the result can be evaluated automatically by comparison with predefined standards for dexterity (e. g. exerted pressure) and final result (e. g. master preparation of a cavity or a crown).

Risk monitoring
While drilling, the risk can be assessed by watching the cross-sectional anatomy at the drill head's position and the distance from vulnerable structures (pulpa).

Integration of theory and practice
Embedding the training in a computer guided curriculum allows simultaneous teaching of theory and practice.

Economic benefits

Reduced material cost
The training material can be used infinitely often.

Reduced demand of supervision
The computer based assessment techniques allow a great deal of self study.