Digital Evaluation of the Depth and Width of Upper and Lower Molar Cavity Preparations of Dental Students

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the mesial and distal seat widths and the buccal, lingual, and axial wall height values of cavity preparations by measuring them with the help of a digital scanner.
 Methods: In this study, 70 randomly selected students of 140 tooth preparations (mandibular molar and a maxillary molar cavities) of phantom jaw models were evaluated. The prepared teeth were scanned with an intraoral scanner. The parameters used in the analysis were the depth values of the buccal and lingual (or palatal) wall depth, the mesial and distal axial wall height, and the mesial and distal seat width values. For main effects and interactions, two-way analysis of variance was used, and for multiple comparisons, Tukey’s test was used (p < .05).
 Results: No significant difference was found in the teeth according to cavity depth. However, a significant difference was found in the cavity regions’ depths or widths. There was no difference between the total buccal (1.93 ± 0.01 mm) and lingual (1.91 ± 0.32 mm) depth values. There was no difference between the total mesial (1.51 ± 0.27 mm) and distal (1.41 ± 0.26 mm) seat width values. There was no difference between the total mesial (1.11 ± 0.35 mm) and distal (1.21 ± 0.27 mm) axial wall height values. 
 Conclusion: It was observed that the students had more difficulty in the distal region of the tooth than in the mesial region. Digital methods in preclinical education can provide objective results in the evaluation of cavity preparations.