Predicting the clinical performance of dental students with a manual dexterity test.

Diva Lugassy,Avi Meirowitz,Yafi Levanon,Tamar Brosh,Raphael Pilo,Gal Rosen,Asaf Shelly,J Alberto Conejero

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0193980

Abstract

Dentists must be skilled when using dental mirrors. Working with mirrors requires spatial perception, bimanual coordination, perceptual learning and fine motor skills. Many studies have attempted to determine the predictors of manual skills among pre-clinical students, but consensus has yet to be reached. We hypothesized that valid and reliable occupational therapy test performance regarding indirect vision would differ between dental students and junior dentists and would explain the variance in manual skill performance in pre-clinical courses. To test this hypothesis, we applied the Purdue Pegboard test and O’Connor Tweezer Dexterity test under different conditions of direct and indirect vision. We administered these tests to students in phantom-head academic courses in 2015 and 2016 and to junior dentists. Students performed the tests at three time points: before phantom training (T0), at the end of the training (T1) and in the middle of the following year of study (T2). Dentists performed the same tests twice at 1st and 2nd trials one week apart. The results showed that indirect tasks were significantly more difficult to perform for both groups. These dexterity tests were sensitive enough to detect students’ improvement after phantom training. The dentists’ performances were significantly better than those of students at T0, specifically with regard to the use of tweezers under direct and indirect vision (the O’Connor test). A regression analysis showed that students’ manual grades obtained at the beginning of the phantom course, their performance on the Purdue test using both hands, and their performance on the O’Connor test under indirect vision predicted phantom course success in 80% of cases. The O’Connor test under indirect vision is the most informative means of monitoring and predicting the manual skills required in the pre-clinical year of dentistry studies.

Highlights

Dentistry is a medical profession that requires fine motor skills [1], hand-eye coordination [2] and spatial perception [3]
The aims of the study were as follows: 1. to evaluate manual skills through a new approach using dexterity tests under conditions of direct and indirect vision among dental students and dentists; 2. to determine whether these tests are sensitive to the improvement of students’ manual skills after training in the pre-clinical course and whether they reflect the development of these skills over time; 3. to evaluate the differences in tests performance between dental students and dentists; 4. determine which of the tests are capable of predicting the success of dental students in the pre-clinical year
Among the students at T0, under indirect vision condition of the Purdue test resulted in scores that were approximately 34% lower than those obtained under direct vision, whereas on the O’Connor test, approximately 3.5-fold more time was required to complete the mission under indirect vision than under direct vision

Summary

Introduction

Dentistry is a medical profession that requires fine motor skills [1], hand-eye coordination [2] and spatial perception [3]. Predicting the clinical performance of dental students measurements were taken. He left the university for about a year and lately returned as MSc student. When we submitted the manuscript he was not related to the university and we affiliated him to his private clinic ‘Rishon Le’Tzion, ISRAEL’. In any case, this does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials

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Discussion

Conclusion