Attitude and Perception of Dental Students and Dentists toward Efficacy of Typhodont Exercise Practiced as a Part of Preclinical Conservative Dentistry Curriculum for Routine Clinical Practice

Abstract Objective  Dentistry is a blend of both surgery and medicine. Cavity preparation in dentistry is a routine procedure used to remove defects or dental caries, which is irreversible and requires advanced skills. Preclinical training is done on typhodont, which are replicas of teeth that exhibit tooth morphology, as part of the dental curriculum. The aim of this study was to assess the attitude of dental professionals toward the efficacy of typhodont exercise in clinical practice. Materials and Methods  This study was a cross-sectional study conducted on dental professionals to understand the efficacy of typhodont exercise in clinical practice. The questionnaire consisted of 23 close-ended questions. The responses were coded as number/score (1–10). Responses were compiled on a MS Excel Worksheet and subjected to SPSS package. Chi-squared test and Mann–Whitney U test were used to analyze data. Results  A total of 250 responses were collected. About 72.8% participants stated that it helped them get oriented to the operating position. Regarding the preclinical exercises relevance to clinical exercise, a score of about 7 was obtained. However, the simulation of gingiva received a score of 5. Suggestions like integration of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), haptic technology along with extracted teeth as a conjunct to the typhodont exercise were received. Conclusion  This study suggested that preclinical typhodont exercises help the students in preparing for the upcoming clinical postings. However, the augmentation of typhodont exercise with AR, VR, haptic technology, and use of extracted teeth can furbish the current state of preclinical curriculum for conservative dentistry.