Abstract
BACKGROUND: Preclinical training is essential in dental education for developing psychomotor and clinical skills. Conventional phantom models are widely used, though they lack real-time tactile feedback. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of conventional phantom training with that of advanced simulation-based systems in improving dental students' tooth preparation skills. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial included 40 s-year dental students (N = 40) with no prior experience in simulation. Participants were randomly assigned to either conventional phantom training or virtual reality (VR) based simulation. Both groups received 10 h of training. Pre- and post-tests involved preparing tooth 46 with a chamfer finish line. Performances were assessed using five criteria: parallelism, occlusal reduction, taper angle, finish line standardization, and presence of undercuts. Each was scored on a 0-10 scale by a blinded evaluator. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA with post hoc tests at a significance level of p < .05. RESULTS: Both groups showed improvement in post-test scores The simulation group's post-test performance was found to be significantly higher than that of the other groups. Post hoc analysis confirmed that the simulation group outperformed both its own pre-test and the conventional group's post-test results. CONCLUSIONS: Simulation-based training led to significantly higher outcomes in tooth preparation compared to conventional methods. The integration of digital simulation into dental education may enhance clinical readiness by providing individualized, repeatable, and measurable learning environments.