The Educational Impact of Using Digital Jaw-Function Recording Analysis Devices for Dental Students

Abstract

 Abstract Digital technology in the field of dentistry has grown enormously in recent years, especially in regard to diagnosis, operation support and prosthesis fabrication. At Fukuoka Dental College, we have introduced the electronic measuring system “ARCUS^® Digma Ⅱ” and the intra-oral scanner “CEREC Omnicam” as a digitized jaw-function and recording analysis education device to help assess jaw movement and the workflow necessary when fabricating CAD/CAM crowns. For this study, 86 students (51 men and 35 women) who had participated in the Fukuoka Dental College Hospital’s clinical training program in 2015, were surveyed regarding the efficacy of this system.

 Data analysis showed that 54% of students felt that understanding jaw movement is difficult, and 54% of students said that their understanding of jaw movement considerably increased when observing digitized jaw movement in real time. 80% of students said that a digital jaw-movement recording device was necessary to understand the movement of the jaw. 45% of all students surveyed said that understanding jaw movement is not so difficult, but 74% of them felt a need to utilize the device. 95% of students surveyed said that digital technology would positively contribute to dentistry in the future, for both dentist and patient. This data suggests that use of the device could increase student understanding and lead to greater use of digital technology in dental education.