2025 Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
Purpose : Wax tooth carving is an effective method for dental students to develop the fundamental knowledge and skills. However, tooth carving is predominantly evaluated qualitatively by instructors knowledgeable in dental anatomy, with limited reports on its objective evaluation and use in teaching students. This study aimed to develop an application to objectively evaluate waxed tooth carving and provide feedback to dental students.
Materials and Methods : The control was a carving work of the maxillary right first molar performed by an instructor, and the subjects were carving works performed by nine dental students. These works were scanned with a dental laboratory 3D scanner. An analysis application was developed using Python. The characteristics of each carving work were quantitatively assessed using analytical tools. The evaluation criteria were as follows : 1. Fitness and root mean square error (RMSE), 2. Buccolingual-to-mesiodistal ratio, 3. Cusp heights, 4. Occlusal facets, and 5. Outline of the occlusal view and edge, location of the cusp tips, and maximum convexities.
Results : Fitness and RMSE were high and low, respectively, in the group of passed tooth carving works, indicating that these were considered to directly reflect pass/fail assessments. While it only displays polygon surface distances, the results of digital analysis using our tool will be useful for improving students’ skills because the evaluation method is similar to conventional tooth carving evaluation indices such as buccolingual ratio, cusp heights and occlusal edge. The digital analysis method has the potential for designing teeth prostheses such as surveyed crown and arrangement of artificial teeth using CAD/CAM system.
Conclusion : The application enables a fair and quantitative assessment of each tooth-carving work and provides appropriate suggestions for students.
