Evaluation of the Quality of Class II Cavities with and without Dental Loupes

Abstract

Objective: High competency levels in Restorative Dentistry require manual dexterity, and one of the important ways a student can  achieve this dexterity is by pre-clinical typodont exercises. This study sought to demonstrate the quality of prepared Class II cavities prepared without magnified vision and evaluated with and without (magnifying) dental loupes.

Methods: Typodont teeth mounted on  either a lower or upper acrylic jaw base of phantom head had Class II amalgam cavities prepared on them under examination conditions  by preclinical dental students. The tooth and type of Class II cavity prepared were noted. Evaluations of the prepared cavities was carried  out initially without loupes and then subsequently with dental loupes using predetermined criteria. The data obtained were subjected to  statistical analysis using IBM SPSS version 26.0

Results: Sixty typodont plastic teeth were utilized for the study. There was statistically  significant difference in mean scores assessed with and without loupes, p<0.0001 as well as between the grades of the cavity evaluated  with and without loupes (P=0.004). The mean score of MO cavities assessed with loupes was higher than the mean score of DO cavities  and this was statistically significant, p=0.001 

Conclusion: The use of dental loupes is invaluable in the didactic assessment of dental  students’ work by their educators and instructors for higher quality training. Therefore, it is hereby recommended that both dental students and their educators should routinely use dental loupes during students’ training to produce very proficient dental graduates  who will deliver high quality dental care to patients during their professional careers.