# Comparative Evaluation of the Cavity Preparation Design on Mandibular First Molars in Typodont Teeth After Neurosculpting in Undergraduate Dental Students

## TL;DR

This study shows that neurosculpting exercises improve dental students' cavity preparation skills on typodont teeth.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the effectiveness of neurosculpting exercises in enhancing psychomotor skills in dental education.

## Key findings

- The experimental group showed significant improvement in cavity preparation scores after neurosculpting exercises.
- NSE led to statistically significant improvements in outline form and undercut scores.
- NSE had a more pronounced effect on the experimental group compared to the control group.

## Abstract

Introduction

Psychomotor skill development forms the cornerstone of competency in procedure-oriented professions, and dentistry is no exception. The dental practice is a complex interplay of neuroplastic abilities encompassing fine motor control, dexterity, visuospatial awareness, precise visuomotor coordination, finger dexterity, hand-arm steadiness, and multi-limb coordination for executing intricate procedures. Neuroplasticity is neuronal plasticity of the brain that occurs during learning motor skills. Hence, optimizing training methods becomes paramount. This study explores the potential of neurosculpting exercises (NSE) to enhance dental education by specifically targeting fine motor skills, dexterity, and neuromuscular coordination. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of the difference in class one cavity preparation design on typodont teeth done by undergraduate students after NSE.

Method

The study included all 40 students in the second-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) undergraduate program. The students were randomly assigned to two groups (even and odd) of 20 each. In Group 1-experimental group (N = 20, 50%), students got regular pre-clinical practical training at the dental school and NSE for 15 minutes three times a day for two months. In Group 2-control group (N = 20, 50%), students received regular pre-clinical practical training at the dental school without NSE for two months. The class one cavity preparations of both groups were assessed and scored before and after intervention based on their outline form, depth, undercuts, and pulpal floor orientation parameters. The statistical analysis was done with the appropriate non-parametric tests: the Mann-Whitney U test for intergroup comparisons and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for intragroup comparisons.

Results

The intergroup comparison of scores before the intervention between the control (N = 20, 50%) and experimental (N = 20, 50%) groups was negligible. The p-values were consistently above 0.05 (a p-value < 0.05 is significant), showing that both groups were comparable at baseline. At the end of eight weeks, both groups showed changes. However, the experimental group’s scores increased drastically when compared to the control group across all measures of the mean. The intragroup comparisons after intervention between the scores were statistically significant, as evidenced by p-values of 0.05 or less, highlighting the distinction in performance by the experimental group. This demonstrates a significant impact of the NSE intervention on the experimental group. The outline variable in the intragroup comparison of the experimental group improved from a mean of 5.36 (standard deviation (SD) = 1.07) before intervention to 6.22 (SD = 1.06) after intervention. Furthermore, the undercut scores improved from a mean of 5.14 (SD = 1.35) before the intervention to 6.67 (SD = 1.01) after the intervention.

Conclusion

NSE improved fine motor skills, leading to better results in complex tasks requiring precision. The p-values of significant variations suggestively explained the pivotal role of NSE in enhancing psychomotor skills. As the study proved positive, the NSE can be included in the curriculum, thereby evolving dental education.