Digitalisation of Dentistry Education Has Great Potential

​Professors Walter Renne, Anthony Mennito and Zachary P. Evans from the Medical University of South Carolina, were in charge of the courses Implants from Plan to Scan and Mastering Aesthetic Restorations with CAD/CAM. In addition to Finland, the participants of the courses were from Sweden, Great Britain, France, Germany, Croatia and Bulgaria.

CAD/CAM planning, meaning computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing, is utilised more and more often in dental care. CAD/CAM is used for planning different treatments and for developing e.g. crowns or caps and bridgework.

– With technology, we are able to significantly improve the quality and speed of treatment. The greatest demand for digital dentistry expertise is on the international level, therefore we have created the NIDE education programme and the surrounding lecturer network. We have had satisfied course participants already from over 35 countries, says CEO Jenni Pajunen from NIDE.

Digitalisation in the Curriculum

On Wednesday, 6 September, NIDE brought the lecturer team to Turku to talk to the 4th year dentistry students and staff about digital dentistry under the title The Fully Integrated Digital Dentistry Curriculum. In addition, the team learned more about the operation of the Institute of Dentistry at the University of Turku and explored the City of Turku.

During the lectures, the visitors talked about e.g. integrating digital dentistry into the pre-clinical curriculum, including digital dentistry in clinic work, and about the gamification of the assessment of studying.

In his presentation, Professor Walter Renne told about how the College of Dental Medicine has succeeded in integrating digital dentistry into the pre-clinical curriculum so effectively that it is now a 90 percent digital institution.

– The studies utilise e.g. 3D assessment where by scanning and analysing the filling work, an objective and exact analysis of the success of the work can be reached. Computer-aided evaluation helps students to encounter failures, as the evaluator is not the familiar teacher but a computer. This way, practices also become gaming events where the purpose is to reach better results through repetition. Feedback is received immediately, and therefore motor skills become automated faster, explains Renne.

Nordic Institute of Dental Education (NIDE) is a transnational education company of the University of Turku and Planmeca Oy, one of the world's leading dental technology companies.

Text and photo: Tilda Junko
Translation: Saara Yli-Kauhaluoma