Abstract:

Introduction:
The subject "Practicum I for Pediatric Patients" is an annual and mandatory course that students take during the fifth year of the Dentistry Degree at the University of Valencia. During this period, students perform dental treatments on pediatric and adolescent patients who visit the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. The realization of dental treatments during the clinical practice may vary depending on the pathology of the patients seen during the academic year.
Concurrently, the use of virtual tactile simulators has experienced a significant increase in the field of dentistry. These simulators offer a more interactive, realistic, and engaging way to impart knowledge to students, allowing them to practice cases from various dental specialties and even work with real clinical situations. Currently, the Dentistry Degree has the SIMtoCARE Dente simulator (Vreeland, Netherlands) at the Integral Simulation Center (CESIS) of the University of Valencia. This simulator integrates elements such as the patient's head and mouth, providing a digital experience that closely resembles reality.
The main objective of this novelty project is to introduce an innovative digital learning method for students through the use of virtual clinical simulation with tactile virtual simulators. This allows students to be active protagonists in their own teaching and learning process, promoting gender equality. Moreover, this methodology contributes to reducing waste generation, as practices are conducted in a virtual environment without the need for physical materials to be discarded afterwards.

Methodology:
The sample for this study includes all students enrolled in the subject during the academic year 2024-25, as well as all teaching staff associated with the subject. To achieve this, group practices were organized at the Integral Simulation Center using available simulators.

Results:
The results were evaluated based on assessment surveys completed by students through the virtual learning platform. These surveys were conducted at the end of each practice, ensuring the anonymity of participants and using a Likert scale. The questions addressed various aspects of the practice and collected feedback aimed at improving future editions. The primary purpose of this activity was for the teaching staff to identify a weakness in the subject that had not been addressed in previous innovation projects. It was observed that, on certain occasions, students did not complete all dental treatments due to the variability of pathologies presented by randomly assigned patients throughout the academic year. This variability led to significant differences in treatments performed among different student groups.

Conclusions:
Satisfaction surveys indicated that the introduction of an innovative digital learning approach through the use of virtual clinical simulation with tactile digital simulators in the Practicum I subject for pediatric patients was highly valued by both students and faculty.

Keywords:

Technology, education, dentistry.