Students’ perceptions of pre‐clinical endodontic training with artificial teeth compared to extracted human teeth

PURPOSE: Artificial teeth have several advantages in pre-clinical endodontics training. This study aimed to compare artificial resin teeth with extracted human teeth, from a student's perspective, during a pre-clinical undergraduate endodontic course for three consecutive academic years (2011-2014). METHODS: At the end of the course, students completed a questionnaire that included questions about their perceptions of the difficulty of artificial teeth vs. natural teeth and ranked the perceived advantages of artificial teeth. RESULTS: Participants expressed that all procedures, except obturation, were more difficult to perform on artificial teeth than on natural teeth, a result that was due to the hardness of the resin. They ranked the fairness and availability as the best advantages. CONCLUSION: Artificial teeth have multiple advantages but cannot replace natural teeth. The physical characteristics through the manufacturing material of artificial teeth should be enhanced to increase wider use and acceptance.