Evaluation of new injection and cavity preparation model in local anesthesia teaching

The aim of this study was to evaluate a recently developed preclinical injection and cavity preparation model in local anesthesia. Thirty-three dental students administered an inferior alveolar nerve block injection in the model, followed by preparation on a tooth. The injection was evaluated by three observers, and the feedback from the model was registered. After completion of the practical session, the opinion of the dental students was explored with a ten-item questionnaire. Thirty dental students (91 percent) performed the injection correctly according to the feedback of the model, and twenty-eight students (85 percent) did so according to the expert opinion. The agreement between feedback from the training model and the expert opinion was high. The students were very satisfied with the opportunity to practice with the training model, as indicated by the high scores on each item of the questionnaire. These results suggest that use of this preclinical training model in anesthesia teaching may have beneficial effects on the administration of local anesthetics by dental students.