Can Hobbies Shape Fine Motor Skills Development in First-Year Dental and Oral Health Students?

Abstract

Introduction: Dental students develop fine motor skills that include a complex interplay of finger dexterity, posture and progressive visual-tactile improvement through spatial awareness and cognition facilitated through university simulation training. Identifying students with a natural aptitude for these skills is vital to make the most of available resources. This study examines the relationship between pre-existing hobbies and fine motor skills before and after a five-week training module.

Materials and methods: Seventy-two first-year students at an Australian University completed a questionnaire that measured their personal interests. Students' performance on a foundational cavity preparation task was assessed before and after five weeks of simulation clinic training on plastic typodont teeth. In-class assessment tasks aimed to evaluate innate and acquired skills. The relationships between personal interests and cavity preparation skills, before and after the simulation training, were explored.

Results: The three hobbies with the highest mean cavity preparation percentage at baseline were playing music (51.7%; 95% CI: 41.5, 61.9), cooking (50.3%; 95% CI: 45.1, 55.5) and participating in sports (48.4%; 95% CI: 42.9, 53.8). Estimated mean improvement in cavity preparation was highest for participants that had cooking as the only hobby (19.2%; 95% CI: 14.4, 24.1). Participants with four hobbies had the lowest mean improvement in cavity preparation, with 11.3 (95% CI: 5.1, 17.5) percentage units. Participants with zero hobbies improved by 11.7 (95% CI: 7.7, 15.7) percentage units.

Conclusion: Cooking at least once a week has a better impact on the mean improvement in scores after formal university simulation training than other hobbies. Students without any identified hobbies might benefit from task-specific training for fine motor skills improvement.