Dental students' perceptions of the use of two-dimensional and three-dimensional vision in dental education using a three-dimensional haptic simulator: A qualitative study.

Objective: To assess the perceptions of novice and experienced undergraduate dental students of virtual learning with two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) vision.

Materials and methods: This qualitative study involved 21 students from the second and fourth years of a 5-year BDS program. They first performed three operative tasks in virtual reality (VR) training sessions using both 2D and 3D vision. Subsequently, they participated in one of four online focus group discussions (FGDs). The FGDs were recorded and transcribed, and the data obtained from the transcriptions were coded and thematically analyzed.

Results: Three main themes emerged from the focus groups. With regard to their perceptions of 2D and 3D vision, most of the participants preferred 3D over 2D vision, mainly due to an improved ability to perceive depth. With regard to the theme of practicing 3D vision in the VR environment, some participants performed their tasks faster with 3D vision than with 2D vision, while others did not perceive any difference between them. Under the same main theme, some participants experienced headaches and eye fatigue with 3D vision. With regard to their perception of technical aspects, with 3D glasses, the participants experienced unpleasant sensations and saw darker images.

Conclusion: All the participants placed greater value on practicing with 3D than with 2D vision in the VR environment. They believed that VR training should be used in the early years of dental education as an adjunct to the phantom head as it helps students acquire the skills needed by dental professionals.