Effectiveness of Virtual Reality for Endodontic Education in Undergraduate Dental Students-A Systematic Review.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being explored as a teaching tool in dental education. VR provides immersive training environments that aim to enhance procedural skills and anatomical understanding.

Objective: This systematic review aimed to examine the effectiveness of VR in undergraduate endodontic learning compared to traditional learning methods.

Materials and methods: Online databases of Scopus, Embase, Medline, and Web of Science databases were electronically searched according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria in August 2024. Studies that explored the use of VR among dental undergraduates for endodontic education were included. Articles in languages other than English were excluded. Study quality was assessed based on the ROB2 and ROBINS-I tools. GRADE was used to assess the certainty of evidence.

Results: Of 99 initial records, six studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 255 participants. Four studies were RCTs, and two utilized non-randomized designs. The majority of the studies showed a high or serious risk of bias. Despite these limitations, the majority of studies demonstrated significant improvements in skill acquisition and performance with VR training, including reductions in task completion times and enhanced procedural accuracy.

Conclusion: Based on the limited evidence available, there is low-level evidence that VR is as effective as traditional learning techniques in endodontic education, enhancing skill proficiency, reducing errors, and improving anatomical comprehension.