Effectiveness of Augmented Reality Mobile Simulator in Teaching Local Anesthesia of Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile augmented reality simulator for local anesthesia training with dental students who are administering inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) for the first time. Participants in this prospective study conducted in 2016 were 41 fourth- and fifth-year students randomly divided into two groups: a control group with 19 students and an experimental group with 22 students. In addition to theoretical instruction and exercises, students in the experimental group used the mobile augmented reality simulator in a dental office 2h weekly for four weeks. The Sony SmartBand-2 was used to measure all students' heart rate five minutes before and during anesthesia administration. After anesthesia, students in both groups completed a post-clinical questionnaire evaluating their knowledge and skills. The experimental group had a higher average score and/or a more limited range of responses on each item of the questionnaire than the control group. The average time for performing IANB in the experimental group was 50.0 +/- 14.3 seconds, while the control group's average was 68.4 +/- 25.5 seconds. In addition, the group that used the augmented reality simulator had an anesthesia success rate of 90.9% compared to 73,7% for the control group. Students in both groups had a statistically significant increase in heart rate while performing anesthesia. Overall, the students who used the mobile simulator in addition to their education in augmented reality carried out anesthetic procedures for IANB in a shorter period of time and had greater success than the students who used only the conventional educational methods.