Evaluation of the Quality of Class II Cavities with and without Dental Loupes

Abstract

Objective: High competency levels in Restorative
Dentistry require manual dexterity, and one of the
important ways a student can achieve this dexterity is by
pre-clinical typodont exercises. This study sought to
demonstrate the quality of prepared Class II cavities
prepared without magnified vision and evaluated with
and without (magnifying) dental loupes.
Methods: Typodont teeth mounted on either a lower or
upper acrylic jaw base of phantom head had Class II
amalgam cavities prepared on them under examination
conditions by preclinical dental students. The tooth and
type of Class II cavity prepared were noted. Evaluations
of the prepared cavities was carried out initially without
loupes and then subsequently with dental loupes using
predetermined criteria. The data obtained were
subjected to statistical analysis using IBM SPSS version
26.0
Results: Sixty typodont plastic teeth were utilized for
the study. There was statistically significant difference
in mean scores assessed with and without loupes,
p<0.0001 as well as between the grades of the cavity
evaluated with and without loupes (P=0.004). The mean
score of MO cavities assessed with loupes was higher
than the mean score of DO cavities and this was
statistically significant, p=0.001
Conclusion: The use of dental loupes is invaluable in the
didactic assessment of dental students’ work by their
educators and instructors for higher quality training.
Therefore, it is hereby recommended that both dental
students and their educators should routinely use dental
loupes during students’ training to produce very
proficient dental graduates who will deliver high quality
dental care to patients during their professional careers.