Beyond the Drill: Can Digital Gadgets Redefine the Future of Dental Education?

Journal: European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe
Published Date: Nov 20, 2025

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and haptic technologies is revolutionising dental education, offering transformative opportunities to enhance skill acquisition, ergonomic awareness and student well-being. These tools offer immersive, repeatable and personalised learning experiences, addressing challenges such as underdeveloped manual dexterity in digitally literate students and post-COVID disruptions in hands-on training. AIM: This letter aims to highlight the transformative potential of AI-driven adaptive feedback paired with VR and haptic simulators in creating risk-free environments for mastering complex procedures, while advocating for strategies to reduce clinical errors and promote sustainability by minimising reliance on physical resources. DISCUSSION: Despite their potential, barriers such as high costs, resistance to change, logistical complexities and insufficient longitudinal evidence hinder widespread adoption. These challenges perpetuate educational disparities, particularly in low-resource regions, and necessitate targeted strategies such as cost-effective models, faculty retraining and international collaboration. The rise of digitally native educators and global initiatives, such as the Digital, VR-Haptic Thinkers network, signals a shift toward future-ready curricula that prioritise equity, sustainability and innovation. As mandated by the EU's 2024 directive, digital dentistry knowledge is now a fundamental component of basic dental training. CONCLUSION: To fully harness these technologies, stakeholders must address evidence gaps, validate cognitive benefits and align curricula with modern learner expectations. This letter calls for urgent collaboration among educators, institutions and industry to overcome barriers, ensuring dental education evolves to meet 21st-century demands for equitable, high-quality oral healthcare delivery.

Authors

  • Szabolcs Felszeghy
    Institute of Dentistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
  • Adam Kada
    Faculté de Médecine Dentaire, Université Mohammed V de Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.
  • Amanda Jackson
    Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Belfast, UK.
  • Andreea Didilescu
    Faculty of Dental Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
  • Barry Quinn
    School of Dentistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
  • Dalia Meisha
    Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  • Damiano Pasqualini
    School of Dentistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
  • Daniela Alejandra Pino Valenzuela
    Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
  • Nejdet Adanir
    Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia.
  • Esther Carramolino Cuellar
    Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
  • Gianrico Spagnuolo
    Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Università di Napoli Federico II, via S. Pansini, 5-80131 Naples, Italy.
  • Gitana Rederiene
    European Dental Hygienists Federation, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  • Gulsun Gul
    American Dental Education Association, Washington, DC, USA.
  • Hal Duncan
    Division of Restorative Dentistry & Periodontology, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
  • Hany Mohamed Aly Ahmed
    Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Jorge Alberto Tricio Pesce
    Faculty of Health and Dentistry, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile.
  • Khaled Ahmed
    Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, 60800, Multan, Pakistan.
  • Laura Andriukaitiene
    Department of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway.
  • Łukasz Zadrozny
    Department of Propaedeutics and Dental Prophylaxis, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Warsaw Medical University, Warsaw, Poland.
  • Małgorzata Ponto-Wolska
    Department of Propaedeutics and Dental Prophylaxis, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Warsaw Medical University, Warsaw, Poland.
  • Margaret J Cox
    King's College London Dental Institute, London, UK.
  • Maria Florencia Sittoni Pino
    Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
  • María Paz Rodríguez Hopp
    Facultad de Salud y Odontología, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile.
  • Masako Nagasawa
    Faculty of Dentistry, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
  • Mengwei Pang
    Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
  • Mikko Liukkonen
    Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
  • Murat Mutluay
    Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
  • Neshka Manchorova
    Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
  • Nicla Flacco
    Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
  • Nisrine El Arrouf
    Faculté de Médecine Dentaire, Université Mohammed V de Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.
  • Noha Waleed Barakat
    Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Galala University, Al Galala, Egypt.
  • Outi Huhtela
    Institute of Dentistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
  • Peter Lingström
    Department of Cariology, Institute of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • Samantha Byrne
    Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  • Sobia Zafar
    School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
  • Sompop Bencharit
    Department of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Philips Institute for Oral Health Research, School of Dentistry, and Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
  • Suzie Bergman
    Department of Neurosurgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
  • Ulf Örtengren
    Department of Cariology, Institute of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • Reinhard Chun Wang Chau
    Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

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