Association for Dental Education in Europe

Learning together to improve oral health and quality of life

Reimagining and digital reinforcement of the dental education: bridging borders, uniting missions by the digital, VR and haptic thinkers global network.

Wednesday, 20th August 2025 - 14:30 to 16:00
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Timezone: 

Dublin (IST, UTC+1)

Venue: 

Tangent. TCDBS

VR Haptic Thinkers
Pre-register as part of your ADEE 2025 meeting registration
Session synopsis: 

Digital, Virtual Reality, and Haptic technology is not merely a tool for preclinical, clinical, or postgraduate training—it's a "Dr. X" for our field as well. These cutting-edge technologies serve as a comprehensive knowledge booster, skills trainers, ergonomic coaches, and even a psychotherapeutic aid. The integration of these technologies in basic and advanced healthcare education represents a significant leap forward in shaping the next generation of professionals and will influence oral care. These technologies offer unparalleled opportunities for enhancing both knowledge acquisition and skill development, yet their global adoption remains surprisingly limited despite being available for over a decade.

Difficulties seeing and accessing the teeth are the main hurdles in the adoption of ergonomic posture for handpiece education. Students often place their bodies in unhealthy positions in order to achieve the wanted outcome. Assessment of this association is crucial, because students should be aware of unhealthy positions and to learn how to prevent it. This interactive session will provide attendees the ability to assess ergonomic issues and understand the role VR haptics can play in reducing these issues, as well.

Programme: 

TBC 

Chair: 

Szabolcs Felszeghy

Docent (Associate Professor)
Institute of Dentistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

Dr. Szabolcs Felszeghy, is an experienced educator with a robust background in preclinical medical and dental sciences, including Human Anatomy, Histology, Embryology, and preclinical Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry. Demonstrated ability to enhance learning through innovative teaching methods such as gamification and VR-haptic training. He holds Ph.D. and Habilitation in Medical Sciences (University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary), DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary). He Developed and taught courses in Human Anatomy, Histology, Embryology, and Prosthodontics. Recognized multiple times as one of the best teachers of the year. He implemented gamification strategies and VR-haptic training to improve student engagement. Served as IAMSE Ambassador. He is Passionate about fostering international collaboration among educators and engages in faculty development and collaborative scholarly activities as the Founding President and Secretary General Digital, VR-Haptic Thinkers Global Consortium. The Established a global network comprising 51 top-tier teams with over 150 members focused on advancing Digital, VR-haptic education. He authored over 50 highly ranked publications, including contributions to Nature.

Barry Quinn

Chair in Restorative Dentistry & Dental Education
University of Liverpool, School of Dentistry, UK

Professor Barry F.A. Quinn, Chair in Restorative Dentistry & Dental Education, Academic Lead for Restorative Dentistry, University of Liverpool, School of Dentistry. Barry is presently Secretary General of the Association Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), President of the British Alliance for Researchers in Dental Education and Scholarship (BARDES), co-President of the Dental Teachers of Professionalism in the UK and a past President of the Education Research Group (ERG) of the International Association of Dental Research (2018-2020) and metropolitan branch of the British Dental Association (2017). In 2017, Barry was the main lead for the Shaping the Future of Dental Education world workshop held at King’s College London.

At the University of Liverpool, Barry leads the integrated teaching of restorative dentistry for the collaborative learning core for the interprofessional education of dentist and dental therapy students. Barry is a past recipient of the ADEE mature educators award (2013) and interprofessional educators award (2016) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) emerging leaders. Barry’s main research has included interprofessional education, haptic virtual reality surgical skills education and has won many UK and international awards as well as having over 170 refereed publications and abstracts.

Learning Outcomes: 

(Following this session participants will be able to:) -

Explain how curriculum designers can impact their ability to implement dental tasks efficiently on different preclinical and clinical courses.

Discuss the importance of proper combination and timing of different modules for both the student's well-being and assessment.

Demonstrate best practices that can enhance performance and reduce strain on student

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