title: The Validity of Using E4D Compare's "% Comparison" to Assess Crown Preparations in Preclinical Dental Education.
abstract: When a dental school is deciding which technology to introduce into a curriculum, it is important to identify the educational goals for the system. The authors' primary goal for the use of a computer-aided resource was to offer students another way to assess their performance, to enhance their learning, and to potentially decrease their learning curve in the preclinical environment prior to using the technique in clinical patient care. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the "% Comparison" numbers derived from the E4D Compare software program. Three practical examinations were administered to a class of 82 students at one U.S. dental school over a six-week period. The grading of the practical examinations was performed with individual faculty members being responsible for evaluating specific aspects of each preparation. A digital image of each student's practical examination tooth was then obtained and compared to the digital image of an ideal preparation. The preparations were compared, and the "% Comparison" was recorded at five tolerance levels. Spearman's correlation coefficient (SCC) was used to measure the agreement in rankings between the faculty scores on practical exams 1-3 and the scores obtained using E4D Compare at the different tolerance levels. The SCC values for practical exams 2 and 3 were all between 0.2 and 0.4; for practical exam 1, the SCC values ranged from 0.47 to 0.56. There was no correlation between the faculty scores and the numbers given by the "% Comparison" of the software.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Callan is Associate Professor and Chair, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Haywood is Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Cooper is Associate Professor, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Furness is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; and Dr. Looney is Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University. rcallan@gru.edu.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Callan
authors.affiliation: Dr. Callan is Associate Professor and Chair, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Haywood is Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Cooper is Associate Professor, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Furness is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; and Dr. Looney is Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University.
authors.forename: Van B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Haywood
authors.affiliation: Dr. Callan is Associate Professor and Chair, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Haywood is Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Cooper is Associate Professor, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Furness is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; and Dr. Looney is Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University.
authors.forename: Jeril R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Dr. Callan is Associate Professor and Chair, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Haywood is Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Cooper is Associate Professor, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Furness is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; and Dr. Looney is Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University.
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Furness
authors.affiliation: Dr. Callan is Associate Professor and Chair, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Haywood is Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Cooper is Associate Professor, Department of General Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; Dr. Furness is Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, College of Dental Medicine, Georgia Regents University; and Dr. Looney is Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University.
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Looney
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D003442:Crowns; D003814:Dentistry, Operative / Q000193:education*; D004497:Education, Dental; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018961:Educational Technology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D000068156:Formative Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013335:Students, Dental; D019231:Tooth Preparation, Prosthodontic / Q000379:methods*
keywords: CAD/CAM; assessment; dental education; grading; preclinical simulation