title: Do dental undergraduates think that Thiel-embalmed cadavers are a more realistic model for teaching exodontia?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Teaching exodontia to novice undergraduates requires a realistic model. Thiel-embalmed cadavers retain the flexibility of the soft tissues and could be used to teach exodontia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to determine whether Thiel-embalmed cadavers were perceived to be a more realistic model by undergraduates in comparison with mannequins.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a period of 4 years (2011-2014), students were randomly assigned into two groups: those taught exodontia on mannequins only (NT) and those who also experienced cadaveric teaching (T). This was followed by an assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 174 students in the T group and 108 in the NT group. Sixty-five per cent of the T group and 69% of the NT group provided feedback. Ninety-eight per cent (98%) felt that they had been advantaged by being included in the group compared with 95% in the NT who felt disadvantaged. The majority (98%) thought that using the cadavers was advantageous and gave a realistic feel for soft tissue management (89%) and that it was similar to managing a patient (81%). Self-reported confidence in undertaking an extraction was not different between the two groups (P=.078), and performance in the extraction assessment was not significantly different between the two groups over the 4 years (P=.8).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Thiel-embalmed cadavers were well received by the students who found it a more realistic model for exodontia than a mannequin, even though this did not impact on their performance in a following assessment. Future work on these cadavers may be expanded to include surgical procedures.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral Surgery and Medicine, University of Dundee Dental School, Dundee, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID), University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral Surgery and Medicine, University of Dundee Dental School, Dundee, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Macluskey
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D002102:Cadaver; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D004615:Embalming / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008348:Manikins; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000193:education; D057566:Self Report; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D014081:Tooth Extraction
keywords: Thiel-embalmed cadaver; dental students; extractions; oral surgery