Impact of musical instrument practice on baseline psychomotor and technical skills in novice dental students: a prospective controlled study

The acquisition of surgical skills in dental education relies on psychomotor ability, visual-spatial reasoning, and manual dexterity. Given the increasing strain on training environments, identifying factors predictive of technical proficiency has become a priority. Musical practice, which engages similar cognitive and motor skills, has been hypothesized to enhance surgical performance. This study aimed to determine whether dental students with musical experience outperform their peers in visuospatial awareness, gesture precision, and technical aptitude, and whether they perceive these tasks as easier. In this prospective, single-blind (blinded investigators), controlled cohort study, 85 first-year dental students with no prior clinical training were recruited and classified into musician (n = 33) and non-musician (n = 52) groups based on self-reported musical activity. Three primary outcomes were assessed: visuospatial awareness (via the Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotation test), gesture precision (via a modified Precision Manual Dexterity test), and dental technical aptitude (measured by time to perform a correct simulated pulpotomy on a 3-D printing tooth containing a pulp chamber). Perceived ease and difficulty of each task were also surveyed. Statistical analyses included the Mann–Whitney U test with a significance threshold set at 5%. Musicians completed a correct pulpotomy task significantly faster than non-musicians (median time: 125.4 vs. 155.4 s; p = 0.02), suggesting an association with enhanced technical aptitude. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in visuospatial awareness (median score: 20 vs. 16.5; p = 0.24) or precision tests (median score: 86 vs. 89; p = 0.55). No marked differences were observed in perceived ease or perceived difficulty of the tasks between the two groups. Musical experience appears to be associated with faster execution of dental procedures in novices, although its effect on visuospatial and precision skills remains inconclusive. These findings support the potential value of musical training as an indicator of technical aptitude and underscore the importance of personalized training strategies in dental education. Longitudinal studies are warranted to assess whether early musical experience translates into sustained performance benefits over time.