Comparison of industrial- and medical-grade silicone phantoms for surgical laser training in dental students

This study explored the potential of industrial- and medical-grade silicone phantoms as alternatives to animal models for surgical laser training in dental students. Tongue molds with exophytic lesions were created using 3D-printed polylactic acid molds. Industrial-grade and medical-grade silicone were injected into the molds to create two distinct educational models. Forty-five sixth-year dental students participated in the study. Students first practiced with an 810-nm diode laser on a sheep tongue and then resected the lesions on the silicone models. Afterwards, they completed a questionnaire evaluating the effectiveness of silicone phantoms in surgical laser training. Data were analyzed using Kendall’s Tau and paired samples t-tests, with significance set at P < 0.05. There was no significant difference between the silicone models in terms of design and construction (P = 0.195), learners’ experience of lesion removal (P = 0.790), or effectiveness in teaching laser courses (P = 0.083). However, the medical-grade silicone was significantly more similar to animal tissues in texture (P < 0.001). Furthermore, working with the diode laser on the medical silicone phantom better simulated working on animal specimens compared to the industrial silicone phantom (P = 0.007). The overall score of the questionnaire was also in favor of medical-grade silicone (P = 0.039). Both industrial- and medical-grade silicone phantoms were effective for training dental students in surgical laser applications. However, the medical-grade silicone provided a more realistic training experience and was closer in texture to animal tissue, making it a superior training model for dental students.