Immersive Technologies in Dental Education: Global Adoption Patterns From a 2025 Survey

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Dental education is undergoing a digital transformation, yet the adoption of immersive technologies such as haptic virtual reality (HVR) remains limited. This study aimed to map global adoption trends, barriers, and opportunities for equitable integration of HVR in dental curricula. METHODS: A 73-item global survey (July-August 2025) was distributed to dental educators across 57 countries via professional networks and social media. The mixed-methods instrument, validated by experts, assessed simulation methods, usage, barriers, and perceptions. Descriptive and exploratory inferential statistics (e.g., one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square tests) were used to analyze quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative responses. Ethical approval was granted by a university ethics review board (No. 13/2023). RESULTS: Responses from 130 educators (115 institutions, 57 countries) showed traditional methods (phantom heads, n = 118; benchtop exercises, n = 84) dominating (∼80% clinical training time), while HVR (n = 42, primarily in undergraduate programs) and mixed reality (n = 14, primarily in undergraduate programs) were less prevalent, especially in postgraduate programs (10% HVR use). Barriers in implementing HVR simulators were mainly external, with a lack of resources (66.3%) and resistance from staff and students (21.3%), while personal barriers such as technological limits (9.0%), lack of training (2.2%), and lack of evidence (1.1%) were less common (total n = 89). Countries with higher socioeconomic status were found to use HVR more in undergraduate education than the less well-off countries (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION(S): Immersive technologies remain underutilized in dental education, particularly at the postgraduate level, creating potential gaps in clinical preparedness. Strategic integration, collaboration, and sustainability-focused adoption may enhance equity and clinical readiness, informing accreditation and policy reforms.

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Journal
Journal of Dental Education
Published
2026-04-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.70228
Primary Topic
Dental Research and COVID-19
Type
article
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article

Immersive Technologies in Dental Education: Global Adoption Patterns From a 2025 Survey

Gitana Rėderienė, Laura Andriukaitienė, Łukasz Zadrożny, Gianrico Spagnuolo et al.
Journal of Dental Education
Dental Research and COVID-19
article

Immersive Technologies in Dental Education: Global Adoption Patterns From a 2025 Survey

Gitana Rėderienė, Laura Andriukaitienė, Łukasz Zadrożny, Gianrico Spagnuolo, Ülle Voog‐Oras, Henry F. Duncan, Peter Lingström, Samantha Byrne, K. Iftekhar Ahmed, Mikko Liukkonen, David Rice, Masako Nagasawa, Margaret Cox, Barry Quinn, Josette Camilleri, Reinhard Chun Wang Chau, Szabolcs Felszeghy, Damiano Pasqualini, MengWei Pang, Noha Waleed Barakat, Gül Gülsün, Santiago Arias‐Herrera, Nisrine El Arrouf, Andreea Cristiana Didilescu, Mohammed Al‐Haroni, Daniela Pino Valenzuela, Rebecca Stolberg, Neshka Manchorova, Sompop Bencharit
article en

Abstract

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Dental education is undergoing a digital transformation, yet the adoption of immersive technologies such as haptic virtual reality (HVR) remains limited. This study aimed to map global adoption trends, barriers, and opportunities for equitable integration of HVR in dental curricula. METHODS: A 73-item global survey (July-August 2025) was distributed to dental educators across 57 countries via professional networks and social media. The mixed-methods instrument, validated by experts, assessed simulation methods, usage, barriers, and perceptions. Descriptive and exploratory inferential statistics (e.g., one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square tests) were used to analyze quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative responses. Ethical approval was granted by a university ethics review board (No. 13/2023). RESULTS: Responses from 130 educators (115 institutions, 57 countries) showed traditional methods (phantom heads, n = 118; benchtop exercises, n = 84) dominating (∼80% clinical training time), while HVR (n = 42, primarily in undergraduate programs) and mixed reality (n = 14, primarily in undergraduate programs) were less prevalent, especially in postgraduate programs (10% HVR use). Barriers in implementing HVR simulators were mainly external, with a lack of resources (66.3%) and resistance from staff and students (21.3%), while personal barriers such as technological limits (9.0%), lack of training (2.2%), and lack of evidence (1.1%) were less common (total n = 89). Countries with higher socioeconomic status were found to use HVR more in undergraduate education than the less well-off countries (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION(S): Immersive technologies remain underutilized in dental education, particularly at the postgraduate level, creating potential gaps in clinical preparedness. Strategic integration, collaboration, and sustainability-focused adoption may enhance equity and clinical readiness, informing accreditation and policy reforms.

Journal of Dental Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Mohammed V University (MA), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Liverpool (GB), Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy (RO), The University of Melbourne (AU), University of Concepción (CL), University of Eastern Finland (FI), King's College London (GB), University of Oslo (NO), Medical University of Warsaw (PL), Helsinki University Hospital (FI), Medical University Plovdiv (BG), American Dental Hygienists' Association (US), American Dental Education Association (US), University College Birmingham (GB), Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CN), Dublin Dental University Hospital (IE), University of Turin (IT), Andalas University (ID), University of Tartu (EE), University of Portsmouth (GB), University of Naples Federico II (IT), Niigata University (JP), UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO), Chongqing Medical University (CN), University of Gothenburg (SE), University of Hong Kong (HK), Universidad Europea de Madrid (ES)
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
Dental Research and COVID-19
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