A Patient-Specific Digital Twin Model for Haptic-Based Dental Simulation: Development and Pilot Evaluation of Its Static Design

Abstract

Purpose: Haptic and mixed-reality (MR) simulation technologies are increasingly used in preclinical dental education to support psychomotor skill acquisition and to reduce early patient exposure. This technical feasibility study aimed to develop a patient-specific digital twin patient model integrated into an MR haptic-based dental simulator and to explore dental students’ perceptions of it through an exploratory post-workshop survey. Materials and Methods: A digital twin patient model was created by integrating intraoral, facial, and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) datasets, and was implemented within the SIMtoCARE Dente haptic-based dental simulator (SIMtoCARE B.V., Vreeland, The Netherlands). In this single-centre pilot study, students completed a structured questionnaire assessing usability, perceived fidelity, and curricular relevance on the same day, following a single faculty-led workshop. Of the 50 students who attended, 41 completed the questionnaire (response rate: 82%). Results: The proposed workflow enabled the creation and implementation of the digital twin patient model. Students reported high acceptance and perceived educational value, with 92.7% supporting curricular integration. Prior exposure to haptic systems did not differ across demographic groups. Fourth-year respondents showed significantly higher agreement with the item on complementarity with conventional training. Conclusions: The digital twin patient model was positively perceived by dental students in this single-centre pilot study. These findings reflect immediate self-reported perceptions and require validation in larger, comparative and longitudinal studies.