Numerous use cases for VR technology are coming to the surface in the past few weeks. One new experiment in Australia confirms virtual reality education can be a viable way of improving oral health. Denise Higgins is in the process of teaching her students about the inner workings of oral health through a VR training session.
Addressing Oral Health With Virtual Reality
It is not uncommon for companies to embark on VR training exercises It is much easier to train staffers in virtual reality prior to putting them in the midst of the action. Options are explored in retail, as well as construction and other industries. It now seems oral health therapy is another industry focusing its efforts on virtual reality training.
For oral health therapist Denise Higgins, VR makes a lot of sense. She teaches students how they need to understand the anatomy and physiology to take care of patients. Rather than letting them try on actual human patients, a VR training exercise is as hands-on as it will get. Moreover, students will learn how to assemble the necessary equipment to treat patients.
Higgins explains her decision as follows:
“We just keep adding the layers of realism so it is becoming more and more like the real situation. The people who taught me when I obtained my first qualification were really good role models,” she says. “They were proud of their profession and took pride in what they did on a day-to-day basis. So that is how I set forth with my career.”
For students, it is a matter of putting on a VR headset and using the associated controllers to work inside a virtual dental clinic. Part of their training focuses on injecting an anesthetic. Students also need to monitor the quantity and speed at which the sedative is being administered. The “patient” in this VR experience will give realistic responses depending on how well the student performs.
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