Alexander Jon Cresswell-Boyes

Background/Objectives: The hidden curriculum (HC) plays a central role in shaping professional identity in dental education, yet the contribution of charitable and third-sector organisations to this process remains underexamined relative to institutional culture, peer interaction, and clinical hierarchy. This paper examines how partnerships between dental schools and community charities, using the Peninsula Dental School (PDS)–Well Connected collaboration as a case example, function as a distinct source of hidden curriculum content. Methods: Drawing on hidden curriculum theory, communities of practice, and transformative learning as a framework, we review the published literature on charitable and community-based dental education and examine reflective accounts and feedback from students who participated in PDS–Well Connected initiatives. Results: Charitable settings expose students to role models, patient populations, and relational demands largely absent from the teaching clinic, fostering empathy, cultural humility, and awareness of social determinants of oral health. Student accounts describe these experiences as transformational, but the literature also identifies risks, including superficial engagement, othering and an evaluation gap in how community-based learning outcomes are measured. Conclusions: Charitable organisations act as active, largely unacknowledged pedagogical agents in dental education. Realising their educational value requires sustained, reciprocal partnerships with institutional recognition, rather than treating community engagement as peripheral or optional.

Background: Pre-clinical training in endodontics relies heavily on typodont teeth to develop operative skills before patient care, but conventional polymer-based typodonts differ from human teeth in their cutting response, requiring greater force and producing an unrealistic cutting experience that often dissatisfies students. Methods: This study evaluated four alternative 3D-printed typodont materials—15 wt.% carbonated hydroxyapatite, 15 wt.% Puraflake^® (glass flake filler), 15 wt.% zinc oxide, and a urethane/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate resin composite—based on their cutting force, post-cut surface roughness, and perceived cutting feel relative to extracted enamel, assessed via a five-point Likert scale questionnaire completed by 46 (n = 46) fourth- and fifth-year dental students. Results: No statistically significant differences in cutting force were detected between the four printed materials and extracted enamel, a finding confirmed using formal two one-sided equivalence testing (TOST); larger confirmatory studies would allow this equivalence to be established with greater statistical precision. Perception scores differed significantly between materials, and fifth-year students rated the dental resin composite significantly more favourably than fourth-year students, with only the composite effect surviving stringent Bonferroni correction across all four material comparisons, underscoring the reliability of this specific finding. Post-cut surface roughness showed a strong, statistically robust monotonic association with perception scores at the individual-respondent level (Page’s L trend test, n = 46, p < 0.001), suggesting that surface behaviour during material removal may contribute to perceived haptic similarity. Conclusions: Matching cutting force alone does not guarantee perceptual equivalence. Among the materials tested, the dental resin composite most closely approximated extracted-enamel surface roughness, received the most favourable and consistent perception scores, and is recommended as the preferred material for pre-clinical typodont fabrication where accessible. These 3D-printed typodonts offer a standardised, openly documented alternative to commercial typodonts for pre-clinical training, with digital models and manufacturing workflows openly available via an institutional platform (TactiTooth).

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Objectives: This study aimed to compare the haptic perception of clinicians to the cutting response of 3D‐printed typodont teeth and commercial typodont teeth and human extracted teeth.Methods: Twenty clinicians were asked to perform a Class I cavity preparation on commercial typodont teeth, 3D‐printed typodont teeth, and human extracted teeth, while the forces were recorded via a three‐axis load cell. The haptic perception of clinicians was also evaluated through a response questionnaire comparing commercial and 3D‐printed typodont teeth.Results: The study found that clinicians used similar forces (p = 0.53) to cut both the 3D‐printed typodont teeth (1.37 N) and the human extracted teeth (1.44 N), but more force was needed to cut the commercial typodont teeth (3.71 N). The response questionnaire indicated that clinicians rated the 3D‐printed typodont teeth highly compared to the commercial teeth. The 3D‐printed dentine received favorable feedback from clinicians, and the 3D‐printed enamel was rated higher compared to the commercial equivalents.Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that 3D‐printed typodont teeth offer a comparable haptic perception to human extracted teeth and can be used as an effective tool for preclinical dental learning. Moreover, the study highlights the advantages of 3D‐printed typodont teeth over commercial typodont teeth in terms of haptic perception.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate students' perceptions of the use of 3D-printed typodonts by implementing a questionnaire and evaluating the students' comparisons between extracted, commercial and 3D-printed teeth.Methods: Ethical approval was obtained (QMER20.586/2021) and questionnaire feedback was collected anonymously using an online survey. A total of 143 fourth- and fifth-year dental students were approached to participate during pre-clinical courses focussing on root canal therapy. The tooth design was based on micro-CT data of an extracted maxillary central incisor and 3D-printed with haptically-similar materials produced in previous work. The questionnaire comprised 11 Likert-scale questions, four open-ended questions, two “yes” or “no” questions and three closed-ended questions.Results: Eighty questionnaires were returned. Overall, the feedback was favourable towards the 3D-printed typodonts compared to the commercial teeth. The biggest difference in responses was in Question 6 related to the realism of drilling the enamel when comparing 3D-printed teeth with commercial ones. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference (p < 0.05); the fourth-year's response on average, was 2.95 (±0.73) an “agree” rating, whereas the fifth-year's response was 3.98 (±0.82) with “neither agree or disagree”.Discussion: Within the limitations of this study, the 3D-printed typodonts were rated high in comparison to the commercial teeth in terms of overall operative experiences.

Introduction: Fluoride plays a major role in inhibiting enamel dissolution and promoting fluorapatite formation. Porous hydroxyapatite (HAP) discs can be used as an enamel analogue in artificial demineralisation/remineralisation studies.Method: The aim of the study was to monitor the fluoride-mineral phases formed on HAP surfaces as a function of fluoride concentration ([F⁻]) under demineralising conditions, using ¹⁹F magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) spectroscopy, and compare the results with a previous study using an enamel substrate. Porous HAP blocks were immersed in demineralisation solutions (0.1 M acetic acid, pH 4.0) with increasing [F⁻] (0–1450 ppm).Results: At below 50 ppm [F⁻], ¹⁹F MAS-NMR showed fluoride-substituted apatite formation; above 50 ppm [F⁻], calcium fluoride (CaF₂) was formed in increasing proportions. These results mirrored those of previous similar studies with an enamel substrate. Further increases in fluoride caused no further measurable reduction in demineralisation but increased the proportion of CaF₂ formed. The total calcium concentration [Ca] and total phosphorus [P] concentrations in the solution were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. At high fluoride concentrations, the solution total [P] increased, and the molar Ca:P ratios decreased to values consistent with the formation of CaF₂. However, Ca:P ratios found at low [F⁻] were higher than those in the previous enamel study and consistent with the formation of a partially fluoridated apatite.Conclusions: Under demineralising conditions, CaF₂ formed on HAP at an [F⁻] of 50 ppm and above, whereas fluoridated apatite formed at an [F⁻] below 50 ppm. The results were consistent with those obtained when an enamel substrate was used.

Summary: Artificial teeth have several advantages in preclinical training. The aim of this study is to three‐dimensionally (3D) print accurate artificial teeth using scans from X‐ray microtomography (XMT). Extracted and artificial teeth were imaged at 90 kV and 40 kV, respectively, to create detailed high contrast scans. The dataset was visualised to produce internal and external meshes subsequently exported to 3D modelling software for modification before finally sending to a slicing program for printing. After appropriate parameter setting, the printer deposited material in specific locations layer by layer, to create a 3D physical model. Scans were manipulated to ensure a clean model was imported into the slicing software, where layer height replicated the high spatial resolution that was observed in the XMT scans. The model was then printed in two different materials (polylactic acid and thermoplastic elastomer). A multimaterial print was created to show the different physical characteristics between enamel and dentine.Lay Description: Objectives: Trainee dentists practice procedures using artificial teeth that are far from real teeth. Using x‐rays and 3D printing technology the project will recreate a real tooth, artificially.Methods: X‐rays produce a 3D image that can be printed out as a physical replica, after several conversions of files. Different settings can be used to allow the printed model, to be as accurate as possible. Data were collected on the forces from a dental drill on a tooth's surface, to measure hardness and resistance.Results: Multiple teeth replicas were printed with a high accuracy. The materials printed did not mimic actual tooth properties, but using the data from real teeth, materials can be tested in future.