Background: Haptics‐enhanced virtual reality (VR‐haptic) simulation in dental education has evolved considerably during the past decade, representing a promising resource of simulation‐based training opportunities to support conventional practice. We aim to summarize current literature on the applications of VR‐haptics in learning, practicing, and teaching dental education.Methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, focusing on research articles published between January 2010 and January 2024. Out of the 667 articles that matched the search terms (dentistry, education, haptic, teaching, training, virtual reality), 105 were screened, and 42 were eligible for full‐text reading and utilization. Findings from an ongoing educator survey on the use of VR‐haptics in dental education have also been provided.Results: VR‐haptic simulation has been shown to have a supportive role in dental simulation practice. Despite training within a digital world, hand skill transfer to the real world has been demonstrated, which affords educators more flexibility in how to train their students before and during traditional preclinical and clinical practical education. The individualized VR‐haptic training and feedback help students in mastering essential working techniques, while also increasing engagement and motivation.Conclusions: VR‐haptics‐supported dental education can help students effectively address challenges during their preclinical and clinical training, as well as in their subsequent careers, and it may help mitigate some weaknesses of the current educational system. Validation is a key factor for the acceptance of VR‐haptic simulators; thus, further research and verification are needed before VR‐haptics could be considered a primary hand skill development method of learning in dental education. VR‐haptic simulation may in the future be used as an assessment tool for the students’ and clinicians’ credentialing process.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of virtual reality (VR) haptic simulators on manual dexterity, self‐confidence and stress levels of 3rd‐semester dental students during preclinical endodontic training, as well as to determine the optimal timing for their introduction into the curriculum—before or after training with artificial teeth. Methodology: Forty volunteered dental students enrolled in preclinical endodontic training were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 (VR Haptic Simulator group, n = 20) completed four sessions with VR haptic simulators, including three training sessions followed by an evaluation session, before practicing on artificial teeth, whilst Group 2 (Control group, n = 20) performed a single attempt on artificial teeth first followed by the identical VR haptic simulator training period as Group 1. Prior to the training sessions, both groups received standardized lectures and demonstrations on access cavity preparation. Pre‐ and post‐training evaluations included stress levels measured via a visual analog scale (VAS) at different phases, assessment of manual dexterity through preclinical training with artificial teeth performance scores, and self‐confidence surveys. Statistical analyses were conducted with significance set at p < .05. Results: Group 1 demonstrated significantly higher manual dexterity scores and self‐assessed proficiency compared to Group 2 ( p < .05). Stress levels, measured via VAS, were notably reduced following simulator practice in both groups, with Group 1 reporting lower anxiety levels during preclinical training with artificial teeth sessions ( p < .05). Simulator‐based performance metrics were comparable between the groups ( p > .05). Self‐confidence surveys indicated that Group 1 felt better prepared and more confident in performing access cavity preparations and managing procedural challenges. Conclusion: The integration of VR haptic simulators before preclinical training with artificial teeth has a positive effect on students' manual dexterity along with reduced stress and increased self‐confidence in clinical skills. Further research is needed to explore long‐term effects and optimal integration strategies for VR simulators in dental curricula.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most prevalent form of irreversible blindness worldwide in the elderly population. In our previous studies, we found that deficiencies in the nuclear factor, erythroid 2 like 2 (NFE2L2) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) genes caused AMD-like pathological phenotypes in mice. In the present work, we show hijacked epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) due to the common loss of PGC-1α and NFE2L2 (double knock-out, dKO) genes in aged animals. The implanted area was assessed by histology, immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy. Confocal microscopy revealed altered regions in the filamentous actin ring. This contrasted with hexagonal RPE morphology in wild-type mice. The ultrastructural RPE features here illustrated loss of apical microvilli, alteration of cell-cell contact, loss of basal in-folding with deposits on Bruch’s membrane, and excessive lipofuscin deposition in dKO samples. We also found the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition transcription factors, such as Snail, Slug, collagen 1, vimentin and OB-cadherin, to be significantly different in dKO RPEs. An increased immunoreactivity of senescence markers p16, DEC1 and HMGB1 was also noted. These findings suggest that EMT and senescence pathways may intersect in the retinas of dKO mice. Both processes can be activated by damage to the RPE, which may be caused by increased oxidative stress resulting from the absence of NFE2L2 and PGC-1α genes, important for antioxidant defense. This dKO model may provide useful tools for studying AMD pathogenesis and evaluating novel therapies for this disease.

Background: Haptics-enhanced virtual reality (VR-haptics), a supplementary tool for traditional oral health training, shows promise in enhancing knowledge acquisition, manual dexterity, performance, and student well-being.Aim: The aim of this study was to understand dental educators' perceptions and needs regarding the acceptability and application of VR-haptics in dental education, as well as to gather suggestions for system improvements.Methods: In this global cross-sectional study, the VR-Haptic Thinkers Consortium used a 28-item online questionnaire distributed to 1,023 participants by August 1, 2024. The survey included questions on general demographics, multiple choice and five-point Likert-style questions, and open-ended questions.Results: A total of 378 responses were collected from 156 institutions. 57% of respondents had a dental doctorate degree and 59% had a PhD. VR-haptic trainers were used more often in preclinical training (94% of responses) than clinical training (46%). The three most common course types with VR-haptics incorporation were restorative, prosthodontic, and endodontic courses. Most respondents thought that the best approach to implementing VR-haptics is alongside phantom head training in the preclinical stage (58%). A third of the feedback on the challenges in VR-haptics utilization in dental training highlighted a need for further hardware and software development, while more than one-fourth cited economic issues in system acquisition and housing, and another one-fourth reported low acceptance of the technology among educators and students. The most mentioned enhancement requests for dental trainers were more diverse training scenarios (20%), improved software (19%) and hardware (19%) elements, and advancements in AI-based personalized training and monitoring (18%). Additionally, 10% of respondents suggested gamification features.Conclusions: VR-haptic technology is constantly evolving and will likely become more and more accepted as an integral part of dental hand skill development to complement traditional preclinical training. Future research and development should emphasize transitioning from preclinical to clinical restorative, prosthodontic, endodontic, and implantology procedures as part of individualized education and patient care.

Degeneration and/or dysfunction of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is generally detected as the formation of intracellular and extracellular protein aggregates, called lipofuscin and drusen, respectively, in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the elderly population. These clinical hallmarks are linked to dysfunctional protein homeostasis and inflammation and furthermore, are both regulated by changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration. While many other cellular mechanisms have been considered in the investigations of AMD-RPE, there has been relatively little work on understanding the interactions of protein clearance, inflammation, and Ca²⁺ dynamics in disease pathogenesis. Here we established induced pluripotent stem cell-derived RPE from two patients with advanced AMD and from an age- and gender-matched control subject. We studied autophagy and inflammasome activation under disturbed proteostasis in these cell lines and investigated changes in their intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration and L-type voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels. Our work demonstrated dysregulated autophagy and inflammasome activation in AMD-RPE accompanied by reduced intracellular free Ca²⁺ levels. Interestingly, we found currents through L-type voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels to be diminished and showed these channels to be significantly localized to intracellular compartments in AMD-RPE. Taken together, the alterations in Ca²⁺ dynamics in AMD-RPE together with dysregulated autophagy and inflammasome activation indicate an important role for Ca²⁺ signaling in AMD pathogenesis, providing new avenues for the development of therapeutic approaches.