Purpose: To determine dental students’ motivational profiles through a person-centred approach and to analyse the associations with the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs, study strategies, academic performance, self-esteem, and vitality. Methods: A total of 924 students from the University of San Sebastian (Chile) participated in this cross-sectional cor¬relational study in spring 2016. Data were collected through 5 self-reported instruments, in addition to students’ academic performance. The Cronbach alpha, descriptive statistics, and correla¬tion scores were computed. A k-means cluster analysis with intrinsic and controlled motivation was conducted to identify different mo-tivational profiles. Subsequently, multivariate analysis of covariance controlling for the effects of gender and year of study was carried out to assess differences among the retained motivational profiles and learning variables. Results: All instruments showed acceptable Cronbach alpha scores. A 4-cluster solution was retained for the motivational profile over a 3- or 5-cluster solution. Students’ motiva-tional profiles were characterized by different degrees of intrinsic and controlled motivation. The high intrinsic motivation groups showed higher perceptions of their basic psychological, a greater propensity for a deep rather than surface study strategy, better academic performance, and higher scores for self-esteem and vitality than the low intrinsic motivation groups, regardless of the degree of controlled motivation. Conclusion: Students with a high intrinsic motivation profile, regardless of their controlled motivation scores, reported better learning characteristics. Therefore, special attention should be paid to students’ motivational profiles, as the quality of motivation might serve as a basis for interventions to support their academic success and well-being.

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.

Giving constructive feedback is crucial for learners to bridge the gap between their current performance and the desired standards of competence. Giving effective feedback is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and improved. Therefore, our aim was to explore models in clinical settings and assess their transferability to different clinical feedback encounters. We identified the 6 most common and accepted feedback models, including the Feedback Sandwich, the Pendleton Rules, the One-Minute Preceptor, the SET-GO model, the R2C2 (Rapport/Reaction/Content/Coach), and the ALOBA (Agenda Led Outcome-based Analysis) model. We present a handy resource describing their structure, strengths, and weaknesses, requirements for educators and learners, and suitable feedback encounters for use for each model. These feedback models represent practical frameworks for educators to adopt but also to adapt to their preferred style, combining and modifying them if necessary to suit their needs and context.

Introduction: The quick spread of COVID‐19 has caused part of the world's population to adopt quarantine protocols that have limited professional activities, including dental training programmes. This study aimed to explore the experiences of students and personnel at a Chilean dental school during the COVID‐19 pandemic.Materials and Methods: This phenomenological descriptive qualitative study reported staff and students’ experiences during the pandemic through in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews. These were recorded on audio and video with a digital platform. Three researchers then transcribed and analyzed the recordings and codified the answers into categories to determine the emerging topics until a saturation point was reached.Results: The core emerging themes among the staff group were (1) change in the personal/professional life balance, (2) online learning through digital platforms, (3) staff perceptions of students’ learning experiences, and (4) concerns about the future. For students, the themes were (1) changes in the learning process, (2) online learning through digital platforms, (3) interpersonal relationships, and (4) concerns about the future.Conclusion: The COVID‐19 pandemic has been a period of learning for our dental school staff and students. Even though online learning has been a useful tool for delivering didactic (theoretical) concepts, it has been unable to replace conventional education, including skills training. Students and teachers reported being overwhelmed at the beginning of the pandemic, but they have shown remarkable adaptability and resilience during this period.