In dentistry, precision is everything. Whether installing crowns, fillings, or other restorative treatments, dentists must have a keen eye for detail.
That’s why dental students need to learn how to file and shape teeth with extreme precision during their training. However, traditional teaching methods often fail to help students truly master these complex skills.
While teaching at the University of Detroit Mercy, Dr. Rafael Pacheco, DDS, PhD, realized that existing teaching methods had many limitations.
While students could practice on plastic dental models, classroom demonstrations often relied on video projections, and many students could easily miss key steps during the process.
“A lot of times, students are watching and distracted and miss the demonstration,” said Pacheco, now an associate professor of digital technologies at the Dental College of Georgia (DCG) at Augusta University. “They don’t always understand these abstract dental concepts.”
Pacheco’s background in graphic design gave him a different perspective. He wondered: Would it be more effective if students could review the teaching content at any time and observe the tooth structure in 3D?
So he created a set of teaching tools. He first took high-definition photos of each tooth processing step, then used an intraoral scanner to convert them into 3D images, and finally uploaded the images to an online platform.
Students can view the images through QR codes on their computers or mobile phones, and rotate, zoom in and out at will to gain a multi-angle understanding of the tooth structure.
“Traditional photos are static, and scanned images allow students to observe teeth from any angle,” he said. “This is a teaching method I have never seen before.”
Preliminary experiments were conducted in Detroit and the response was enthusiastic. Pacheco and his colleagues also wrote three manuals and published their research results in the Journal of Dental Education.
They presented the project at several international conferences and are currently seeking funding to further develop it into a virtual reality teaching tool.
In 2022, Pacheco joined DCG as a faculty member. He and his wife, Dr. Gabriela Magalhaes, DDS, a fellow DCG faculty member, are working to incorporate the tool into the new curriculum. Pacheco focuses on the preparation steps, while Magalhaes takes the photos and scans.
To better assist teaching, they also plan to make the images into a PDF manual that will be provided to each student. The manual will not only include graphic instructions for each step, but also indicate the specific tools to be used, and students can follow the class content in real time through electronic devices.
“This technology really breaks the two-dimensional limitations of traditional PowerPoint teaching,” said Rachel Dobbs, a DCG sophomore.
“Dentistry is three-dimensional, and we finally have a tool that can help us see the tooth structure from all angles.”
Another student, Ethan Walden, is the president of the college’s Emerging Technology and Skills Club.
He believes that Pacheco’s 3D tool meets the needs of modern dental education. Digital. “My generation grew up in a 3D environment, this tool is perfect,” he said.
Pacheco hopes that this 3D teaching method can not only be used in current courses, but also be expanded to other dental schools across the country. He hopes to train more teachers to use this method and make it a universal tool.
“This is not my tool, but belongs to every teacher. I hope they can make their own and serve more students.” He said.
His efforts have also been recognized by his peers. Dr. Rodway Mackert, DCG Professor Emeritus and Doctor of Dentistry, commented: “Dr. Pacheco’s teaching tools are very inspiring. It not only helps students understand the ultimate goal, but also makes the entire operation process intuitive and clear.”
In the digital age, Pacheco is quietly changing the way of dental education with innovative practices, providing new possibilities for the training of future dentists.