Reimagining Dental Education: Integrating Digital Technologies for a Global, Digitally Native Generation—A Perspective
Ulla Palotie, Mikko Liukkonen, Peter Lingström, Szabolcs Felszeghy, Outi Huhtela, Mohammed Al-Haroni, Andreea Didilescu, Simona Georgiana Schick, Damiano Pasqualini, Khaled Ahmed, Anthony J. Smith, Łukasz Zadrozny, Gulsun Gul, Barbara Kispélyi, Bekhzod Yarmukhamedov, Rachid Ait Addi, Benjamin Huberson, Daniela Alejandra Pino Valenzuela, Deepika Kapoor, Edgar Quenta-Silva, Gideon K. Helegbe, Hala Ragab, Hany Mohamed Aly Ahmed, Hilal Aktaş, Kaan Orhan, Katalin Nagy, Kinga Bágyi, Laurah Turner, Latifa Berrezouga, Laura Gartshore, Leonardo M. Nassani, Magrur Kazak, Mahmoud Bakr, Małgorzata Ponto Wolska, Maria Florencia Sittoni Pino, Masako Nagasawa, Mengwei Pang, Mihaela Pantea, Nikunj Sondagar, Nino Tebidze, Thanaphum Osathanon, Peter Hermann, Priyanka Gudsoorkar, Punnya Angadi Rao, Rita Marincsák, Samantha Bryne, Sibel Dincer, Ulf Örtengren, Zohaib Khurshid, Sompop Bencharit, Barry Quinn, Gianrico Spagnuolo, Margaret J. Cox, Mutlu Özcan, Hiroe Ohyama, David P. Rice, Reinhard Chun Wang ChauAbstract
Digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and haptic simulation, are rapidly reshaping oral health education. Traditional phantom head and clinic-based teaching remain essential but no longer suffice alone for digital-native learners or for regulators who increasingly view digital competence as mandatory. Post-COVID evidence suggests immersive and hybrid approaches can enhance motivation, deepen learning, support well-being, and strengthen clinical competence when thoughtfully embedded into curricula. Done well, this integration can foster safer, patient-centered digital care.
Sustainability concerns around traditional, resource-intensive methods are also growing; digital tools can reduce material waste and resource use, aligning dental education with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, access to these innovations is uneven, raising concerns about a digital divide in graduate readiness and patient care. Networks such as the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), the Haptic and AI Digital Education Network for Excellence and Research (HAiDENERS) show how collaboration and benchmarking can democratize advanced simulation. Together with active communication involving global research bodies and industry, these developments enable a hybrid, evidence-informed, and equitable training ecosystem whose ultimate goal is improved, safer, and more predictable oral health care worldwide.