Bridging the gap: evaluating the effectiveness of haptic simulators compared to traditional methods in preclinical dental education

Background: Haptic simulation technologies are increasingly integrated into preclinical dental education to support procedural skill development. However, the extent to which haptic simulators improve performance compared to traditional phantom-head-based training remains unclear. Our goal is to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of haptic simulators in operative dentistry training, compared with conventional approaches. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane (2015–2025), complemented by manual searching, to identify studies evaluating virtual reality haptic simulators in preclinical operative dentistry education. The search strategy, structured according to the PICO framework, included preclinical undergraduate dental students, interventions with virtual reality haptic simulators, comparisons with conventional methods, and objective assessment of technical performance. Relevant data were extracted in a standardized manner, and the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials was assessed using RoB 2.0, while non-randomized studies were evaluated using ROBINS-I v2. Results: Of the 66 identified articles, 5 studies were included. The use of virtual reality simulators with haptic feedback in preclinical dental students was associated with increased efficiency in cavity preparation, reflected by reduced execution time and improved learning curves, as well as specific technical gains such as depth control. Overall cavity preparation quality was comparable to that achieved with conventional methods, with virtual reality being well accepted as an effective complementary tool in preclinical operative dentistry education. Conclusions: Haptic simulators appear effective for early preclinical skill development in operative dentistry and may complement traditional instruction. Evidence remains insufficient to confirm superiority over conventional methods or long-term clinical benefit. Higher-quality multicenter randomized trials with standardized performance measures are needed to strengthen the evidence base.