In 21st-century healthcare, simulation has become a key element in ensuring the quality of healthcare professional training. In dentistry, where clinical precision and decision-making skills are built through consistent, controlled, and progressive practice, technological evolution is redefining the timing and methods of learning.
It is in this scenario that theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma presented the latest generation simulator SIMtoCARE during the event "SIMtoCARE The meeting between simulation and reality". It is an immersive technological environment that integrates training, practice and care, offering students the Master's Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics advanced tools to hone skills and prepare for the complexities of the profession.
The initiative stems from the awareness that learning in dentistry can no longer be based exclusively on traditional teaching and late clinical training. The increasing personalization of care, the increasing complexity of procedures and the ever-increasing expectations of patients they require professionals ready for clinical contact with a very advanced level of manual and cognitive preparation.
La high simulation Fidelity responds precisely to this need: it allows students to practice in a safe environment, repeat procedures a virtually unlimited number of times, learn from mistakes without risk to the patient, and develop coordination, precision, and clinical judgment. This is a crucial step in a discipline where the margin for error has progressively decreased and where the quality of the first intervention significantly impacts therapeutic outcomes.
The new environment particularly supports the training of students of the Master's Degree Course in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics UCBM, active since 2024, an interdisciplinary program that integrates medical sciences, engineering, and the humanities. Cutting-edge facilities, laboratories, and advanced teaching tools, a State-of-the-art Simulation Center and a strong integration between teaching, research, and innovation place the student at the center of a structured and coherent educational project.
The training model of the University provides simulation as an integral part of the educational path, helping to bridge the gap between the university classroom and clinical practice. The simulator, introduced for the first time in Italy, uses a 4K resolution screen with autostereoscopic technology, requires no 3D glasses, and allows students to operate virtually by observing their own hands in action in a clinical scenario.
Thanks to advanced software and a case editor that can be adapted to teaching needs, the system is highly customizable. The Livestream function also allows you to broadcast exercises live on a large screen, transforming the individual experience into a shared learning moment. With a single tool, it is possible to practice manual skills in Operative dentistry, dental prosthetics, endodontics, periodontology, anesthesia, implantology, dental surgery, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, anatomy, and medical record compilation, training a broad spectrum of skills within an integrated digital environment.
The event was opened by the Rector Rocco Papalia, the Dean of the Departmental Faculty of Medicine and Surgery Bruno Vincenzi and the Dean of the Departmental Faculty of Engineering Alessio Gizzi, who emphasized how investing in simulation represents a strategic choice to raise the standards of healthcare training.
"In UCBM Dentistry is synonymous with pure technological innovation thanks to the natural synergy with biomedical and bioengineering sciences" - stressed the teacher. Luca Testarelli, Professor of Dentistry at the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome - "Dentistry UCBM It's also about caring for the student. Our faculty fosters a close and collaborative student-teacher relationship, allowing students to immediately experience an immersive learning experience, including pre-clinical and clinical learning. Dentistry UCBM It is also post-graduate training thanks to the training offered by masters and courses of the UCBM Academy led by professionals with outstanding teaching and clinical innovation skills such as Gaetano Calesini, Raffaele Cavalcanti, Raffaele Schiavoni and Tiziano Testori."
"This technology offers many advantages. One of the most important is the possibility of greatly reducing the gap between students' professional training and the professional reality." says Gaetano Calesini, professor of Dental Materials and Prosthetic Technologies UCBMToday, explains the specialist, there is a gap between the speed with which techniques and materials evolve and the teachings that students receive. “The materials studied during the degree course are obsolete in 8-10 years”, says. "So this type of simulator, which can be updated in real time, will allow students to acquire technical skills aligned in real time with current materials and technologies. This will greatly accelerate the possibility for these graduate professionals to enter the manufacturing sector.".
From a technological point of view, as explained by Technical Project Manager of SIMtoCARE Tom De Jong Boers, new-generation tools make the experience increasingly immersive, realistic and customizable, further reducing the gap between training and clinical practice.
The message is clear: simulation is no longer an afterthought, but a cornerstone of contemporary dental education. In a university challenged to compete on a global scale and in an increasingly demanding healthcare system, investing in immersive environments means investing directly in the quality of future care. The Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome thus confirms its leadership in the training of future dentists.
