Sir, dental education is changing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and we highlight two aspects of this to affect us as final year students.

We have been informed that dental foundation training (DFT) interviews will no longer be taking place and the recruitment process will be solely placed upon the situational judgement test. This consists of a selection of multiple-choice and ranking-based questions to represent challenging scenarios which dentists may encounter. The news has heightened anxiety levels in many students. As this is the only exam to decide undergraduate ranking among their peers, the amount of pressure placed upon them has been amplified.

Secondly, students in their later years of training are anxious as the lack of clinical exposure inevitably decreases confidence levels. We are fortunate to have experienced hapTEL (haptics in technology-enhanced learning). This award-winning virtual reality technology consists of glasses, a foot pedal and a drill giving students a realistic 3D experience with sound, touch and vision. Benefits include improvements in the positioning of the clinician, enhanced manual dexterity and early adaption to a clinical setting. Precision can be practised as the different layers of the tooth surface can be differentiated, improving tactile sensation. It also serves as a great tool to gain constructive feedback from tutors.

We believe this device would be beneficial to use as an adjunct to fill the gap of lost clinical time and that it should be implemented across other universities to enhance clinical practice to achieve optimum care for our patients.