Fluxo Digital para Dispositivos Oclusais: Validação de um Manual Didático para estudantes de Odontologia

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to validate a didactic manual on the digital workflow for occlusal device fabrication and to assess its impact on the perceived knowledge of undergraduate dental students. Materials and Methods: This study was approved by the local Research Ethics Committee (CEP/UFU: 91372725.6.0000.5152). A bilingual didactic manual was developed covering six digital workflow domains: intraoral scanning, bite registration, CAD project, CAM process, finishing and polishing, and clinical adjustments. Forty-five dental students participated from a structured lecture based in the didactic manual. Knowledge was assessed before and after the intervention using six Likert-scale statements (1 = "Strongly Disagree" to 5 = "Strongly Agree"). Pre- and post-intervention scores were compared using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test (GraphPad Prism 8.0.2), and Spearman's correlation was used to assess individual-level consistency between pre- and post-lecture responses. Results: All six workflow domains showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.001), with median scores increasing from 1.0–3.0 at the pre-lecture stage to 5.0 post-lecture. The greatest rank change was observed for the CAD design (W = 990.0). Individual-level pairing was confirmed for intraoral scanning, bite registration, and finishing and polishing (rs = 0.384; 11 0.270; and 0.250, respectively); the remaining domains showed ceiling effects at the postlecture assessments, precluding meaningful correlation. Conclusion: The didactic manual integrated into a structured lecture, significantly improved self-reported knowledge of dental students across all digital workflow domains, regardless of prior knowledge level. This demonstrates that purpose-built instructional materials are an effective strategy for integrating digital technologies into undergraduate dental curricula.