Effects of Generative AI-Supported Virtual Reality Dental Skill Training on Learning Performance, Visual Behavior, and Cortical Activation Among Dental Students: Stratified Randomized Controlled Trial

The rapid advancement of AI, particularly generative AI (GenAI), is reshaping educational paradigms. However, its utility in preclinical digital medical skills education remains insufficiently explored.

This study aims to investigate whether GenAI‑assisted training yields superior performance relative to traditional instruction in virtual reality (VR)-supported preclinical dental skill education.

A total of 123 eligible students from a top‑tier Chinese university completed the trial. Participants were stratified by baseline theoretical scores and randomly assigned within each stratum into two arms: the GenAI-assisted group (n=62) received ChatGPT guidance without human tutoring, with research assistants monitoring AI outputs solely for safety and error checking; the teacher-led control group (n=61) received on-site instructor guidance. Both groups underwent standardized VR-based dental skill training for 7 days. Assessments included dental operative skill examinations, functional near-infrared spectroscopy recording, continuous eye-tracking monitoring, visual-spatial ability tests, and questionnaires measuring self-regulated learning, learning emotions, and engagement.