idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
92 digital simulation units enable teaching at the highest technical standard: Hanover Medical School (MHH) is opening its second state-of-the-art simulation suite for dentistry. The MHH Centre for Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine now boasts one of the most advanced learning environments for dental training in Germany. The state of Lower Saxony has invested more than 13 million euros in the modernisation and digitalisation of dentistry education at MHH.
Before dental students treat patients, they practise on models. To this end, a total of 92 digital simulation units are now available in two state-of-the-art simulation rooms at Hanover Medical School (MHH). The Centre for Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine at MHH thus offers one of the most advanced learning environments for dental training in Germany.
“In dentistry in particular, excellent training stems from the interplay between scientific knowledge and practical experience. This is precisely what the new simulation rooms at the Centre for Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine at MHH are designed for: Students are given more space for practical training, whilst lecturers benefit from modern facilities for high-quality teaching,” said Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science, Falko Mohrs. “As a state, we are investing more than 13 million euros here to ensure that the dentists of tomorrow are prepared as well as possible for their responsible role.”
The new simulation rooms were completed whilst the university remained in operation. To mark the completion of the one-and-a-half-year construction project, Minister Mohrs visited MHH today and officially opened the second state-of-the-art simulation room; the first had already been completed in August 2025. “We are delighted that, with the completion of this construction project, we are able to provide our students with the very latest learning and working conditions,” explains MHH President Prof. Dr Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner. “In the new simulation rooms, students can practise complex treatment procedures under realistic conditions before taking on responsibility for patients. In doing so, we are not only enhancing the quality of our dentistry training but also making an important contribution to patient safety. At the same time, this investment demonstrates the importance placed on innovative and practice-oriented teaching at MHH.”
Realistic practice on phantom heads
Using the digital simulation units – known as phantom heads – trainee dentists learn all the essential skills. The simulation rooms are primarily used by the Department of Conservative Dentistry, Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry (ZKO) and the Department of Prosthodontics and Biomedical Materials Science (ZPW). “They offer excellent opportunities for teaching, including the simultaneous transmission of demonstrations via microscope and camera to all workstations,” emphasises Prof. Dr Nadine Schlüter, Executive Director of the Centre for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Director of the ZKO. “Furthermore, during specialised simulation sessions, students have the opportunity to simulate individual patient cases as virtual dentistry treatments based on intraoral scans, thereby gaining even greater confidence ahead of the actual treatment. In this way, students can learn a large proportion of dentistry procedures in a resource-efficient manner, including even highly complex treatments such as root canal treatment.”
From digital scan to finished dental prosthesis
“To ensure optimal teaching, all phantom units are connected to one another via an educational network. This allows images and teaching content from different camera angles and from various computer workstations to be transmitted directly to the monitors of the individual units,” explains Prof. Dr Meike Stiesch, Director of the ZPW and Dean of Research and Transfer at MHH. “Using the phantom heads, students learn to prepare teeth for restoration with crowns or bridges. They then digitally capture the prepared teeth using intraoral scanners. Based on this data, they design the dental prosthesis on the computer (CAD – computer-aided design) and subsequently manufacture it using a milling process (CAM – computer-aided manufacturing). Finally, students can fit the restoration they have designed and manufactured themselves directly onto the phantom head. In this way, they learn the entire digital workflow of modern prosthetic dentistry – from preparation to the finished dental prosthesis.”
New study regulations, new requirements
The previous simulation room or phantom course room for students in dentistry had been in use at MHH since 1993. In addition to the need for refurbishment arising from its long service, the construction project became more urgent as a result of the new Dental Licensing Regulations (ZApprO). This regulation stipulates that the degree programme must be divided into three stages, rather than the previous two. The consequences: more teaching in small groups, increased examination workload due to changed examination formats and a revised composition of examination boards, as well as, in particular, altered student-to-tutor ratios in teaching, with fewer students/student per tutor. Consequently, the capacity of the phantom course rooms had to be urgently expanded.
First major construction project under our own responsibility
“The clinics involved supported the planning process as partners of the project team from the very beginning – very closely, constructively and with great commitment,” explains architect Lutz Jürgens, who was the project manager within MHH’s Building Construction Project Management department. “At the start of 2023, with the establishment of Division VI Construction Management, MHH took over building client responsibility for the MHH property from the State Construction Management Authority of Lower Saxony. The refurbishment and expansion of the phantom lecture theatre capacity is MHH’s first major project as building client. The project was completed on schedule and within budget.”
Minister Falko Mohrs took the official opening to heart and sat down at one of the state-of-the-art ...
Quelle: Karin Kaiser/MHH
Copyright: Karin Kaiser/MHH
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Minister Falko Mohrs took the official opening to heart and sat down at one of the state-of-the-art ...
Quelle: Karin Kaiser/MHH
Copyright: Karin Kaiser/MHH
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