Abstract
The aim of our study was to determine the effectiveness of a mobile 3D augmented reality (AR) simulator for local anesthesia training as a serious game. We present a mobile simulator which has three modes for learning: study, 3D simulation, and AR reality. Both pre- and post-training surveys contained open-ended and Likert-scale questions (comprising five response options) on demographics and students' experiences. The response rate was 90.1%. Of the total participants, 37 subjects were female and 27 were male. The mean age was 20 years. The results of the pre-training survey showed that over 80% of dental students from both universities agreed that they were excited about using the mobile simulator. The results from the post training survey showed that 78.7-88.2% of participants felt comfortable using the mobile application, over 72% agreed that it was user friendly, and over 82.3% of participants agreed that it looked realistic. It was also found that 76.6-88.2% of participants agreed that the 3D anatomical structures improved their understanding of LA administration. A serious game for learning local anesthesia can be a very interesting and valuable learning tool for dental students.