Stereoscopic vision and psychomotor learning in dental students.

A testing mechanism is needed for reliably predicting students' problems in acquiring dental psychomotor skills. Students and dental educators could then be made aware of potential problems well in advance of required manual course work. Because testing for stereoscopic vision has long been a part of perceptual-motor ability screening for the U.S. Air Force, a similar stereopsis test was used to examine the role of stereopsis in dental psychomotor learning and its potential as a predictor of student performance. The Lameris TNO Test for stereoscopic vision was given as an adjunct to the Perceptual Ability (PAT/3D) portion of the Dental Admission Test. Both test results were then compared to freshman students' performance in preclinical operative dentistry. Multiple regression analyses indicated that a high degree of stereopsis was not a prerequisite for success in acquiring dental psychomotor skills.