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Can Hobbies Shape Fine Motor Skills Development in First‐Year Dental and Oral Health Students?

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Title: Can Hobbies Shape Fine Motor Skills Development in First‐Year Dental and Oral Health Students?
Authors: Shetty, Sowmya1 (AUTHOR) s.shetty@uq.edu.au, Tran, Carol1,2 (AUTHOR), Sexton, Christopher1 (AUTHOR)
Source: European Journal of Dental Education. May2026, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p734-742. 9p.
Subject Terms: *Hobbies, *Motor ability, *Education & training services industry, *Music education, *Fine motor ability, *Dental students, Cooking, Dental fillings
Abstract: Introduction: Dental students develop fine motor skills that include a complex interplay of finger dexterity, posture and progressive visual‐tactile improvement through spatial awareness and cognition facilitated through university simulation training. Identifying students with a natural aptitude for these skills is vital to make the most of available resources. This study examines the relationship between pre‐existing hobbies and fine motor skills before and after a five‐week training module. Materials and Methods: Seventy‐two first‐year students at an Australian University completed a questionnaire that measured their personal interests. Students' performance on a foundational cavity preparation task was assessed before and after five weeks of simulation clinic training on plastic typodont teeth. In‐class assessment tasks aimed to evaluate innate and acquired skills. The relationships between personal interests and cavity preparation skills, before and after the simulation training, were explored. Results: The three hobbies with the highest mean cavity preparation percentage at baseline were playing music (51.7%; 95% CI: 41.5, 61.9), cooking (50.3%; 95% CI: 45.1, 55.5) and participating in sports (48.4%; 95% CI: 42.9, 53.8). Estimated mean improvement in cavity preparation was highest for participants that had cooking as the only hobby (19.2%; 95% CI: 14.4, 24.1). Participants with four hobbies had the lowest mean improvement in cavity preparation, with 11.3 (95% CI: 5.1, 17.5) percentage units. Participants with zero hobbies improved by 11.7 (95% CI: 7.7, 15.7) percentage units. Conclusion: Cooking at least once a week has a better impact on the mean improvement in scores after formal university simulation training than other hobbies. Students without any identified hobbies might benefit from task‐specific training for fine motor skills improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of European Journal of Dental Education is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Text:
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  Data: Can Hobbies Shape Fine Motor Skills Development in First‐Year Dental and Oral Health Students?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shetty%2C+Sowmya%22">Shetty, Sowmya</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> s.shetty@uq.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tran%2C+Carol%22">Tran, Carol</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sexton%2C+Christopher%22">Sexton, Christopher</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22European+Journal+of+Dental+Education%22">European Journal of Dental Education</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p734-742. 9p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hobbies%22">Hobbies</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motor+ability%22">Motor ability</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+%26+training+services+industry%22">Education & training services industry</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Music+education%22">Music education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fine+motor+ability%22">Fine motor ability</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dental+students%22">Dental students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooking%22">Cooking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dental+fillings%22">Dental fillings</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Introduction: Dental students develop fine motor skills that include a complex interplay of finger dexterity, posture and progressive visual‐tactile improvement through spatial awareness and cognition facilitated through university simulation training. Identifying students with a natural aptitude for these skills is vital to make the most of available resources. This study examines the relationship between pre‐existing hobbies and fine motor skills before and after a five‐week training module. Materials and Methods: Seventy‐two first‐year students at an Australian University completed a questionnaire that measured their personal interests. Students' performance on a foundational cavity preparation task was assessed before and after five weeks of simulation clinic training on plastic typodont teeth. In‐class assessment tasks aimed to evaluate innate and acquired skills. The relationships between personal interests and cavity preparation skills, before and after the simulation training, were explored. Results: The three hobbies with the highest mean cavity preparation percentage at baseline were playing music (51.7%; 95% CI: 41.5, 61.9), cooking (50.3%; 95% CI: 45.1, 55.5) and participating in sports (48.4%; 95% CI: 42.9, 53.8). Estimated mean improvement in cavity preparation was highest for participants that had cooking as the only hobby (19.2%; 95% CI: 14.4, 24.1). Participants with four hobbies had the lowest mean improvement in cavity preparation, with 11.3 (95% CI: 5.1, 17.5) percentage units. Participants with zero hobbies improved by 11.7 (95% CI: 7.7, 15.7) percentage units. Conclusion: Cooking at least once a week has a better impact on the mean improvement in scores after formal university simulation training than other hobbies. Students without any identified hobbies might benefit from task‐specific training for fine motor skills improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of European Journal of Dental Education is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/eje.70021
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motor ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Education & training services industry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Music education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fine motor ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Dental students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cooking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Dental fillings
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Can Hobbies Shape Fine Motor Skills Development in First‐Year Dental and Oral Health Students?
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            NameFull: Shetty, Sowmya
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            NameFull: Tran, Carol
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            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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