The Department of Oral Hygiene at Kaohsiung Medical University has co-operated with EPED Inc., which is headquartered in Kaohsiung at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, to establish the very first “virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) Oral Health Care lab”.
The VR/ AR training courses can provide the simulation of different physical conditions of patients, train future caregivers in better home caring and oral health caring skills of elderly people, and provide for self-assessment of their oral care skills.
During the course, learners understand and correct their brushing skills through the results of the system evaluation. The individualized learning courses provide a good chance for students to learn and practice by themselves in VR or AR-equipped classrooms. That in turn allows them to grasp a better understanding of how to provide complete oral care methods for the elderly in different situations. Ultimately, VR/ AR training courses allow students to learn correct oral health care methods, strengthen their brushing skills, and promote appropriate oral health care habits among young people.
To minimize infectious diseases spreading by being far away from traditional classrooms crowded with learners, the virtual classroom simulation is loaded with effective oral care methods designed for the health workers and caregivers. VR/ AR teaching adopts individual learning in an independent space at selective times allowing students to operate the courses by themselves. The VR/ AR system also includes other valuable content for students to learn oral health care skills.
Nowadays, virtual education is vital for every school curriculum since it reduces the risk of epidemic transmissions like the current global COVID‐19 pandemic. Moreover, in conjunction with Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy”, VR/ AR oral care resources developed in Taiwan can be promoted to other Asian countries to achieve technology sharing and medical resources’ sharing, to ultimately improve the quality of global oral health care.