Managing difficult patient interactions is a well-recognised challenge for dental students, many of whom feel underprepared for high-pressure communication. Traditional teaching offers only limited opportunities to practise these scenarios in a safe and repeatable way.
To address this gap, Professor Amitha Ranauta from the Institute of Dentistry (IoD), Meher Khan from the IoD Electronic Resources Team, and Violet Chan from the Digital Education Studio collaborated with Bodyswaps to pilot the use of immersive virtual reality as a new learning approach.
The project introduced the Navigating Angry Conversations module, using the Bodyswaps AI simulator. The session with students was delivered through Meta Quest 3 headsets and was designed to build key interpersonal skills such as empathy, active listening, and de-escalation. Twelve students took part — ten final-year BDS and two final-year BSc students — completing a 45-minute simulation.
In this video interview, Prof. Ranauta and Ms. Chan share their reflections on the pilot, the student response, and the potential of VR to enhance the future of dental education.
Watch the interview to hear how immersive simulation is helping students prepare for the realities of patient care.