{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T04:53:27Z","timestamp":1791176007105,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,4]],"date-time":"2026-10-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791072000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,4]],"date-time":"2026-10-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791072000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Eur J Dental Education"],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Dental school admissions typically include various forms of assessments including manual dexterity tests (MDT) and interviews. While MDTs have long been used, their value as predictors of pre\u2010clinical performance in dental school remains unclear. In Singapore, the dental school admissions assessment comprises an MDT and the Multiple Mini Interviews. The MDT assesses psychomotor ability using a series of manual tasks.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This commentary examined the relationship between MDT performance and pre\u2010clinical technique performance of dental students in Paediatric Dentistry at the National University of Singapore between 2017 and 2022 (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009363).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      MDT performance demonstrated a significant positive correlation with percentile\u2010normalised pre\u2010clinical technique scores (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03c4<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.180 [range: 0.145\u20130.304],\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). This association suggests that MDTs may capture psychomotor abilities relevant to subsequent pre\u2010clinical performance. Manual dexterity remains central to the practice of dentistry, and having an objective measure for it may provide useful information when selecting potential candidates and support their subsequent training.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>While MDTs should not be considered a stand\u2010alone admission tool, these findings support their continued use alongside other admissions assessments as an indicator of readiness for pre\u2010clinical training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/eje.70318","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T04:39:00Z","timestamp":1791175140000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Manual Dexterity Admission Tests and Pre\u2010Clinical Performance of Dentistry Students"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7376-0380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ishreen Kaur","family":"Dhillon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry National University of Singapore  Singapore Singapore"},{"name":"National University Centre for Oral Health, National University Health System  Singapore Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0800-874X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mun Loke","family":"Wong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry National University of Singapore  Singapore Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3191-5046","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yu Fan","family":"Sim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry National University of Singapore  Singapore Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6136-9926","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shijia","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry National University of Singapore  Singapore Singapore"},{"name":"National University Centre for Oral Health, National University Health System  Singapore Singapore"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","volume-title":"Dental Admission Test (DAT) User's Manual","author":"American Dental Association","year":"2019"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.14219\/jada.archive.1948.0196","article-title":"Forecasting the Success of Freshman Dental Students Through the Aptitude Testing Program","volume":"37","author":"Peterson S.","year":"1948","journal-title":"Journal of the American Dental Association (1939)"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.14219\/jada.archive.1947.0242","article-title":"Dental Aptitude Testing Program: A Report of Progress","volume":"35","author":"Peterson S.","year":"1947","journal-title":"Journal of the American Dental Association"},{"issue":"9","key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","first-page":"599","article-title":"The DAT as a Predictor of Preclinical Technique Performance","volume":"48","author":"Wood W. 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I.","year":"2013","journal-title":"British Dental Journal"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1038\/bdj.2007.688","article-title":"Is Manual Dexterity Essential in the Selection of Dental Students?","volume":"203","author":"Giuliani M.","year":"2007","journal-title":"British Dental Journal"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","article-title":"Prediction of Practical Performance in Preclinical Laboratory Courses\u2014The Return of Wire Bending for Admission of Dental Students in Hamburg","volume":"31","author":"Kothe C.","year":"2014","journal-title":"GMS Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Medizinische Ausbildung"},{"issue":"12","key":"e_1_2_9_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"630","DOI":"10.1002\/j.0022-0337.1979.43.12.tb01307.x","article-title":"Grade Averages and DAT Scores as Predictors of Performance in Dental School","volume":"43","author":"Wood W. 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