Purpose: To determine whether digital training improves conceptual skills acquisition for

custom tray fabrication and tooth arrangement in the preclinical curriculum for complete

denture fabrication. Materials and methods: A crossover design study compared third-year

student grades after conventional (manual) and digital training. Half the students were trained

with conventional techniques prior to digital, while the other half were trained with digital

techniques prior to conventional. The first part of the study (DP1) focused on custom tray

fabrication and involved 154 students. The second part (DP2) focused on tooth arrangement

with 204 students. The effect of preliminary digital training on conceptual skills was assessed

by comparing the results of the students using a Student's t-test. Results were also analyzed by

ranking on the students’ Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) score. Finally, students’ satisfaction

with the training was investigated. Results: Students who completed the initial digital session

achieved better custom tray fabrication and tooth arrangement in the subsequent manual

sessions. For manual laboratory work, the most dexterous students (PAT1 group)

demonstrated the best performance. However, PAT2 students had the best performance during

the digital sessions during DP1, and PAT1 and PAT2 students had the best performance during

the digital sessions during DP2. Additionally, 40% of DP1 and 12% of DP2 students

expressed satisfaction with digital sessions. Conclusion: With complementary manual and

digital teaching, digital tools may be useful for enhanced student learning. Digital training has

contributed to improve results in manual sessions but did not affect student satisfaction and

remained a limited tool to detect learning difficulties.