Selective reduction of bone without collateral damage (nerves, teeth) is essential in apicectomy. To test whether skills acquired on a virtual apicectomy simulator (VOXEL-MAN system with integrated force-feedback) are transferable from virtual to physical reality, two groups of trainees were compared. Group 1 received computer-based virtual surgical training before performing an apicectomy in a pig cadaver model. The probability of preserving vital neighboring structures was improved significantly, i.e. six-fold, after virtual surgical training (P
