Manual Dexterity Admission Tests and Pre‐Clinical Performance of Dentistry Students

ABSTRACT Background 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‐clinical 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. Aim This commentary examined the relationship between MDT performance and pre‐clinical technique performance of dental students in Paediatric Dentistry at the National University of Singapore between 2017 and 2022 ( n  = 363). Discussion MDT performance demonstrated a significant positive correlation with percentile‐normalised pre‐clinical technique scores ( τ  = 0.180 [range: 0.145–0.304], p   Conclusion While MDTs should not be considered a stand‐alone admission tool, these findings support their continued use alongside other admissions assessments as an indicator of readiness for pre‐clinical training.