Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Med Sci Monit. 2024 Jul 15;30:e944692. doi: 10.12659/MSM.944692.
BACKGROUND Digital dental (DD) technologies need to be developed for dental use because of the prominent position that these technologies have recently acquired. This 21-item online questionnaire-based study aimed to assess the understanding of DD methods in 120 undergraduate dental students at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia (SA). MATERIAL AND METHODS Electronic surveys were sent to 123 dental students at different study phases (basic, preclinical, and clinical). Dental students were requested to answer the questionnaires in accordance with their knowledge, observations, particular experiences, and DD practice. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, which involved numerical values and ratios. Then, the associations among study level, knowledge, practice, and study phases were analyzed using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS Completed questionnaires were returned by 120 students. The chi-square test showed significant differences in relation to questions "Do you have any previous knowledge of DD?", "The field that uses DD the most is…", "Does DD provide more precise results than conventional dentistry?", and "Do you know about CAD/CAM?", with P values of 0.006, 0.000, 0.018, and 0.002, respectively. Students at clinical phase exhibited significantly higher levels of knowledge than those at the preclinical phase (P<0.01). With regard to DD practice, 73.3% of students expressed a negative viewpoint, 82.5% stated that DD is essential for the future, and half said that practicing DD will result in improvements in patient satisfaction, time consumed, and level of predictability. CONCLUSIONS Students at basic, preclinical, and clinical phases had good knowledge on DD and were motivated to practice it in future in their workplaces.
由于数字牙科（DD）技术在近期取得的突出地位，需要开发用于牙科的数字牙科技术。本项包含 21 个问题的在线问卷调查研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯法伊萨尔国王大学 120 名本科生对 DD 方法的理解。
电子调查分发给处于不同学习阶段（基础、临床前和临床）的 123 名牙科学生。要求牙科学生根据他们的知识、观察、特定经验和 DD 实践来回答问卷。使用描述性统计数据（包括数值和比率）来分析数据。然后，使用卡方检验和 Fisher 精确检验分析学习水平、知识、实践和学习阶段之间的关联。
120 名学生完成了问卷。卡方检验显示，对于“您是否对 DD 有任何先前的了解？”、“使用 DD 最多的领域是……”、“DD 是否比传统牙科提供更精确的结果？”和“您是否了解 CAD/CAM？”这四个问题，其 P 值分别为 0.006、0.000、0.018 和 0.002，差异有统计学意义。临床阶段的学生在知识方面的水平显著高于临床前阶段的学生（P<0.01）。关于 DD 实践，73.3%的学生表示持负面观点，82.5%的学生表示 DD 对未来至关重要，一半的学生表示练习 DD 将提高患者满意度、所消耗的时间和可预测性。
基础、临床前和临床阶段的学生对 DD 有较好的了解，并希望在未来的工作中实践 DD。
