KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF SENIOR DENTAL STUDENTS REGARDING DIGITAL DENTISTRY AND ITS USE IN PROSTHODONTICS

Technology is becoming an ongoing expense as dentists across the globe expect Digital Radiology, Computer-Aided Design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), and 3D Cone Beam technology to be utilized in every practice in the future. To keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for digital technology in dentistry and meet new dental Accreditation Council (CODA) standards, dental education is making a solid transition to actively integrate technology into the curriculum. This is a cross-sectional study conducted among the senior dental students of Riyadh using an online survey. 412 students from clinical levels (8 to 12) were utilized in this study. The findings revealed that the majority of participants were female and in their 6(th) year of dentistry. 61.6% have a CGPA of more than 4.1 and were students of REU. They marked their knowledge as a moderate and positive attitude toward digital dentistry. 77.2% thought it could be storage of comprehensive data set, and 85.8% thought it could improve the quality of treatment and experience of patients too. The majority of them think that digital radiography needs lesser exposure. 63.5% of participants were aware of CAD-CAM, and CEREC was the first device. 85.4% think dentistry should be included in pre-clinic courses. In the present study, the knowledge about digital dentistry was moderate, and CEREC was the first device they used, but the majority were not aware of smile design in intraoral cameras.