Students’ Attitude Towards Dental CAD/CAM Systems: A Questionnaire Study American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) ISSN (Print) 2313-4410, ISSN (Online) 2313-4402 © Global Society of Scientific Research and Researchers http://asrjetsjournal.org/ Students’ Attitude Towards Dental CAD/CAM Systems: A Questionnaire Study Daniela Popaa*, Alexandru Burdeb, Mariana Constantiniucc, Roxana-Ioana Bordead, Radu-Septimiu Cȃmpiane a,cDepartment of Prosthetic Dentistry, “Iuliu Haţieganu” UMPh, 32 Clinicilor Street, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania bDepartment of Prosthetics and Dental Materials, “Iuliu Haţieganu” UMPh, 32 Clinicilor Street, Cluj-Napoca, 400006, Romania d,eDepartment of Oral Rehabilitation,“Iuliu Haţieganu” UMPh, 15 Victor Babes Street, Cluj-Napoca, 400012, Romania Abstract This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of dental CAD/CAM systems among dental students in UMF Cluj-Napoca, Romania. A questionnaire based survey containing 11 questions to assess the knowledge and attitude on dental CAD/CAM systems. The questionnaire was applied to 115 dental students from UMF Cluj-Napoca. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed and results were expressed as a number and percentage for each question. A significant percentage of dental students said that they heard about dental CAD/CAM systems (96,5%), although less than half saw a dental CAD/CAM restoration (45,2%). Even if only 67% of dental students saw a CAD/CAM dental system, 87% consider that dental CAD/CAM systems represent the future of prosthetic dentistry. The results showed that, even if the concept of “dental CAD/CAM systems” is not completely understood, the subjects of our study are interested to be informed about this topic. Knowing the concept of “CAD/CAM” represent the first step for technological progress in education. Keywords: dental CAD/CAM systems; students; survey; education. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Corresponding author. 250 http://asrjetsjournal.org/ American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) (2015) Volume 14 No 3, pp 250-254 1. Introduction The clinical environment is where the dental student first applies the knowledge and skills which were acquired in earlier training and preclinical courses. It is the responsibility of the clinical faculty to guide and help the student so that he may overcome the immediate problems that can occur from lack of experience or ability. Therefore, a joint effort is necessary by both student and faculty [1]. Digital dentistry nowadays offers dentists and dental technicians a variety of possibilities in manufacturing aesthetically and clinically interesting materials. New tools like intraoral cameras, 3-D printers and software solutions for the planning of medical care shorten the working process and also offer a more secure treatment of patients. However the question to be asked is if the new techniques will be integrated into the education of our dentists? [2]. As technology advances, so should we. Many times, however, as technology takes its leaps and bounds, we are left behind due to lack of understanding, resistance to change or intimidation. Such is the case with computer-aided design/computer aided-manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in prosthetics and orthotics [3]. As of 2011, it was estimated that 10,000 units were in use in the United States and Canada [4]. William Blair and Company estimated sales of systems in 2012 at about 2,800 units and predicted a rise to 9,100 units per year in 2017 [5]. 2. Material and methods The present study included a number of 115 dental students. An original questionnaire containing 11 questions was used to collect the data. The questionnaires were distributed by the faculty members of Department Of Prosthetic Dentistry of UMF “Iuliu Hatieganu” Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The respondents were asked to return the questionnaire immediately. All returned questionnaires were coded and introduced in Google Forms. The results were expressed numerically and as a percentage, using the Excel spreadsheet. The study was approved by the Medical Ethical Commission of “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, no. 179 from 16 May 2014. 3. Results Among a total of 115 dental students 51 were Dental Technician students and 64 Dental Medicine students. A significant percentage of students said that they heard about dental CAD/CAM systems (96,5%) and 67% saw a dental CAD/CAM system, although less than half saw a dental CAD/CAM restoration (Figure1). When provided the opportunity to write down any word/phrase they thought would be important to associate with CAD/CAM technology (Question no.5), they wrote “computer”, “innovation”, “future” and “the robot of dental office”. When students were asked to choose some terms that can be correlated with CAD/CAM systems, 101 (87,8%) of them selected the word “scanner” (Table 1) Question no.10 asked students to choose some materials that can be CAD/CAM processed. These results are presented in Table 2. 251 American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) (2015) Volume 14 No 3, pp 250-254 Figure 1: A. Students that saw a dental CAD/CAM system; B. Students that saw a dental CAD/CAM restoration. Table 1: Students opinion regarding CAD/CAM systems terms Term Number (%) Scanner 101 (87,8) Investment material 3 (2,6) Poured crown 10 (8,7) Optical impression 96 (83,5) Milled crown 91 (79,1) I don’t know/I don’t answer 1 (0,9) 4. Discussion Our study evidences that a large number of dental students are interested and enthusiastic regarding dental CAD/CAM systems. An article on the internet describes nowadays dentistry: “This is an exciting time in dentistry and will be cause to reflect on how processes were taught to you in dental school. The younger graduates, who have grown up with XBox and Wii, are used to seeing these 3-D renderings and will probably have an easier time adapting these concepts in their dental practices”[6]. With the amount of medical information doubling every year, it is obvious that education will be increasingly dependent on information technology to enable teachers and learners to cope with the growing amount of information necessary to keep up-to-date in this field [7]. The study of Huang et al on knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotics highlights that china medical curriculum improves students knowledge of usage of antibiotics appropriately [8]. According to Kavarthapu Avinash and Dr. Suresh the mechanism and use of CADCAM was taught to 40.2% of the total B. A. 252 American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) (2015) Volume 14 No 3, pp 250-254 sample size and 64.8% knows that the future is in the hands of CADCAM. This lag in the knowledge of mechanics is because of the theoretical knowledge about it couldn’t be transferred to practical situation [9]. The limitation of our study would be the number of the respondents. Our sample was limited to students from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Another limitation of our study was to engage research partners that could distribute and collect the questionnaires. Table 2: Students opinion regarding materials for processing by CAD/CAM devices Term Number (%) Wax 38 (33) Metal 58 (50,4) Acryl 34 (29,6) Zirconia 95 (82,6) All above mentioned 22 (19,1) None above mentioned 1 (0,9) I don’t know/I don’t answer 3 (2,6) Regarding future development, 87% of students consider that dental CAD/CAM systems represent the future of prosthetic dentistry. 5. Conclusion Our study has showed that even if the concept of “dental CAD/CAM systems” is not completely understood, the subjects of our study are interested to be informed about this topic. Knowing the concept of “CAD/CAM” represent the first step for technological progress in education. Acknowledgement Dr. Popa Daniela is a fellow of POSDRU grant no. 159/1.5/S/138776 grant with title: “Model colaborativ instituţional pentru translarea cercetării ştiinţifice biomedicale în practica clinică- TRANSCENT References [1] Georgia Regents University. Fixed Prosthodontic . Clinic Manual 2015-2016, pp.4. [2] R. Felber. The CAD/ CAM - technology opens new possibilities for the objective evaluation of preparations in the academic training. Digital dentistry in research and science. August 2014. [3] A.L. Steele. A survey of clinical CAD/CAM use. Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, vol.6, nr.2, pp.42-47, 1994. 253 American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) (2015) Volume 14 No 3, pp 250-254 [4] G. Davidowitz, P.G. Kotick. The use of CAD/CAM in dentistry. Dent Clin North Am, vol.55, pp.559–70, 2011. [5] P.E. Reifeis, M.L. Kirkup, L.H. Willis, W.D. Browning. Introducing CAD/CAM into a Predoctoral Dental curriculum: A Case Study. Journal of Dental Education, vol.78, nr.10, pp.1432-41, oct 2014. [6] Dental Economics. Internet: http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-98/issue- 4/features/focus-on/the-latest-on-cad-cam.html [Dec 4, 2015] [7] Nkenke et al. Acceptance of technology-enhanced learning for a theoretical radiological science course: a randomized controlled trail; BMC medical Education ,12, pp.18, 2012 [8] Huang Jiarui Gu et al. Knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotics: a questionnaire study among 2500 Chinese students;BMC Medical Education, 13, pp.163-172, 2013 [9] Kavarthapu Avinash, Suresh.V. Cadcam: A Perspective of Dental Undergraduate. Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences,vol.13, Issue 1 Ver. III, pp.30-33, jan 2014. 254 http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-98/issue-4/features/focus-on/the-latest-on-cad-cam.html http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-98/issue-4/features/focus-on/the-latest-on-cad-cam.html