Pre-doctoral dental students' computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing-related education, knowledge, attitudes and behavior: A national survey

Abstract

Objectives: Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology transformed the world of restorative dentistry. The objectives were to assess pre-doctoral dental students' CAD/CAM-related education, knowledge, attitudes, and professional behavior, and to explore the relationships between the year in dental school and these constructs.

Methods: A total of 358 pre-doctoral dental students from 17 of the 68 US dental schools responded to a web-based anonymous survey.

Results: CAD/CAM-related classroom-based education was likely to happen in lectures (87.2%) and simulated exercises as part of a class (86.9%). Faculty were most likely to provide CAD/CAM instruction (87.9%), with staff (44.8%) and dental technicians (20.2%) being engaged as well. Preclinical education included video demonstrations (81.8%), demonstrations during a lecture (76.4%) or for smaller groups of students (69.2%), hands-on workshops (65.6%), and individual instruction (50.4%). Considering the digital workflow in clinics, 45.2% reported using intraoral scans. The more advanced the students were in their program, the more CAD/CAM knowledge (r = 0.27; p < 0.001) and knowledge about what can be fabricated with CAD/CAM technology they had (r = 0.25; p < 0.001). However, the student's satisfaction with the education about CAD/CAM did not increase over the years (r = -0.04; n.s.) and remained neutral, while their attitudes became more positive the longer they were in dental school (r = 0.13; p < 0.05). Their attitudes were quite positive, with most students considering that CAD/CAM is the future of dentistry (5 = most positive: Mean = 4.34), agreeing that they enjoyed working with CAD/CAM (Mean = 4.11) and that CAD/CAM has the potential of making them a better dentist (Mean = 4.07).

Conclusions: The majority of students in the US dental schools appreciate CAD/CAM technology, consider it to be the future of dentistry, and believe it makes them better dentists. The fact that the majority is not satisfied with their classroom-based, preclinical and clinical CAD/CAM-related education should therefore be a call to action to rethink dental school curricula in this content area.

Keywords: CAD/CAM; curriculum; dental; dental computer-aided design; dental curriculum; education; educational technology; schools; students; technology.