27 November 2023

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How much do dentists worldwide know and use intra-oral scanners?

Lara Figini

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Intra-oral scanners (IOS) continue to gain popularity in the dental field, replacing traditional impression taking and related technology. Although there are numerous studies in the literature regarding intra-oral scanners, especially referring to their technology and precision, little data is available on the experience of dentists in this technical procedure.

Materials and methods

In an investigative study, published in the International Journal of Dentistry, the authors conducted an online survey of 1072 dentists to obtain data on the number of individual IOSs used, their accessibility, maintenance costs and programs used. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic data and related questions, while the second part focused on the specific IOS used by the respondents and their satisfaction.

Results

This study included 1072 respondents from 109 different countries. More than three-quarters of the respondents (78.8%) were found to use IOS in their daily practice, while 21.17% did not. The average number of scanners owned by respondents was 1.5 (±0.9) and 36 different types of IOS are used globally. Over a third (38.6%) of respondents also use computer-aided design (CAD) software. Regarding the frequency of using the IOS, 51.5% use it daily, 28.2% 2 to 3 times a week and 10.0% once a week. Overall, the most used IOSs were: Medit i700 followed by Medit i700 wireless and Dentsply Sirona Primescan.

Conclusions

From the data of this study, which must be confirmed by other similar works, it can be concluded that over 75% of those interviewed use intra-oral scanners daily in their business. Medit and Dentsply Sirona were the most popular scanners.