Perception, awareness, and attitude toward digital dentistry among pre-dental students: an observational survey

Abstract

The survey targeted all pre-dental students from two US dental schools in Kentucky, of which 44% responded. The grade level for the participants was distributed as the following: Freshman 21.2%, Sophomores 15.2%, Juniors 30.3%, Seniors 24.2%, and 9.1% post-graduates (Table 1). In the first survey category, the students assessed their current dental field activities and their future vision as dentists (Table 2). Pre-dental students were primarily involved in studying and volunteering, followed by shadowing and campus involvement. Most pre-dental students (97%) thought they would use digital dentistry in their future careers. As prospective dentists, 94% of the participants saw themselves in private practice, whereas 36.4% were engaged in academia as faculty members. Of all participants, 30.3% considered attending continuing education seminars postgraduation. The slightest interest was in research, as 21.2% of the participants indicated that they wanted to be involved in research in the future.