Introduction: Modern digital technologies allow us to generate a virtual model of the patient and to design his/her smile. The future definitely belongs to the digital technologies because they offer a reliable, predictable and highly esthetic manner of treatment.
Aim: The aim of the present study is to investigate the dental technicians' readiness to manufacture dental prostheses using digital technologies.
Materials and Methods: A total of 159 respondents - practicing dental technicians and students - were surveyed using an online survey. The survey was conducted via a social network platform.
Results were processed with SPSS v. 20 using variational, comparative and correlation analyses.
Results: Over 50% of the respondents have indicated that they use different types of digital technologies in their practice, the main reason being that the construction time is shortened and that the accuracy is improved (85.20%). There is a correlation between the length work experience and the use of new technologies (p<0.05), with younger specialists being the ones who primarily use modern technology. Young specialists are willing to invest in the purchase of modern equipment and to attend additional courses on working with it.
Conclusion: Despite the variety of methods for recreating the prosthetic field when manufacturing prosthetic constructions, a trend towards full digitalization of the process is observed.
The results from the conducted analyses show that digitalization is being increasingly used by young specialists (CAD planning and software application – 78.40%), who prefer it because it increases accuracy and shortens production time (85.40%).
Dikova T, Dzhendov D, Simov M, Katreva-Bozuko-va I, Angelova S, Pavlova D, Abadzhiev M, Tonchev T: Modern trends in the development of the technologies for production of dental constructions”, Journal of IMAB - eAnnual Proceeding (Scientific Papers) 2015, vol. 21, issue 4, pp 974-981
Anderson S, Farah JW: CAD/CAM Dentistry In-office Chair-side Scanning and Milling with CEREC 3D and E4D Dentist, The Dental Advisor, 2009, 6, рр1-4
Brawek PK, Wolfart S, Endres L, Kirsten A, Reich S: The clinical accuracy of single crowns exclusively fabricated by digital workflow the comparison of two systems, Clin Oral Investig 2013, 17(9):2119–2125
Katreva I, Dikova T, Abadzhiev M, Tonchev T, Dzhendov D, Simov M, Angelova S, Pavlova D, Doychinova M: 3D-PRINTING IN CONTEMPORARY PROSTHODONTIC TREATMENT, Scripta Scientifica Medicinae Dentalis, vol. 2, No 1, 2016, рр 16-20
Kincade K: 3D visualization makes learning dental anatomy a snap,
http://www.drbicuspid.com/index.aspx?sec=ser&s ub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=313192, Accessed July 26, 2015
Luthra V, Sharma V: 3D Printing, CSE – 5D, ITM University, ppt. available at www.slideshare.net
Ender A, Mehl A: Full arch scans: conventional versus digital impressions – an in-vitro study, Int J Comput Dent. 2011; 14(1), рр 11-21
Email this article (Login required) 
