Perceptions of Dental Hygienist Students toward CAD/CAM

Objectives: The present study sought to identify the perceptions of CAD/CAM in dental hygienist students and the need to implement CAD/CAM education. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The Convenience sampling method was used to sample dental hygienist students in 3-year and 4-year colleges of four universities in the Chungcheong region. The mean (SD) was reported for each group. Student t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to assess the statistical significance of the results, with post hoc tests conducted via Tukey’s HSD. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. All analyses were done using SPSS 22.0. Findings: A total of 254 students (40.0%) responded that they were aware of CAD/CAM, although the vast majority of students (528, 96.4%) had no experience of using CAD/CAM. Students who have had CAD/CAM education had better perceptions of CAD/CAM (p<0.5). Students who have had clinical training showed more positive perceptions of dental CAD/CAM education (p<.05). There was a difference in the perception of dental CAD/CAM education among different grade levels (p<.05), with higher grades having more positive perceptions of dental CAD/CAM education (p<.001). Students with better perceptions of CAD/CAM were more inclined to take CAD/CAM courses (p<.05) and had more positive perceptions of dental CAD/CAM education (p<.05). Improvements/Applications: Forward dental hygienist students in the theory and practical training will take place to help you get a more professional and specific knowledge of the CAD/CAM.