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iNTRODUCTiON
Over the last three decades, digital technologies have been progressively
integrated in our lives. Digital devices have changed the way we
communicate and are a key gateway for accessing information and
knowledge.
In health care, digital technologies are also continuously being
updated and incorporated. In dental practices, digital technologies offer
advantages in administrative work as well as patient treatment.
Digital technologies may have been introduced in dentistry decades
ago. However, very little published information exists on the application
of this technology in dental practices within India. The aim of this
survey was, therefore, to understand the perception of the Indian dental
practitioners towards digital dentistry and to identify the extent to which
digital technologies are used in dental practices for the management
and the treatment of patients. Further another goal of this survey was
to identify the reasons why some practitioners chose not to incorporate
digital technologies.
METHODOLOGY
In July 2023, a cross-sectional survey was undertaken by this publication.
An online based survey (platform used was Google Forms) comprising
of 16 questions was widely circulated among dental practitioners in
India through emails, whatsapp and various social media platforms.
An invitation letter was emailed to our database of dentists and the
invitation contained the survey link that the dentist could follow to
complete the survey online.
The total number of completed surveys received was 438. Four
surveys were excluded as they were from overseas so the number of
valid completed surveys was 434. All the surveys were answered online.
The total number of responses from the major 6 metropolitan cities
(Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad) stood at
51% while the remaining cities accounted for 49% of the responses. The
sample size is adequate as it falls within the 95% Confidence interval
with a margin of error of 4%. The total responses enabled us to make
valid inferences with respect to the objective of this survey.
Data were extracted from the online survey and coded in Microsoft
Excel. The data was analyzed and the findings are presented in the form
of bar graphs and pie charts.

Dental Practice i July-August 2023 i Vol 19 No 4 15