THE MOST USED INTRAORAL SCANNERS AMONG DENTISTS IN BULGARIA
THE MOST USED INTRAORAL SCANNERS AMONG DENTISTS IN BULGARIA

Summary/Abstract: Intraoral scanners (IOS) are increasingly incorporating daily dental practice. They allow recording of the oral cavity in a few minutes. Thus eliminating the need for conventional alginate impressions, which are often unpleasant for patients, and plaster casts, which are bulky and require storage space. The procedure is fast, pleasant and interesting for the most patients. It allows the creation of a digital patient file containing his digital casts. Orthodontic analysis is facilitated by software that allows the measurement of various orthodontic parameters to be done quickly, accurately and precisely. Communication with the dental laboratory is facilitated and the possibility of a multidisciplinary approach in each clinical case is increased. The aim of the study is to determine the percentage of dentists in Bulgaria working with intraoral scanners and which are the most used intraoral scanners in Bulgaria. A questionnaire was developed and provided in an online group accessible only to doctors of dental medicine (DDMs). The group includes 3100 DDMs. Of these, 207 colleagues (6.68% of the group members) completed the survey during the period in which it was launched. The data were statistically processed. 207 DDMs, of whom 88 (42.7%) were men and 118 (57.3%) were women, completed the survey. One respondent did not provide the gender. The average age of the participants in the study was 39 years (range 25 to 69 years). Of the 207 DDMs, 91 (44%) responded that they had an intraoral scanner (IOS). From the data, 91 of the respondents own a total of 99 scanners. Of those who completed the questionnaire, 84 own one IOS (84.84% of all those who own IOS), 6 of the DDM’s have 2 IOS in their practices (6.06%) and one indicated that they have three IOS (1.01%).Their distribution by brand is as follows: 35 of those who completed the survey have an IOS Medit 35 (35.35% of those who have scanners), 20 have the 3 shape brand (20.20%), 13 owns the iTero (13.13%), 13 owns the CEREC (13.13%), Shining 3d Aoralskan 8 (8.08%), four has Emerald (4.04%), two has Heron (2.02%), Strauman virtuo vivo have one (1.01%), one have 3M intraoral scanner (1.01%)and one have Panda 3 (1.01%). Over a third of participations in the survey or 44% have an IOS and use it in daily dental practice. This is a high percentage based on data from similar studies in other countries. Nine brands of IOS are widespread, with Medit being over 30% followed by 3 shape, iTero and CEREC, which are in equal numbers. A future literature review comparing the characteristics of the most widely used intraoral scanners would be useful for dental practitioners who are still exploring the market and choosing whether to invest and which IOS would be most suitable for their dental practice.

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