Abstract
ObjectivesTo investigate (1) the degree of digital technology adoption among general dental practitioners, and to assess (2) which personal and practice factors are associated with technology use.MethodsA questionnaire was distributed among a stratified sample of 1000 general dental practitioners in the Netherlands, to measure the use of fifteen administrative, communicative, clinical and diagnostic technologies, as well as personal factors and dental practice characteristics.ResultsThe response rate was 31.3%; 65.1% replied to the questionnaire on paper and 34.9% online. Each specific digital technology was used by between 93.2% and 6.8% of the dentists. Administrative technologies were generally used by more dentists than clinical technologies. Dentists had adopted an average number of 6.3±2.3 technologies. 22.5% were low technology users (0 to 4 technologies), 46.2% were intermediate technology users (5 to 7 technologies) and 31.3% were high technology users (8 to12 technologies). High technology users more frequently had a specialization (p<0.001), were younger on average (p=0.024), and worked more hours per week (p=0.003) than low technology users, and invested more hours per year in professional activities (p=0.026) than intermediate technology users. High technology use was also more common for dentists working in practices with a higher average number of patients per year (p<0.001), with more dentists working in the practice (p<0.001) and with more staff (p<0.001).ConclusionWith few exceptions, all dentists use some or a substantial number of digital technologies. Technology use is associated with various patterns of person-specific factors, and is higher when working in larger dental practices. The findings provide insight into the current state of digital technology adoption in dental practices. Further exploration why some dentists are more reluctant to adopt technologies than others is valuable for the dental profession’s agility in adjusting to technological developments.
Highlights
In dentistry, as in other professions, digital alternatives for existing work practices are continuously emerging
Dentists had adopted an average number of 6.3±2.3 technologies. 22.5% were low technology users (0 to 4 technologies), 46.2% were intermediate technology users (5 to 7 technologies) and 31.3% were high technology users (8 to12 technologies)
High technology use was more common for dentists working in practices with a higher average number of patients per year (p
Summary
As in other professions, digital alternatives for existing work practices are continuously emerging. New digital technologies are already omnipresent in many aspects of the dental workflow [1,2,3,4]. Almost without fail, they are brought to dentists’ attention in conferences, correspondence, email, courses and advertisements. While individual and organizational differences are often explained by contextual factors such as organizational size and interactions between professional groups, these factors have received less attention in studies on technology use [12,13,14,15]. Technological innovations are studied in contexts involving heterogeneous groups of individuals and relatively large organizations, which differ from most dental practices
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