Title

Awareness, perceptions and barriers to digital dentistry adoption among dentists in India: A questionnaire survey

Authors

Jinal Patil ¹, Monali Shah², Ruchi Raval³,*, Anand Bhalodi⁴, Jay Chetan Shah⁵ & Sangita Bhalodi⁶

Affiliation

¹Department of Periodontology, K.M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; ²Department of Periodontology, K.M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; ³Department of Periodontology, K.M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; ⁴Private Dental Practitioner, Restore Dental Treatment Centre, Rajkot, Gujarat, India; ⁵Dentist, Smile Design Dentistry, Florida, USA; 6Restore Dental Treatment Centre, Rajkot, Gujarat, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Jinal Patil - E-mail: jinal66patil@gmail.com
Monali Shah - E-mail: smonali2011@gmail.com
Ruchi Raval - E-mail: ruchi.raval18@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9825040128
Anand Bhalodi - E-mail: dranandbhalodi@gmail.com
Jay Chetan Shah - E-mail: drjayshah2002@gmail.com
Sangita Bhalodi - E-mail: sangitabhalodi@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received January 1, 2026; Revised January 31, 2026; Accepted January 31, 2026, Published January 31, 2026

Abstract

Studies in India report general awareness of digital dentistry among dental practitioners; however, its clinical use remains inconsistent. There are significant gaps in practical understanding, particularly of advanced digital tools. Assessing dentists’ attitudes, barriers and identifying gaps in awareness are therefore essential to integrate digital dentistry in clinical practice. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based online survey was conducted among 408 dentists by the Department of Periodontology, K. M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. The survey assessed knowledge and use of digital radiography, CBCT, smile design software, intraoral scanners and 3D printing. Digital radiography showed the highest adoption, followed by CBCT, while advanced digital tools had lower awareness and usage. Overall awareness was moderate, with adoption constrained by cost, integration issues and data security concerns, emphasizing the need for enhanced training in CBCT and oral radiology.

Keywords

3D Printing, CAD/CAM, digital dentistry, cone-beam computed tomography.

Citation

Patil et al. Bioinformation 22(1): 577-582 (2026)

Edited by

Rashmi Laddha

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.