An Investigation of Using Information Technology in Dental Offices: A Cross-Sectional Study

The advent of the Internet and other modern information technologies had a greater impact on the provision of dental services and increased the speed and accuracy, and reduced the errors, and improved the diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of IT by dentists in their private offices, and the reasons for avoiding using IT. In this cross-sectional study which was conducted in 2017, 280 dental offices in Ahvaz were surveyed. The data gathering tools were a checklist to identify the technologies used in office and their application, and a questionnaire to determine the reasons for avoiding using the technology. Data were collected by going directly to doctors' offices. SPSS16 was used for data analysis. 65.4% of the offices had at least a computer. 43.1% of the offices had Internet access. 34.1%, 11.4%, 9.5%, and 46.9% of the offices used SMS, Email, website, and modern technologies, respectively. The results showed that Despite the availability of suitable facilities, the use of information technology in dental offices is not desirable. Providing information and training on the use of information technology for dentists can significantly expand the use of it in dentistry.