CAD/CAM Education Experience and Utilization Competency of Dental Hygiene and Dental Technology Students: A Comparative Study
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Participants
2.2. Measurements
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. CAD/CAM Education Experience by Major and Grade
3.2. Scanning Utilization Competency by Major and Grade
3.3. CAD/CAM Utilization Competency by Major and Grade
3.4. Post-Processing Competency by Major and Grade
3.5. Correlation Between Scanning, CAD/CAM, and Post-Processing Competencies
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviation
| CAD/CAM | computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing |
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| Characteristics | CAD/CAM Education Experience | p-Value * | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes N (%) | No N (%) | ||
| Major | |||
| Dental Hygiene | 31 (11.9) | 230 (88.1) | <0.001 |
| Dental Technology | 177 (87.2) | 26 (12.8) | |
| Grade | |||
| 1–2 year | 123 (39.0) | 192 (61.0) | <0.001 |
| 3–4 year | 86 (57.8) | 63 (42.2) | |
| Characteristics | Major | p-Value | Grade | p-Value * | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental Hygiene (N = 261) | Dental Technology (N = 203) | Juniors 1–2 Year (N = 315) | Senior 3–4 Year (N = 149) | |||
| Scanning utilization competency | 2.14 ± 0.97 | 3.53 ± 1.02 | <0.001 | 2.53 ± 0.95 | 3.22 ± 1.01 | <0.001 |
| # Applications of scanning | ||||||
| Model scan | 50 (19.2) | 120 (59.1) | 102 (32.4) | 68 (45.6) | ||
| Oral scan | 114 (43.7) | 45 (22.1) | 106 (33.7) | 53 (35.6) | ||
| Impression scan | 84 (32.2) | 52 (25.6) | 93 (29.8) | 43 (28.5) | ||
| Other | 41 (15.7) | 4 (2.0) | 39 (12.3) | 6 (4.0) | ||
| Not possible | 66 (25.3) | 4 (2.0) | 62 (19.9) | 8 (5.4) | ||
| Characteristics | Major | p-Value | Grade | p-Value * | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental Hygiene (N = 261) | Dental Technology (N = 203) | Juniors 1–2 Year (N = 315) | Senior 3–4 Year (N = 149) | |||
| CAD design competency | 1.93 ± 0.88 | 3.33 ± 1.05 | <0.001 | 2.05 ± 0.91 | 3.12 ± 1.04 | <0.001 |
| # Applications of CAD design | ||||||
| EXO (Exocad) | 7 (2.7) | 99 (48.8) | 85 (18.3) | 68 (14.7) | ||
| 3Shape | 20 (7.7) | 23 (11.3) | 39 (8.4) | 50 (10.8) | ||
| Other | 3 (1.1) | 1 (0.5) | 6 (1.3) | 5 (1.1) | ||
| # Part of CAD design | ||||||
| Inlay/Crown/Cap | 27 (10.3) | 150 (73.9) | 95 (38.2) | 82 (32.9) | ||
| Implant | 23 (8.8) | 68 (33.5) | 33 (13.3) | 58 (23.3) | ||
| Partial denture | 10 (3.8) | 28 (13.8) | 16 (6.4) | 22 (8.8) | ||
| Full denture | 16 (6.1) | 24 (11.8) | 21 (8.4) | 19 (7.6) | ||
| Orthodontics | 18 (6.9) | 16 (7.9) | 14 (5.6) | 20 (8.0) | ||
| CAM operation competency | 1.91 ± 0.82 | 2.64 ± 0.94 | <0.001 | 2.01 ± 0.83 | 2.71 ± 0.92 | <0.001 |
| # Applications of Milling program | ||||||
| Huprerdent | 10 (3.8) | 19 (9.4) | 18 (5.7) | 11 (7.4) | ||
| Millbox | 32 (12.3) | 51 (25.1) | 41 (13.0) | 42 (28.2) | ||
| Not possible | 44 (16.9) | 62 (30.5) | 61 (19.4%) | 45 (30.2%) | ||
| # 3D Printer Field | ||||||
| FDM | 22 (8.4) | 32 (15.8) | 35 (11.1) | 19 (12.8) | ||
| DLP | 18 (6.9) | 20 (9.9) | 28 (8.9) | 10 (6.7) | ||
| Not possible | 44 (16.9) | 56 (27.6) | 59 (18.7) | 41 (27.5) | ||
| # Applications of 3D Printer | ||||||
| Temporary crown | 28 (10.7) | 46 (22.7) | 39 (12.4) | 35 (23.5) | ||
| Surgical stent | 15 (5.7) | 9 (4.4) | 17 (5.4) | 7 (4.7) | ||
| Burn out resin | 14 (5.4) | 14 (6.9) | 18 (5.7) | 10 (6.7) | ||
| Study model | 10 (3.8) | 12 (5.9) | 14 (4.4) | 8 (5.4) | ||
| Not possible | 49 (18.8) | 49 (24.1) | 57 (18.1) | 41 (27.5) | ||
| Characteristics | Major | p-Value | Grade | p-Value * | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental Hygiene (N = 261) | Dental Technology (N = 203) | Juniors 1–2 Year (N = 315) | Senior 3–4 Year (N = 149) | |||
| Post-processing competency | 1.95 ± 1.08 | 2.77 ± 1.14 | <0.001 | 2.12 ± 1.05 | 2.73. ± 1.32 | <0.001 |
| Zirconia coloring | 1.95 ± 1.09 | 2.84 ± 1.19 | <0.001 | 2.11 ± 1.08 | 2.82 ± 1.35 | <0.001 |
| Zirconia staining | 1.98 ± 1.11 | 2.78 ± 1.14 | <0.001 | 2.10 ± 1.05 | 2.82 ± 1.32 | <0.001 |
| Scanning Competency | CAD Competency | CAM Operation Competency | Post-Processing Competency | Zirconia Coloring | Zirconia Staining | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scanning competency | 1 | |||||
| CAD design competency | 0.686 ** | 1 | ||||
| CAM operation competency | 0.505 ** | 0.607 ** | 1 | |||
| Post-processing competency | 0.501 ** | 0.580 ** | 0.730 ** | 1 | ||
| Zirconia coloring | 0.494 ** | 0.611 ** | 0.706 ** | 0.854 ** | 1 | |
| Zirconia staining | 0.474 ** | 0.595 ** | 0.695 ** | 0.853 ** | 0.940 ** | 1 |
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Ku, H.-M.; Kim, J.-W.; Jun, M.-K. CAD/CAM Education Experience and Utilization Competency of Dental Hygiene and Dental Technology Students: A Comparative Study. Hygiene 2025, 5, 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/hygiene5040056
Ku H-M, Kim J-W, Jun M-K. CAD/CAM Education Experience and Utilization Competency of Dental Hygiene and Dental Technology Students: A Comparative Study. Hygiene. 2025; 5(4):56. https://doi.org/10.3390/hygiene5040056
Chicago/Turabian StyleKu, Hye-Min, Jong-Woo Kim, and Mi-Kyoung Jun. 2025. "CAD/CAM Education Experience and Utilization Competency of Dental Hygiene and Dental Technology Students: A Comparative Study" Hygiene 5, no. 4: 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/hygiene5040056
APA StyleKu, H.-M., Kim, J.-W., & Jun, M.-K. (2025). CAD/CAM Education Experience and Utilization Competency of Dental Hygiene and Dental Technology Students: A Comparative Study. Hygiene, 5(4), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/hygiene5040056

