PECULIARITIES OF APPLYING INTRAORAL SCANNING TECHNOLOGY IN DENTAL PRACTICE BASED ON SURVEY DATA

Introduction. The accuracy of the fit of prosthetic restorations to prepared abutments is one of the key determinants of their clinical success. At the same time, the scientific literature continues to report variability in accuracy indicators for restorations fabricated using digital and conventional workflows, based on studies with different levels of evidence. Aim: to analyze the prevalence of intraoral scanning technology use in private dental healthcare institutions based on data obtained from a questionnaire survey. Participants and Methods. A survey was conducted among 67 private dental healthcare institutions in Ternopil, including multidisciplinary dental clinics and private dental offices. The results showed that, at the time of the survey, intraoral scanning technology was used in 32 institutions, corresponding to a prevalence of 47.76% at the clinical level. In addition, an online survey was conducted among an independent cohort of 118 dentists using a questionnaire distributed through professional social media communities. The design of the online questionnaire was identical to that used to assess the use of intraoral scanning technology in dental clinics. Results. Among 79 dentists working in clinics equipped with an intraoral scanner, 30 specialists (37.97%) reported experience using intraoral scanning for less than one year, 24 (30.38%) for more than one year but less than three years, and 25 (31.65%) for more than three years. The relatively balanced distribution of specialists by experience suggests a steady and clinically significant increase in the accessibility of digital technologies for dentists in private healthcare institutions over the past three years. It should be noted that 35 out of 67 dental institutions (52.24%) reported the absence of an intraoral scanner in their technical equipment. Thus, the level of implementation of intraoral scanning technology in private dental healthcare institutions can be considered moderate, although it demonstrates a stable upward trend, currently covering approximately half (47.76%) of clinics and more than one third (37.29%) of individual practitioners. These findings reflect an active phase of digital transformation in contemporary dental practice. Despite this progress, the primary application of intraoral scanners remains limited to their basic function is the acquisition of digital impressions that is confirmed by the fact that more than two thirds of dentists (69.62%) use the technology only as an alternative to conventional elastomeric impression materials, without employing specialized software capabilities for diagnostic evaluation, treatment planning, or analytical modeling. Conclusion. A comparative analysis of the clinical stages of technology application showed that the vast majority of dentists (70.37%) use intraoral scanning exclusively at the prosthetic stage of treatment, avoiding its application during the preliminary digital analysis of occlusal relationships or for monitoring changes in dental status during preparatory treatment. This indicates insufficient integration of digital technologies into the early phases of clinical planning and suggests a certain underestimation of their potential to improve the predictability and accuracy of comprehensive prosthetic rehabilitation.