Study and analysis of information technology in dentistry in Latin American countries.

Dentistry increasingly uses Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which has impact on teaching, research, the profession and dental care in general. However, there is a lack of valid information on ICT resources and use in Latin America. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, multi-center, interdisciplinary study, the aim of which was to conduct a survey on how extensively ICT is used in Dentistry in Latin American countries by enquiring into two primary components: 1) use of ICT in student training and 2) use of ICT by professionals in consulting rooms and services. Two questionnaires on ICT were prepared: one for teachers/researchers and another for students/professionals. We received 94 answers from teachers/researchers at universities in the region providing information on ICT resources for teaching (type and implementation) and 221 answers from professionals (personal use and use in healthcare). Data are presented as absolute relative frequencies and analyzed quantitatively as percentages.

RESULTS: 1) Teachers highlight ICT as an instrument for development, democratization and fairness in access to knowledge for higher education. 2) ICT supports collaborative learning and generates other innovative resources (e.g. simulators). 3) Innovations in telemedicine and experiences with electronic clinical history were identified in Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. These results are a basis upon which to reach a consensus regarding a set of ICT indicators which are comparable at regional level and serve as input to unify the design and implementation of ICTs experiences in both teaching and dental care in Latin America.