Collaboration between dental clinics and dental laboratories is essential to successfully fabricate dental prostheses. Traditionally, dental clinics send dental impression obtained from the oral cavity, together with a dental prosthesis work order form, to the dental laboratory. Based on the provided information, the dental technician fabricates the dental prosthesis. Dental clinics and laboratories maintain distinct roles in the fabrication process, using the work order form as a communication tool.¹ Sufficient patient and prosthesis fabrication information in the work order form makes it possible to produce high-quality dental prostheses and reduce unnecessary remakes.²

Advancements in dental imaging equipment have facilitated the digital transmission of patient data, which was previously unattainable using conventional methods.³ Dental laboratories can now share cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) files in digital imaging and communications in medicine format and standard tessellation language (STL) format files obtained from intraoral scanners, which directly capture information on soft and hard tissues within the patient’s oral cavity.³ Typically, such digital data are transmitted to dental laboratories through email or cloud.⁴ However, these methods are inefficient, prone to data entry errors, and carry potential risks associated with privacy breaches.⁵

In response to these challenges, platforms for managing dental laboratory work orders have emerged, offering improved security, rapid data transmission, and seamless communication. These platforms have the potential to improve workflow by enabling interoperability and collaborative management between dental clinics and dental laboratories.⁶ Despite these benefits, the current number of individuals using these platform services in dental clinics and dental laboratories remains limited, and related studies are scarce.

The criteria for dental practitioners’ perception of factors affecting dental laboratory work order environments have not been clearly defined. Thus, this study aimed to identify essential factors in dental laboratory work orders and determine dental practitioners’ awareness of the platform features for managing dental laboratory work orders. By deriving critical factors from existing work order forms for prosthesis fabrication and investigating the requirements applicable to the activation of platforms for managing dental laboratory work orders, this study aimed to gain better understanding of the critical aspects of dental prosthesis ordering and explore the potential for enhancing and promoting these platform services. The null hypothesis states that there is no difference in the importance of survey items between categories based on survey results.

Cronbach’s alpha value for the 53-question survey was 0.9, indicating a high degree of reliability in the survey results. The demographic characteristics of the respondents are presented in Fig. 2. Regarding occupation, the 53 respondents were dentists (30%), dental technicians (53%), dental hygienists (4%), and dental industry workers (13%). Their age distribution was 20s (39%), 30s (34%), 40s (21%), and 50s (6%). Majority of the respondents (56%) had over 5 years of professional experience. Ordering of dental prostheses was done through request forms (30%), phone calls (20%), emails (16%), social media (16%), text messages (11%), or platform services (7%).

Table 2 demonstrates the importance of survey items within the five categories. In Category 1, accurate information entry and communication with the ordering party were important when ordering dental prostheses (P < 0.05, Table 2). In Category 2, in billing, prosthesis ledger creation was considered important for dental prostheses (P < 0.001, Table 2). In delivery, the importance of undistorted impression delivery was highlighted, whereas in order management, the management of order schedules and ordering parties was important (P < 0.001, Table 2). Among the four environmental factors of dental prosthesis, notation, and order management were the most important orders (P = 0.01, Table 2).

In Category 3, economic efficiency than the existing methods, convenience in transferring and storing prosthesis data were the important advantages of the dental prosthesis order platform service (P < 0.001, Table 2). In communication, exhibited high importance in exchanging scan data (P < 0.001, Table 2), whereas delivery showed high importance in the inter-ordering party prosthesis ledger linkage (P < 0.001, Table 2). Among the five environmental factors of dental prosthesis order platform services, the advantages of platform service and communication showed high importance (P = 0.01, Table 2).

In Category 4, convenient communication between ordering parties showed the highest importance in the positive effects of using the dental prosthesis order platform service (P < 0.001, Table 2). Contrarily, no significant differences were observed in the negative effects (P = 0.666, Table 2).

In Category 5, the requirements for using the dental prosthesis order platform service included a stable and widely available platform service (P < 0.001, Table 2).

Table 3 demonstrates the importance of survey items by age, dental occupation, and professional experience within the five categories.

In Category 2 related to the environmental factors of dental laboratory orders, order management exhibited a significant difference in the management of order schedules based on dental occupation (P < 0.001, Table 3), with dentists and dental hygienists exhibiting higher importance than the other occupations. In addition, there was a significant difference in the retention of ordering parties according to the dental occupation (P < 0.001, Table 3), with dentists and dental technicians exhibiting higher importance than the other occupations.

In Category 3, focusing on the platform service environment of dental laboratory orders, the advantage of platform services showed a significant difference in economic efficiency than the existing methods based on dental occupation (P = 0.004, Table 3), with dentists and dental technicians exhibiting significantly higher importance than the other occupations. In the data cloud storage item, a difference was observed based on age (P = 0.009, Table 3), with the 20 - 30 age group exhibiting significantly higher importance than the 40 - 50 age group. Furthermore, in data cloud security, the 40 - 50 age group exhibited significantly higher importance than the 20 - 30 age group (P = 0.006, Table 3).

In Category 4, regarding the negative impact of using dental laboratory order platform services, a significant difference was observed in the concern of dual workloads based on age (P = 0.011, Table 3) and clinical experience (P = 0.002, Table 3), with the 20 - 30 age group and those with less than 3 years of experience exhibiting significantly higher importance.

In Category 5, regarding the requirements for using dental laboratory order platform services, the item related to orders from overseas dental clinics and dental laboratories showed a significant difference based on age (P = 0.029, Table 3) and occupation (P = 0.044, Table 3), with the 40 - 50 age group as well as dentists and dental technicians exhibiting significantly higher importance.

The present study aimed to gain better understanding of the importance and requirements of dental prosthesis order platform services among dentists, dental technicians, dental hygienists, and dental industry workers. There were significant differences in the importance aspect of the 57 survey items included in the 5 categories (Table 2, P < 0.05), which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis.

According to a previous study, the necessary information was perfectly completed on the prosthesis order forms in only 26% of respondents.⁷ Clear and specific order forms can improve the quality and cost-efficiency of prosthetic work; thus, dentists should ensure that all necessary information is provided on the forms so dental technicians can accurately fabricate the prosthetics.⁸ In this study, the importance of accurately providing information on the prosthesis order form was also emphasized (Table 2, P < 0.05). In addition, the importance of communication between the orderer and the dental clinic was highlighted (Table 2, P < 0.05) as dental clinics and dental laboratories perform specialized tasks in their respective fields, and smooth communication between them is crucial for a successful prosthesis fabrication.^2,9

The importance of maintaining accurate records for accounting and management was also highlighted (Table 2, P < 0.05) as record-keeping is essential for profit calculations and optimal business operations.¹⁰ Regarding delivery, the importance of delivering impression without distortion was emphasized (Table 2, P < 0.05). This finding is consistent with that of a previous study that investigated the current state of dental prosthesis fabrication, where the main causes of remanufacturing were distortions in the impressions or materials.^11,12 Furthermore, this study demonstrated that order schedule management was highly important in client management (Table 2, P < 0.05). Because prosthetics are customized for each patient, order management can be challenging, and most dental laboratories need to consider a specific timeframe when delivering orders to clients.¹³

According to previous studies, electronic transmission of acquired data between dental clinics and dental laboratories has proven to be more cost-effective than the traditional process.¹⁴ In addition, automated management systems have been reported to provide benefits in terms of reduced work time and cost savings.¹⁵ In the present study, the higher economic efficiency of platform services than the conventional methods was also found to be significant (Table 2, P < 0.05). Furthermore, a unified digital workflow is required for the seamless transmission of oral photographs, CBCT, and STL files; the lack of integration in data transmission and storage can impede the digital dental workflow.⁵ Therefore, the present study emphasized easy data transmission and storage as an advantage of platform services (Table 2, P < 0.05).

In the communication aspect of platform services, scan data exchange was highly important (Table 2, P < 0.05), as it provides opportunities for immediate communication.¹⁶ Small dental laboratories with insufficient digital case submissions may face difficulties in integrating digital workflows.¹⁷ Consequently, a high demand for the development of stable, affordable platform services that can be widely disseminated among dental professionals was found in this study (Table 2, P < 0.05).

In this study, the importance of specific survey items significantly varied depending on age, occupation, and career experience. Occupation-related differences were found in the dental prosthetic environment, with dentists and dental hygienists prioritizing order schedules (Table 3, P < 0.05). This is likely because as professionals closely involved with patients, they value schedule management connected to patient appointments to maintain service quality in dental clinics.¹⁸ Dental technicians place importance on client management (Table 3, P < 0.05) as the primary clients for dental laboratories are dental clinics, and their relationship with clinics is a crucial factor in laboratory operations.¹⁸

Furthermore, secure digital transmission of patient information is essential in compliance with privacy and protection regulations.⁵ In line with a previous study showing that older workers are more aware and compliant with data protection policies,¹⁹ respondents aged 40 years and above in this study considered data cloud security of prosthetic order platform services to be important (Table 3, P < 0.05). Therefore, cloud providers need to pay significant attention to security and privacy and ensure that all data is encrypted and backed up.²⁰ Currently, blockchain technology is being implemented in the storage and sharing of patient medical information.²¹ However, there are challenges associated with the adoption of blockchain technology in dental healthcare, such as regulatory barriers, technical limitations, and the need for specialized knowledge.²¹

Individual characteristics, such as age and professional experience, may inhibit investment in digitalization.²² In the present study, the respondents in their 20s and 30s with less than 3 years of professional experience expressed concern regarding dual workloads due to the negative impact of dental prosthesis order platform services (Table 3, P < 0.05). This finding is consistent with that of previous study, which found that although younger individuals are more exposed to digital technology, their digital proficiency is not necessarily equivalent.²³ As current digital dentistry has not yet been fully integrated into a universally accepted workflow, concerns regarding transition to digital practices are expected.¹⁷

To date, no studies on dental prosthesis order platform services have been conducted. This study is significant as it verified the requirements of dental prosthesis order platform services and the importance of paper order forms while considering differences in age, profession, and professional experience to derive the direction of platform services. However, this study targeted only Korean dental professionals, and the sample may not be representative of the entire population. The generalization of the findings is limited by the small sample size; therefore, further study involving dental professionals from diverse ethnic backgrounds is warranted.

This study investigated the importance and requirements of dental prosthesis order platform services. The results indicate that convenience in data transmission and storage, the development of stable and affordable platform services are essential requirements for dental prosthesis orders. In addition, the importance of these requirements varied depending on age, occupation, and professional experience, with respondents aged 40 years and above showing greater awareness of cloud security in digital data transmission. The findings can serve as important indicators for the development and improvement of dental prosthesis order platform services.