Dental Informatics: An emerging discipline

This literature review aimed to present the importance of the discipline of Dental Informatics for the curriculum of dental schools and daily dental practice. In the last years there was a fast development of Informatics applied to Dentistry, especially in areas related to patient exam, diagnosis, and treatment plan. CAD-CAM systems, computerized periodontal probes, digital radiography, and intraoral cameras are examples of the application of Informatics in Dentistry. Dental Informatics is a discipline showing constant development and is based on the application of computers and information science to improve clinical practice, research, education, and management. Therefore, it is important that Dental Informatics is included in the dental curriculum. At present the technological advances and scientific research require interdisciplinary approach and integration of large amount of information. This information usually comes from several sources, which requires its compilation in databases. Informatics media can significantly increase the velocity of integration and correlation of necessary information to speed up the medical-dental diagnosis and improve treatment efficacy. Key words: Dental informatics; bioinformatics, databases; dental education; diagnosis