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Biomedical subjects

E Widström

Publications and source records attributed to E Widström.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Organization and problems in emergency dental care at Finnish health centres.

The Public Dental Service in Finland is, in principle, responsible for emergency dental services for the population. The organization of the prevailing emergency care system in the 215 health centres was studied. 90% of the health centres had some kind of emergency services, usually during regular working hours. Few health centres offered treatment outside normal hours or had a telephone-based back-up system. The main problems reported were the unpredictability of the need for emergency services, great variations in the number of patients, the heavy work load created by continuing treatment of emergencies, and shortage of personnel.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Safety of dental restorative materials: a survey of dentists' attitudes.

In order to obtain information from practising dentists in Finland about their experiences of and attitudes to dental restorative materials, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in spring 1990 using a postal questionnaire. The response rate was 73% (454 replies). Virtually all (99%) respondents had faced questions about the safety of dental materials in 1989 and 93% of all questions concerned amalgam. Most respondents assessed their theoretical knowledge and practical experience of amalgam, composite and glass ionomer as good, whereas gold and ceramics as filling materials were less familiar. However, the three latter materials were regarded as safe by most respondents. Composite was believed to pose the highest risk of side-effects. Although few dentists regarded amalgam as hazardous, it was estimated that the use of this material will decrease over the next five years in favour of glass ionomer, ceramic materials and composite. Changing dental fillings at the patient's request without odontological indications was opposed by about 80% of the dentists, even if patients were to bear the total cost themselves. Only 7% of the dentists claimed to be worried about the possible risks to themselves of handling amalgam at work, and 97% reported having amalgam fillings personally.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Problems associated with restorative materials--dentists' views in Finland and Sweden.

During the past 10-15 years the possible side-effects of dental restorative materials, especially due to amalgam fillings, have caused a lively debate in Sweden. There is an extensive literature on the chemical and biological properties of dental materials but no investigations have dealt with the providers' attitudes. The purpose of this study was to find out the dentists' experiences of and attitudes to patients who state they have problems related to dental restorative materials and compare the dentists' subjective assessments of those side-effects in two neighboring countries, Finland and Sweden. Information was collected by postal questionnaires addressed to dentists chosen at random in Finland (n = 625) and in Sweden (n = 960). The response rate was 73 per cent and 72 per cent respectively. The results showed that 99 per cent of the respondents had patients questioning the safety of dental materials. The number of such patients was estimated to be three times higher in Sweden (124 patients per dentist in 1989) than in Finland (39 patients per dentist). More than 90 per cent of the questions from the patients regarded amalgam fillings. Statistically significant differences were found between the respondents' opinions of amalgam, 81 per cent of the Finnish contrary to 59 per cent of the Swedish respondents considered the risk of side-effects to be low when using this material. About 90 per cent of the respondents considered glass-ionomer, gold and ceramic restorations safe, but only half of them were convinced of the safety of composite. A great majority of the Swedish respondents (79 per cent) claimed that the patients should get their fillings changed without odontologic indications if they insisted on it and paid for the treatment in comparison to 22 per cent of the Finnish respondents (p less than 0.001). In case dental insurance was to pay for this kind of treatment it was accepted by 6 per cent of the Finns and 25 per cent of the Swedes. The attitude to amalgam was in general less favorable among the dentists in Sweden than in Finland.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Economic aspects of dental care in Finnish health centers.

In recent years economic evaluations of publicly funded governmental and community based activities have become more common. Although the Public Dental Service in Finland has been in operation for 17 yr, little is known of the effectiveness of the system. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness, output and costs of dental care using available data from 34 randomly selected health centers during 1982-85. Great differences were found in running expenses and productivity between the health centers studied. The study indicated that dental care arrangements tended to be more expensive in communities with high governmental subsidies than in those with low ones. The ratio of chairside assistants to dentists was also shown to have a statistically significant positive correlation with the cost of a dental visit.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of the new undergraduate dental curriculum of 1979.

A new curriculum for dental education was introduced in Sweden in 1979. Among other things the basic training was cut down from 10 to 9 semesters and a preregistration year in the Public Dental service was added. In this study two cohorts of dentists, one having studied under the old and one under the new curriculum, having 1 to 3 years practical experience of the dental profession, were asked to evaluate their undergraduate education as seen from a practising dentist's point of view. The results showed that the dentists trained under the new curriculum regarded their theoretical knowledge, clinical skills, and the relevance of their training generally higher than those trained under the old curriculum. However, the correlations between the old and the new curriculum with respect to the rankings of the individual subjects were high, indicating that no radical changes had occurred in the preference orders of the subjects. The self-estimated importance of different subjects for the dental profession may reflect the dentists' present working situation, e.g. the Public Dental Service or private practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Dental students' views on their education and study circumstances in Nordic countries.

The curricula at the Nordic dental schools are similar in their content but may vary in the placement of different subjects and the way of teaching them. The aim of this study was to analyse Nordic dental students social background, and their reasons for choosing dentistry, their opinions on the course, and their future professional plans. A combination of an open-ended and structured questionnaire was given to final year dental students at the dental schools in Aarhus, Bergen, Kuopio and Stockholm. The response rate as 83%. The main reasons for choosing dentistry were its combination of theory and practice (29%), and a wish to work with people (20%), whereas only 4% mentioned the "high status" of the profession. Regular day-time work was emphasized by female students. Most students considered the teaching load heavy. The time devoted to the different subjects was considered sufficient, except for behavioural science and medicine, where the time was too short. There was general dissatisfaction with the teachers pedagogical skills, and there was a feeling that teaching was regarded as secondary to research. Most students planned to become private practitioners. Between 25-55% of the students wanted to specialize, and oral surgery was the most popular specialization.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Diagnosis and treatment of dental emergencies in two Finnish cities.

According to the present clinical survey of dental emergencies treated by organised emergency services in two of the larger Finnish cities, the main causes (64 per cent) of the problems leading to these visits were caries and its consequences. In about 80 per cent of the 839 cases treated, the acute treatment was based on clinical examination only. Temporary fillings were provided for 19 per cent, permanent fillings for 8 per cent, endodontic treatment for 22 per cent and extractions for 14 per cent of the patients. Extractions were most often provided for patients who normally visited a dentist irregularly and these had a low mean number of teeth. Patients with pain lasting longer than a week were likely to receive endodontic treatment, whereas permanent fillings were provided for regular dental visitors who had their own dentists. About 90 per cent of the patients were considered to need other dental treatment in addition to the treatment of the acute condition.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Swedish and Finnish dental practitioners' opinions of their undergraduate education.

Recently qualified dentists from a dental school in Stockholm, Sweden (n = 259) and the dental school in Kuopio, Finland (n = 103) were sent a questionnaire designed to obtain information concerning the perceived relevance of their undergraduate education to the practice of dentistry. The response rate was 71% for Stockholm and 82% for Kuopio. Except for minor differences, probably mainly due to economic resources and traditions in choice of treatment, the graduates in the two countries had comparable views of their basic education. In general, clinical dental subjects were highly valued, while basic science subjects but also subjects in medical and behavioral sciences were given low values. Our results indicate that, although prevention and behavioral sciences are stressed more and more in undergraduate education, the practice of clinical dentistry remains essentially unchanged and restorative dentistry is still very highly valued among recent graduates of these two dental schools.

Adult↗