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Biomedical subjects

Madeleine Rohlin

Publications and source records attributed to Madeleine Rohlin.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Dental panoramic radiograph as a tool to detect postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density: untrained general dental practitioners' diagnostic performance.

The detection of postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density (BMD) is an important strategy to reduce the incidence of osteoporotic fracture. Recent studies suggested that incidental findings on dental panoramic radiographs may be used as a tool to detect women with low BMD. However, little is known whether this finding is sufficiently assessed by untrained general dental practitioners (GDPs). The purpose of this study was to investigate: (1) the observer agreement and (2) the diagnostic efficacy in detecting women with low BMD, when untrained GDPs assess the appearance (normal or eroded) of the mandibular inferior cortex on dental panoramic radiographs of postmenopausal women. Twenty-seven GDPs were asked to classify the appearance of the mandibular inferior cortex on dental panoramic radiographs of 100 postmenopausal women who had completed BMD assessments of the lumbar spine and of the femoral neck. Intra-and inter-observer agreements were analyzed with kappa statistics. The diagnostic efficacy (sensitivity, specificity and predictive values) was analyzed by comparing two groups classified by the mandibular inferior cortex (women with normal and women with eroded mandibular inferior cortex) with those classified by BMD (women with normal BMD and women with osteopenia or osteoporosis). The mean sensitivity and specificity were 77% and 40%, respectively, when BMD of the lumbar spine was used as standard and 75% and 39%, respectively, when BMD of the femoral neck comprised the standard. Nineteen untrained GDPs (70%) presented a moderate to almost perfect intra-observer agreement. We conclude that dental panoramic radiograph may be used in clinical dental practice to identify postmenopausal women who have undetected low BMD and should undergo further testing with bone densitometry.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

The major factors that influence endodontic retreatment decisions.

The presence of a new or persistent periapical radiolucency adjacent to a rootfilled tooth is often used as a criterion of endodontic treatment "failure". However, clinicians' suggested management of such cases is subject to substantial interindividual variation. Several components that might influence endodontic retreatment decision making have been explored, but data on which factors dentists actually think they consider, are missing. The aim was to interview 20 general dental practitioners (GDPs) and 20 endodontists about factors they thought would influence the prescription of endodontic retreatment. Six simulated cases were presented as cartoons accompanied with a clinical history. In two of the cases the teeth were planned to serve as an abutment tooth in a fixed prosthodontic construction. The status of the periapical bone tissue and the quality of rootfilling seal were varied. Between 1 and 6 factors per case were reported to influence decision making. In cases not planned to serve as abutment teeth most dentists considered that the periapical condition was the most important factor, whilst they considered the fixed prosthodontic construction to be the most important factor in cases planned as abutment teeth. Generally, endodontists seem to be more inclined to retreat and act on the mere presence of a periapical lesion regardless of size than GDPs. In a real clinical setting in direct contact with patients, additional factors like economy and patients' preferences might be expected to exert a major influence. The majority of the dentists stated that they thought that their colleagues would make similar decisions as they did themselves.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

2.2 Continuous quality improvement.

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) can be envisaged as a circular process of goal-setting, followed by external and internal evaluations resulting in improvements that can serve as goals for a next cycle. The need for CQI is apparent, because of public accountability, maintaining European standards and the improvement of dental education. Many examples are known where recommendations from both external and internal evaluation are used for the improvement of dental education. Unfortunately, the implementation of the recommendations is inconsistent, rarely systematic and usually not transparent. This section agreed that it is essential to apply CQI in a structured, systematic and transparent way if we are to improve and maintain the quality of dental education. A model is proposed which includes three aspects: a) the process of CQI; b) the subjects to which CQI should be applied; and c) the management tools to govern CQI. It is stressed, that CQI is a process that can be applied in any dental school irrespective of curriculum or educational approach within the relevant context of the country or the region. The approach needs to recognize the complexity and the need to balance a quality improvement with accountability. A CQI system is also constrained in any organization by the attitudes and values of the staff. Inevitably there has to be a wide range in the application of CQI. Nevertheless, an agreed model on CQI might enhance convergence towards higher standards of dental education. The process of CQI can be supported by developments in information and communication technology (ICT): collection of data, identifying the steps in CQI, formats of reports, etc. The section was set, as one of its tasks, to advise on the development of a network based on a number of case studies on the application of CQI in dental education.

Cultural Diversity↗