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Biomedical subjects

P S Horton

Publications and source records attributed to P S Horton.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Analysis of interpretations of full-mouth and panoramic surveys.

The purposes of this study were to determine differences in interpretation of radiographic findings of full-mouth and panoramic surveys by junior and senior dental students and differences in their interpretive skills. The parameters of interest were caries, incipiencies, lamina dura interruptions, periodontal membrane changes, and periapical bone changes. The questions to be answered regarding the differences between the full-mouth and panoramic surveys were: (1) In which type of radiograph were the most lesions found? (2) In which type of radiograph are the most "non-existing" lesions found? (3) In which type of radiograph are the most lesions undetected? (4) Does the junior or senior dental student demonstrate the most accuracy in his interpretation?

Alveolar Process

Dental needs and costs for patients from three social agencies.

This study indicates that for these patients studied from Johnson County, Iowa, the County Home residents have more unmet basic dental needs than do patients from Goodwill Industries or Community Action programs. The mean cost of treating the dental needs of a County home resident was found to be approximately twice that of providing dental services to the other two social service agencies. This cost differential comes about as a result of two major factors: (1) the County Home residents seen have more unmet basic dental needs, and (2) they have proportionately more unmet dental needs in specialty areas that cost more per unit of treatment (i.e. periodontics, fixed prosthodontics, and removable prosthodontics). The mean treatment cost per patient seen from each of these agencies is $851.77 for County Home residents, $407.97 for Goodwill Industry clients, and $341.21 for Community Action clients. A follow-up of this study in regard to specific circumstances that contribute to the higher incidence of dental treatment needs of the Johnson County Home residents is recommended. Such additional information would be helpful to the effective design of dental health programs for implementation at the community level.

Adult

Dentistry and the county home resident: a statewide survey.

A flow chart (illustration) depicts the delivery process whereby county home residents either receive or do not receive dental treatment. Also included are the major findings of the survey, given in triangles A, B, and C. The initial step involved in this delivery process is that of recognizing a need. If the need is not recognized, it remains unmet and the patient receives no treatment (terminate). If the need is recognized, a treatment decision is required. If the decision is negative, the need remains unmet and the patient receives no treatment. If the decision is positive, the patient proceeds toward the goal of receiving dental treatment. However, potential delivery problems exist and the patient may have to overcome one or more of these before proceeding toward the goal. If problems do exist and are not resolved, the patient either does not receive treatment or treatment is delayed until satisfactory solutions are found. The first finding, A, shows that more than 72% of dental needs were identified because of some dental emergency experienced by the patient, 39.3% of needs were identified through routine checkups, 16.4% by a county home requirement, 14.8% through a state requirement, and 4.9%, "other." The second finding, B, shows that the county home steward makes the decision about whether dental treatment should be rendered in more than 85% of the homes. Physicians made 54.1% of the dental treatment decisions; nurses, 31.1%; dentists, 26.2%; patients, 24.6%; patient's family, 13.1%; supervisor or trustee, 4.9%; and "other," 3.3%. The third finding, C, represents delivery problems. More than 44% of the stewards said that the patient's mental or physical disabilities were a delivery problem; 39.3% indicated availability of dentists; 36.1% said reluctance of patient; 19.7% responded inadequate funding; and 14.8% indicated "other." A hypothetical county home resident can be dentally characterized as an emergency patient whose need for treatment is determined by a county home steward, and the main problem in obtaining treatment, according to the steward, is the patient's own inability to receive treatment because of mental or physical disabilities, or both.

Community Participation