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PubMed1997

Fissure caries diagnosis and resulting treatment decisions by clinical community dental officers and general dental practitioners.

In this in vitro study, 12 General Dental Practitioners and 13 Clinical Community Dental Officers examined the occlusal, buccal and palatal pits and fissures of 35 extracted molar teeth. They were asked to make a management/treatment decision, on the basis of their diagnosis of caries, whether each tooth should be left untreated, fissure sealed or investigated. After all the management/treatment decisions had been made, the teeth were serially sectioned perpendicular to the occlusal surface and examined for the presence of caries in dentine. It was impossible to demonstrate differences in the management/treatment decisions and the diagnosis of caries made by the two groups. No significant difference in sensitivity or specificity could be detected between operators diagnosing by visual inspection alone and those using visual inspection in combination with a tactile method. The use of radiographs did not significantly improve the validity of the diagnosis or management of fissure caries.

Community Dentistry↗
PubMed1998

Autoclave performance and practitioner knowledge of autoclave use: a survey of selected UK practices.

OBJECTIVE: It is essential that the dental surgery autoclave be tested regularly to ensure that it is operating at a temperature and pressure that will kill all microorganisms. The aims of this study were to investigate the knowledge of general dental practitioners on aspects of autoclave use, to examine their autoclaving routines, and to test the effectiveness of the sterilization cycle of their practice's autoclave. METHOD AND MATERIALS: A 35-question questionnaire was distributed to 840 dental practitioners in the United Kingdom. They were also sent three spore test ampules with details of their function and instructions on their use. The practitioners were asked to use the spore test ampules in their own practice's autoclave and to return these for testing. RESULTS: Four hundred one questionnaires and associated spore test ampules were returned for analysis, a 47.7% response rate. Eight practice autoclaves (2.0%) failed to sterilize the spores. These practices were offered a retest following counseling. A total of 77.8% of respondents had received formal training in infection control. Of the 71.3% of respondents who stated that they check the performance of their autoclave routinely, 31.5% use a chemical strip every cycle, 17.5% use it once per day, and 30.4% use it once per week. However, only five respondents (1.2%) use a spore test; two of these respondents use it every cycle, one once per day, and two once per week. CONCLUSION: Further education of practitioners may be necessary to enhance their awareness of the need for routine checking of autoclave effectiveness.

Dental Equipment↗
PubMed1998

Can low accuracy disease risk predictor models improve health care using decision support systems?

A prototype decision support system has been designed for managing dental caries using a risk assessment model. Caries is a multifactorial disease with risk prediction models having low sensitivity (65%) and moderate specificity (80%) for 2 or more new lesions. These models are inaccurate for targeting resources at high risk people. However, low risk individuals can be more accurately identified. If the activity of early tooth decay lesions, in low risk people, are monitored over time and only lesions beyond 1/3 of the dentin depth are filled, the number of annual fillings may be reduced by 50%. Currently, most US dental schools do not teach risk assessment for caries and encourage early treatment of lesions leading to a repair destruction cycle. The combination of a decision support system with a moderate accuracy specificity risk model for predicting low risk individuals may produce a significant improvement in caries management.

Decision Support Systems, Clinical↗
PubMed1983

Practice patterns of recent female dental graduates.

Current practice patterns of female dentists were recorded through a survey of 130 women who received their professional degrees between 1975 and 1981. Replies were received from 95 individuals, a 73% response rate. More than three quarters of the respondents are in private practice full- or part-time. Those in part-time practice most frequently combine that activity with another dental activity such as teaching or hospital service. Most respondents are in general practice, with 24% in various specialty fields. In general, practice patterns of women dentists approximate those of recent male graduates. Important elements that have an effect on individual female practitioners include not only the drive for professional achievement, but also personal factors such as societal attitudes toward professional women and the role of the female dentist as a wife and mother. Unresolved conflicts that exist in these areas require further attention and evaluation by the profession.

Dentists, Women↗
PubMed1992

Personality patterns of Texas dentists: a study using the bi/polar theory.

Are individuals with certain personality styles uniquely attracted to dentistry? A recent study with 218 Texas dentists using the Bi/Polar Inventory of Core Strengths showed that the dentists were more thinking (57.3%) than risking, profoundly more practical (78.0%) than theoretical, and more independent (67.9%) than dependent. Compared with the general population, dentists were significantly more thinking, practical and independent. Of the eight personality styles, Pattern II (thinking-practical-independent) (29.4%) was the only pattern significantly over-represented among the dentists compared with the general population. However, Pattern I (thinking-practical-dependent) (17.4%) was also over-represented at the trend level. Significantly under-represented among the dentists were Pattern V (risking-practical-dependent) (6.9%) and Pattern VI (risking-theoretical-dependent) (3.2%). Results suggest at least some personality influence on attraction to dentistry.

Aptitude↗
PubMed1997

Working patterns of male and female dentists in South Africa.

Studies in England, USA and Australia, have shown that the working hours of female dentists do not differ significantly from the working hours of their male counterparts, until they have children. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the same phenomenon exists in South Africa and to compare working patterns of South African male and female dentists regarding nature of practice/employment, location of practice, work satisfaction and breadwinner status. Questionnaires were sent to 285 female dentists, selected by their first name in the SAMDC register. An equal number of questionnaires were sent to male dentists, selected according to the proportional random sampling technique. The total response achieved was 35.8 per cent. The female dentists' working hours showed a distinct drop as soon as they started a family (from 86 per cent, practising more than 35 hours per week, to 34 per cent) while the male dentists' hours remained unchanged (90 per cent). The fact that so many more male dentists (81 per cent) than female dentists (19.6 per cent) are primary breadwinners, explains why such a high percentage of female dentists can afford to work part-time. The majority of both male (89.7 per cent) and female (70 per cent) dentists are in private practice. However, a considerably larger percentage of females work for a salary in State clinics and at Universities. This study shows that gender, breadwinner status and the presence and age of children have a marked influence on the working patterns of South African dentists.

Dentists↗