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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Provision of free and discounted dental services to selected populations: a survey of attitudes and practices of dentists attending the 1996 Dallas Midwinter Meeting.

An attitudes and practices survey of dentists attending the Dallas Midwinter Meeting in January 1996 in Dallas was conducted as a collaborative effort between the Dallas County Dental Society and the Baylor College of Dentistry. The survey was developed to help determine participating dentists' attitudes and practices in the area of provision of dental services on a discounted or free basis to disadvantaged patient groups. A total of 225 dentists responded to the survey. Of these surveyed dentists, 213 (94.6%) were in private practice and 199 (88.4%) described themselves as general dentists. A considerable amount of charitable dental services, discounted and free, was reported to be provided by the group of respondent dentists. A total of 152 (67.6%) of the dentists surveyed reported providing discounted or free care to elderly patients with low income, 125 (55.6%) provided such care to low-income patients without age restriction, and 137 (60.9%) cared for patients of record with temporary financial hardship. In other patient categories, 79 (35.1%) of the dentists provided free/discounted services to handicapped persons and 47 (20.9%) provided care to homebound patients. These findings concerning charitable practices by dentists were similar to those found in a comparable survey conducted by the American Dental Association in 1994. Dentists were fairly evenly split as to their preference where to volunteer services. Of the total respondents, 84 (40.6%) preferred providing services in their own office and 91 (44.0%) preferred to do so at a community health clinic that hosted volunteers.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1993

A survey on orthodontics and the dental practitioner.

A questionnaire was mailed to locally trained Division One dental surgeons. The questionnaire was designed to assess the practice of orthodontics, the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum in relation to the dental practitioner and continuing orthodontic education. The results showed that the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum was of limited use to the practitioner and that there was a need for a continuing orthodontic education programme. Information pertaining to various aspects of orthodontic practice was presented.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2000

The work patterns of male and female dental practitioners in the United Kingdom.

AIM: The aim of the study was to determine differences between male and female dental practitioners in the type of dentistry they practice, and their working practice, and to compare these data to previously published studies of the working practices of female dentists in the United Kingdom. DESIGN: A postal questionnaire survey. PARTICIPANTS: A 1 in 10 sample of individuals taken from the UK Dentists Register. RESULTS: The data revealed that women dentists are more likely than male dentists to work in the Community Dental Service. Within general dental practice women are more likely to work part-time, to carry out National Health Service treatment and to specialize in orthodontics or paediatric dentistry. More women than men take career breaks, and the reasons for taking career breaks differ between male and females. Women take longer career breaks on average. However, differences between male and female practitioners in the total duration of their career breaks are largely accounted for by child rearing. Finally, male dental practitioners are more likely than female dental practitioners to report reading professional journals. The findings are analysed in the light of previous surveys of the working practices of female dental practitioners both within the United Kingdom and internationally. CONCLUSION: The main finding reported here is that there are no differences between men and women in the number and length of career breaks taken, if childcare is excluded.

Dentists↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An audit of drug prescribing practices of dentists.

OBJECTIVES: Data are scarce on the prescribing habits of dental practitioners. Drug use in dentistry and stomatology is undertaken to determine the pattern of drug use for patients seeking treatment. METHODS: 1820 prescriptions of dental patients attending the dental outpatient departments at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Nepal were collected by a random once weekly survey between March '01 to February '02. The information was compiled, scored and analyzed in consultation with dentists using WHO guidelines. RESULTS: Males numbered 801 (44%) and females 1019 (56%). Most of the patients were aged between 13-25 years. The dental disorders most frequently reported in our study were diseases of pulp and periapical tissue (36.5%), gingivitis and periodontal disease (28.5%), and dental caries (16%). The average number of drugs prescribed was 2.03 (3698 / 1820) and 66% prescriptions contained antimicrobials (1 or 2). 21% drugs were prescribed in generic names and 38% drugs were fixed dose combinations of 2 or more drugs. 4/5 of the prescribed drugs were systemic agents and 1/5 were local/topical agents. The most commonly prescribed systemic agents were analgesics (43.7%) followed by antimicrobials (39%). The most conmonly prescribed local / topical agents were anti-infectives (74%). In the present study, NSAID's (89.6%) were the preferred analgesics over narcotic analgesics (10.4%). The most frequently prescribed systemic analgesic and antimicrobials were ibuprofen and amoxycillin, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study may help in identifying the problems involved in therapeutic decision making. Also, there is a clear need for the development of prescribing guidelines and educational initiatives to encourage the rational and appropriate use of drugs in dentistry.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Preventing and detecting oral cancer. Oral health care providers' readiness to provide health behavior counseling and oral cancer examinations.

BACKGROUND: The authors conducted a study to examine oral cancer prevention and early detection practice patterns in a population-based random sample of practicing oral health care professionals in New York state. METHODS: The authors surveyed a population-based, self-weighting, stratified random sample of dentists (n = 1,025) and dental hygienists (n = 1,025) in New York state. They assessed the subjects' readiness to offer tobacco-use cessation and alcohol-abuse counseling and oral cancer examinations. RESULTS: The effective response rates were 55 and 66 percent for dentists and dental hygienists, respectively. In terms of readiness to perform oral cancer examinations for patients aged 40 years and older, the large majority (82 percent of dentists and 72 percent of dental hygienists) were in the maintenance stage of behavior, indicating that oral cancer examinations were a routine part of their practice. In terms of readiness to offer tobacco-use cessation counseling, only 12 percent of dentists and 21 percent of dental hygienists were in the maintenance stage, and only 2 percent of dentists and 4 percent of dental hygienists were in the maintenance stage of offering alcohol-abuse counseling. CONCLUSIONS: Oral cancer examinations seem to have been adopted as a standard of practice by most oral health care providers in New York state, but cancer prevention services, such as counseling regarding cessation of tobacco use and alcohol abuse, are lacking. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Oral health care providers should be trained in oral cancer prevention services such as tobacco-use cessation and alcohol-abuse counseling and encouraged to include these services, along with continued provision of oral cancer examinations, as a standard aspect of care.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Survey of the knowledge and practice of infection control among dental practitioners.

A survey on various aspects of infection control (overall knowledge/problem recognition, formal polices/reducing risk, and willingness to obtain additional education) was conducted among dental professionals and dental students. The survey was administered by a questionnaire at the offices of dental practitioners in Uberlândia and among dentistry students at the Federal University of Uberlândia. The two groups (professional dentists and students) differed significantly (P<0.0001) regarding recognition and reduction of the problem, but they were similarly willing to improve their knowledge of infection control. Dentists scored significantly higher than dental students on questions of recognition and reduction. A high proportion of students reported a lack of concern regarding routine handwashing before and after patient care (28.9% gave wrong answers). Of the dentists, only 8.8% reported a lack of knowledge about this matter. A higher proportion (P<0.0001) of dentists reported glove use and other basic barrier precautions (97.1% versus 51.9% among the students). However, the proportion of dentists who reported that they were aware of HBV vaccination was lower than among the students (81.5% versus 92.0%, p=0.0037). Additional education is required to promote a more realistic perception of the risks for HIV, HBV, and HCV transmission in dental offices and among dental students, and the use of all recommended infection control practices.

Brazil↗
PubMed2002

[Complaints by complainers?].

For Dutch physicians being sued is one of their worst nightmares in professional life. Dutch dentists as a group do not seem to bother. This article shows that the light-heartedness of the dental profession is incorrect. A Dutch dentist has the same reason for being worried about the chance of facing a (disciplinary) council, about the procedure and about (disciplinary) measures as Dutch physicians have. For dentists who actually had to face a disciplinary council, their experience was very frightening and affected their professional satisfaction. Knowledge of public health legislation and a basic knowledge of legal procedures can be useful weapons in the battle against burnout.

Burnout, Professional↗
PubMed2005

Informed consent: does practice match conviction?

The need to obtain consent is an ethical principle and a legal requirement in health care that must be applied in practice. Dentists must give people the appropriate information about treatment options, risks, and benefits so that they are able to make informed choices before giving their free consent to any dental intervention. The British research reported on here supports the view that dentists generally have positive views about informed consent. But the companion program of observation of dentists in the clinic suggests that they do not have a systematic approach to obtaining consent and that patients are often told what is going to be done rather than asked. Dentists must approach informed consent more systematically, recognizing it as an integral part of treatment planning with the patient as developing the communication skills needed to do it well.

Communication↗
PubMed2006

Applying psychological theory to evidence-based clinical practice: identifying factors predictive of taking intra-oral radiographs.

This study applies psychological theory to the implementation of evidence-based clinical practice. The first objective was to see if variables from psychological frameworks (developed to understand, predict and influence behaviour) could predict an evidence-based clinical behaviour. The second objective was to develop a scientific rationale to design or choose an implementation intervention. Variables from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Social Cognitive Theory, Self-Regulation Model, Operant Conditioning, Implementation Intentions and the Precaution Adoption Process were measured, with data collection by postal survey. The primary outcome was the number of intra-oral radiographs taken per course of treatment collected from a central fee claims database. Participants were 214 Scottish General Dental Practitioners. At the theory level, the Theory of Planned Behaviour explained 13% variance in the number of radiographs taken, Social Cognitive Theory explained 7%, Operant Conditioning explained 8%, Implementation Intentions explained 11%. Self-Regulation and Stage Theory did not predict significant variance in radiographs taken. Perceived behavioural control, action planning and risk perception explained 16% of the variance in number of radiographs taken. Knowledge did not predict the number of radiographs taken. The results suggest an intervention targeting predictive psychological variables could increase the implementation of this evidence-based practice, while influencing knowledge is unlikely to do so. Measures which predicted number of radiographs taken also predicted intention to take radiographs, and intention accounted for significant variance in behaviour (adjusted R(2)=5%: F(1,166)=10.28, p<.01), suggesting intention may be a possible proxy for behavioural data when testing an intervention prior to a service-level trial. Since psychological frameworks incorporate methodologies to measure and change component variables, taking a theory-based approach enabled the creation of a methodology that can be replicated for identifying factors predictive of clinical behaviour and for the design and choice of interventions to modify practice as new evidence emerges.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Just say 'no'.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Decision Making↗
PubMed2005

Influence of the patient's race on the dentist's decision to extract or retain a decayed tooth.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the patient's race on the dentist's decision to extract or retain a decayed tooth. METHODS: A probabilistic random sample of 297 dentists from Recife, Brazil, was used. Two case scenarios were presented to the dentists. Both scenarios showed a molar that was extensively decayed, but indicated for conservative treatment. The scenarios included a description of the patient and eight photographs of the clinical case, including a photograph of the patient's face. The dentists were asked to regard the patient as poor and then to decide whether to extract or retain the molar. However, although the scenarios were based on the same clinical case, the photographs of the patient's face were different. One scenario showed the photograph of a white patient whereas the other showed the photograph of a black patient. The first scenario was presented 2 months before the second so that the dentists would not remember the former. RESULTS: The dentist's decision varied significantly according to the patient's race, with dentists deciding to extract more frequently for the black patient than for the white patient (25.6% vs. 16.2%; P < 0.001). This racial variation occurred regardless of the demographic and socioeconomic variables of the dentists. It did, however, occur as a function of the setting of the dentist's practice. CONCLUSION: The patient's race may influence a dentist's decision whether to extract or retain a decayed tooth.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The responsibilities and rights of dental professionals 3. Professional rights.

Professional status, professional autonomy, clinical freedom, self-regulation and the right to serve patients and the community seem to be the main rights of dentists. Although they simply may be seen as privileges that are related to being a dentist, these rights cannot be considered independent from dentists' roles and responsibilities. They are, in fact, valuable tools that serve dentists to meet their broad responsibilities that arise from the 'social contract' between the profession and the public.

Dentist-Patient Relations↗
PubMed2003

Child-management techniques. Are there differences in the way female and male pediatric dentists in Israel practice?

The purpose of this study was to assess differences in the management techniques used by Israeli female and male pediatric dentists. All 112 participants of the meeting of the Israeli Society of Dentistry for Children that was held in February 1999 received a questionnaire which sought information regarding age, sex, behavioral and pharmacological methods used to treat children, having a course in nitrous oxide, general anesthesia, and feelings towards pediatric patients. No differences between female and male dentists were found regarding most management techniques. The majority of dentists used tell-show-do, and gave presents at the end of the appointments. Hypnosis was the least used technique. Papoose board was more prevalent among male dentists than among female dentists. Most dentists reported having the parents present during treatment, and more male dentists used their assistance when restraint was needed. General anesthesia was significantly more prevalent among males than among females (p = 0.01). One-third of the dentists reported feeling aggression toward the pediatric patient. Although not statistically significant, more female dentists reported about feeling aggression than male dentists. Most dentists felt authority towards the pediatric patient. Our findings imply that female and male dentists use similar management techniques when treating children.

Aggression↗
PubMed1998

[Re-restoration decisions].

OBJECTIVE: In this study an attempt was made to explain some of the interobserver variation in re-restoration decision making using. METHOD: A simplified re-restoration case was shown to 22 dentists who were asked what treatment decision they would make, and what factors would play a role in their decision. The treatment decisions were compared to the outcomes of a knowledge-system on re-restoration decision making. RESULTS: The dentists unanimously selected re-restoration as the treatment alternative. Half of the dentists preferred amalgam, and the other half chose composite as restorative material. This variation could be explained almost fully by the dentists' weighs on the factors 'tissue loss during preparation', 'restoration and preservation of the chewing function' and 'prognosis and durability of the restoration'. The knowledge system indicated that more than 80% of the dentists actually should have selected composite resin for a restorative material. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the availability of knowledge and its application can explain variation in re-restoration decisions. Knowledge systems can be used in designing practice guidelines.

Decision Making↗