A survey of Canadian pediatric dentists: practice characteristics and views on dental education

The success of caries prevention in the developed countries has resulted in a marked decline in dental disease, especially in pediatric divisions of dental faculties, where an acute problem is finding patients to provide students with the clinical experience they will require in practice. It has become apparent that this changing disease pattern should be accompanied by a re-thinking of educational strategies and objectives to mirror the times and projected trends. While changes in educational strategies will likely be initiated from within the dental faculties, debate and discussion should include those in private practice as well as the academic field. With this in mind, 85 pediatric dentists nation-wide were surveyed regarding their views on educational matters as well as characteristics of their practice and their general profiles. There was widespread agreement on the need for changes in educational strategies and suggestions were made regarding the directions these changes should take.     

Views of dental patients about the education and practice of dentists

Abstract – The opinions of 253 adult U.K. dental patients were sought as to the scope of dental education. Most appreciated this was a university education and that it exceeded 3 yr. Nearly one half believed that apprenticeship was involved and one quarter believed that postgraduate experience in hospital was mandatory. Few acknowledged the wide breadth of training and a majority would consult a physician rather than a dentist regarding problems such as oral ulceration.     

Disaster response in Illinois: the role for dentists and dental hygienists

Taking a leadership role, the Illinois Department of Public Health's Division of Oral Health has helped to successfully integrate oral health professionals into the emergency medical response system in Illinois by raising awareness, building needed partnerships, identifying and garnering resources, and facilitating training, policy development, surveillance, and evaluation. Applying the same principals and standards to the integration of oral health and disaster preparedness and response as it does to all facets of dental public health, the division has partnered with the Disaster Emergency Medicine Readiness Training Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago and many other key stakeholders to cement oral health as an integral component to the public health response system in Illinois.     

State financing of dental education: impact on supply of dentists

In 2000, the thirty-six states with public dental schools provided an average subsidy of 49,347 dollars per dental student. In contrast, nineteen states provided little or no subsidy. Since states invest in dental education, in part, to ensure an adequate supply of dentists, we examined the factors that explain dentist variation among states. We found that population size, per capita income, and the number of students from the state enrolled in dental school had a significant and positive impact. The level of state support for dental education and the presence of a dental school had a negative or nonsignificant effect, respectively. Apparently, dentists locate based primarily on the demand for their services and, to a lesser extent, on where they were raised. The states' investment in dental education had little impact on number of dentists because some states had many dentists but invested little in dental education. We identified two states that collectively account for 15 percent of enrolled students even though they provide minimal subsidy for dental education. We discuss the implications of these findings for states that do not have dental schools and need more dentists. This research was supported in part by grants from the Connecticut Health Foundation (Dental Workforce in Connecticut: Issues and Options), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the California Endowment (Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education).     

The role of medication and sugars in pediatric dental patients

It is now widely accepted that sugar-containing medicines are a cause of dental caries in chronically sick children. The increase of prescribed medicine intake and of self-medication in developed countries exposes a growing number of children to medication caries, which can be considered a public health problem. Health workers should first of all be informed. The second step consists of involving each country's institutional structures in charge of public health to ensure that they modify the legislation on medicine manufacture and sale, following the exemplary action of Great Britain. The third step is to pressurize manufacturers so that they decide to produce all liquid pediatric medicine in sugared and nonsugared forms. This step can be accomplished only if prescribers preferentially prescribe sugar free medicines and promote sugar free medicines to their patients.     

Dentists and dental health education: a study of the perceptions of 28 community dentists

The aim of this paper is to describe the perceived problems and difficulties of 28 community dentists when carrying out dental health education. Their perceptions are discussed in relation to some wider implications for prevention and dental health education. Sociological literature has identified two differing approaches to health education; these are the lifestyle/individualistic and the socio-structural approaches. The dentists' responses were found to be congruent with the former. The format of the paper is first, to highlight the increasing emphasis in the official literature on the need for dentists to practise dental health education in the dental surgery. Second, the study method, which is essentially qualitative, is outlined, and third, the findings of interviews carried out with the 28 dentists are presented. These findings raise issues for discussion. An underlying concern of this paper is that before enthusiastically endorsing dental health education in the dental surgery it is necessary to clarify what the people involved understand by it, and the extent to which they are willing and able to adopt new practices.     

Survey of dental prophylaxes rendered by pediatric dentists in New England

BACKGROUND: The objective of this anonymous postal survey was to assess the provision of dental prophylaxis by pediatric dentists in New England. METHODS: The questionnaire survey was sent by first class mail in September, 2001 to all 217 American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) members in active private practice in the six New England States of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. A self-addressed, stamped envelope was provided to facilitate the returned response. RESULTS: The survey had a response rate of 70%. Most practitioners (93%) routinely recommended dental prophylaxis for their recall patients. The proportion of practitioners who considered the following indications for recommending dental prophylaxis was: plaque, stain, and/or calculus removal - 99%; caries prevention - 75%; prior to topical fluoride application - 82%; prior to sealant application - 58%; and for behavioral modification - 68%. Almost two thirds of the practitioners (62%) defined dental prophylaxis as referring to both rubber cup pumice prophylaxis as well as to toothbrush prophylaxis. However, only one in four practitioners (26%) had modified her/his clinical practice to substitute toothbrush prophylaxis in lieu of rubber cup pumice prophylaxis. CONCLUSION: Pediatric dentists in New England routinely provide dental prophylaxis to their recall patients.     

Interdisciplinary approach to education: preparing general dentists to manage dental trauma

The traditional dental curriculum presents limited opportunities for students to evaluate and treat patients with acute dental trauma. In an effort to increase student experiences, faculty at a dental school initiated and taught an interdisciplinary trauma course from 2014 to 2016. This course was elective, offered in the final year of dental school, and combined student‐led and faculty‐led case‐based discussions of management of traumatic dental injuries with hospital trauma call shadowing. Modifications of the course were made based on student feedback. Preliminary data from student surveys showed a favorable opinion of the course. Attendees were exposed to a higher number of acute traumatic injuries and they expressed greater confidence in their diagnosis and management abilities than their peers.     

儿童患者牙科恐惧症原因分析

目的:调查儿童患者牙科恐惧症的因素,分析医患间对这些因素感知的差异。方法:随机选择104名儿童口腔科医师及4～9岁的儿童口腔科患儿107人分别填写调查问卷,内容涉及对口腔科治疗时疼痛的认识。结果:患儿害怕口腔治疗的主要原因,医患间存在显著差异(P<0.001),患儿自述害怕就诊的首要原因是打针,其次为口内有水;从医时间长于15年的医师多认为是治疗时的疼痛感,从医时间短于5年的医生认为是牙钻等的声音导致患儿惧怕看牙。74.3%的医生在出现疼痛的操作前预告知患儿,从医时间延长,告知患儿的比率越低(P<0.001)。74.7%的患儿术前希望获知治疗是否疼痛。结论:医患间在惧怕口腔治疗的原因上存在差异。     

Smoking interventions delivered by pediatric dentists: special recommendations for pediatric cancer patients

Child and adolescent cancer patients who use tobacco present challenging management problems for the pediatric dentist. An approach to counseling patients about their oral health risks secondary to their cancer treatment, which can be adversely impacted by tobacco use, is discussed. Strategies for conducting dental examinations with pediatric cancer patients with attention to potential tobacco-related complications are also provided.     

Quality assessment of dental restorations: a comparison by dentists and patients

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the patient's and dentist's perception of quality. A group of 117 patients completed a questionnaire which rated their perceptions of the quality of their prior dental treatment. Each patient was given a thorough dental examination, and all restorations were evaluated for 14 criteria of quality. A dental quality index was calculated for each patient, and this was correlated with the patient's overall satisfaction and also with the patient's perception of quality of treatment. Both correlations indicated that no relationship existed between these two perceptions of quality. It was concluded that patients and dentists were looking at different criteria when judging quality of dental care.