Rural and urban differences in prosthodontic care provided by Virginia general dentists

Virginia dentists were surveyed to reveal how changes in practice activities affected rural and urban practices in terms of prosthodontics and to assess the impact these changes may have on dentists, continuing education courses, and school curricula. Six hundred licensed dentists were selected at random and were mailed a survey containing questions about their demographics and the types of prosthodontic treatment they performed. Of the 333 respondents, 195 were considered eligible to represent general dentists. Based on this study, rural dentists devote slightly more practice time to providing removable prosthodontic treatment and oral surgery than urban dentists and slightly less time to providing implant restorative treatment. Rural dentists provide significantly more patients with removable partial dentures, complete dentures with no implants, and complete dentures of any type. Most prosthodontic fees were significantly lower for rural dentists.     

Survey of treatment provided for young children by West Virginia general dentists

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey the treatment provided by West Virginia general dentists (GDs) for young children. METHODS: A survey was mailed to 683 GDs in West Virginia. Respondents were questioned about their referrals to pediatric dentists, the youngest age for which they perform specific procedures, conscious sedation utilization, and whether they treat Medicaid-covered children. RESULTS: The response rate was 72%. Half of the GDs responded that they frequently referred children younger than 3 years old, and only one third reported performing dental examinations on a child 2 years old or younger. All responding GDs performed the surveyed procedures in 5-year-olds, but fewer respondents performed complex procedures for children < or = 2 years old. More than half of the GDs responded that they frequently had difficulty with referrals to a pediatric dentist due to distance/ transportation or not accepting new Medicaid patients. Medicaid-covered children were not treated by 25% of general dentists. CONCLUSIONS: Most GDs in West Virginia treat older children, but care is limited for children < or = 2 years old. Further studies are needed to uncover the specifics of these findings to improve the access and care for young West Virginia children.     

Removable prosthodontic services, including implant-supported overdentures, provided by dentists and denturists

The aim of this study was to evaluate the provision of removable prosthodontic services, including implant-supported overdentures, by dentists and denturists. A structured questionnaire was mailed to 474 randomly chosen dentists and 156 denturists registered to practise in New Zealand. Information was sought on the range of removable prosthodontic services provided (including implant-supported overdentures) and the professional fees charged for them. From 410 respondents, there was an overall response rate of 67.43%; 290 came from the dentists (males 78.6%, n = 228; females 21.48%, n = 62) and 120 from denturists (males 91.7%, n = 110; females 8.3%, n = 10). Most respondents were over 40 years of age, with one in three denturists (but only one in seven dentists) over 60 years of age. The extent of removable prosthodontic services varied. One-third of dentists referred complete denture patients and denturists referred a similar number of immediate denture cases. Denturists' complete denture, immediate denture and single reline prices were generally lower than those from dentists. Removable partial denture prices were similar. Implant-supported overdentures were recommended for edentulous patients by one-third of the dentists and three out of four denturists. Forty per cent of denturists (but only 10% of dentists) charged 相似文献   

Congruence between self-reported and actually provided prosthodontic services among Swedish dentists

The purpose of this study, comprising two parts, was to investigate the congruence between answers given by general dentists in questionnaires concerning prosthodontic services and the recorded information on the services actually performed by each dentist. In Part I it is investigated whether questionnaire reports of weekly working hours devoted to prosthodontics can be used as indicators of actual prosthodontic production. Part II deals with the dentists' self-reported numbers of single crowns, fixed partial dentures (FPDs), and removable dentures. These reported services are compared with the services actually provided. Part I: A regression analysis indicates a lacking precision for the individual dentist, indicated by a relatively low explained variance (R2 = 0.20). However, a highly significant association is seen between the two production measures (P = 0.000). Part II: The congruence between stated and actually provided services is higher for single crowns and removable dentures than for FPDs. Bivariate regression models are statistically significant for all three services. In Part II, the reported weekly working hours used for prosthodontics covaries significantly with prosthodontic production, but the association is not as strong as in Part I. Although the precision in both Part I and Part II is low for the individual dentist, the questionnaire measure is found to be useful as an indicator in a population of dentists. It is concluded that the questionnaire data can be used as reasonably valid expressions of prosthodontic activity in population-oriented analyses among general dentists.     

Procedures provided to Medicaid recipients by pediatric, general and public health dentists in the commonwealth of Virginia: fiscal years 1994 and 1995.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report any differences found among the mean percentages of procedures performed by three types of dental providers for each type of service performed. The study focused on the types of services provided by dentists to Medicaid children in Virginia. METHODS: Medicaid claims field for dental patients younger than age 21 were obtained and analyzed for fiscal years 1994 and 1995. Dental providers were categorized according to their practice: general practice (GP), pediatric dentist (PD) and public health dentist (PH). Each type of practitioner (GP, PD, and PH) was evaluated for percentages of diagnostic, preventive, and corrective services provided to their Medicaid patients. The preventive category was subdivided into preventive services (scaling, prophy, fluoride and oral hygiene instruction) and sealant services. RESULTS: For each type of service, the mean percentages of procedures performed were compared among the three types of dental providers. The evaluation of the diagnostic procedure variable resulted in the finding that GP practitioners performed a significantly greater percentage of diagnostic procedures to their Medicaid patients than do PD and PH dentists (p < 0.0001). The percentage of preventive procedures performed by PD and GP dentists was not significantly different but was significantly lower than those performed by PH dentists (p < 0.0001). Finally, PD dentists performed a significantly greater percentage of corrective procedures than both GP and PH dentists (p > 0.0037). CONCLUSION: Differences were found among the mean percentages of procedures performed by the three types of dental providers for each type of service performed.     

Orthodontic treatment provided by pediatric dentists.

The purposes of this study were to document orthodontic treatment currently provided by pediatric dentists for comparison with past and future studies and to ascertain variables that influence practitioners' orthodontic treatment patterns. A 25-item survey was mailed to 492 diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Surveys returned within 16 weeks were included for statistical analysis. The response rate was 73%. Most practitioners spent less than 10% of their practice time providing orthodontic treatment and reported that this would not change in the future. Practitioners who were dual trained in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics spent more time providing orthodontic treatment, although nearly half spent at least 50% of their time providing traditional pediatric dental treatment. Most pediatric dentists provided orthodontic treatment in the primary or early mixed dentition stages. The most common conditions treated were anterior crossbite, ectopic eruption, habits, posterior crossbite, and space maintenance. The most common orthodontic appliances used were fixed rapid palatal expanders and removable Hawley appliances with finger springs. Orthodontic treatment provided by pediatric dentists has decreased since it was last surveyed in 1983 and is not expected to change in the next 5 years.     

Infant oral health care: a survey of general dentists, pediatric dentists, and pediatricians in Virginia

PURPOSE: This study's purpose was to examine the current knowledge, attitudes, and experiences related to infant oral health for dental and medical providers in Virginia. METHODS: A survey of infant oral health care was sent to: (a) 300 randomly selected general dentists; (b) 300 randomly selected pediatricians; and (c) all pediatric dentists in Virginia. Survey respondents were tabulated, and percent frequency distributions for responses to each item were computed. RESULTS: The surveys return rate was 48%. A total of 100% of pediatric dentists treated infants and were more likely to recommend that children be seen by age 1 (P < .001). All pediatricians treated infants as well, while only 5% referred for the first dental visit by 1 year of age. Forty-five percent of general dentists surveyed treated infants, and only 12% referred for the first dental visit by 1 year of age. The logistic regression results indicated that there were differences between practitioner type regarding the recommended age of the first dental visit and years in practice. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of pediatricians and general dentists are not advising patients to see the dentist by 1 year of age. There is a need for increased infant oral health care education in the medical and dental communities.     

Quality assessment of amalgam restorations provided by Israeli dentists

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to assess the quality of silver amalgam restorations rendered by Israeli dentists. A group of 433 new army recruits, 18–20 years of age was selected for the study. A total of 707 amalgam restorations were examined in an army dental clinic, under standardized conditions by the same observer. The quality of amalgam restorations was assessed according to an index devised for this purpose. The quality of restorations was relatively low. Approximately two-thirds of the fillings exhibited satisfactory quality when marginal adaptation of the filling material was examined. Three-fifths of the fillings followed the principles of extension for prevention. A relatively high percentage (75%) of the fillings did not extend beyond the cavosurface margin at any point or did not fall short of it. However, in only 47% of all fillings was appropriate occlusion restored. The fillings were found to be porous in about 60% of the cases and almost none of the fillings were polished. Overhangs were detected in about one-quarter of the restorations (22.8%); inflammatory reactions of the gingival tissue were noticeable in more than half of the cases (51.3%). An attempt was made to study the various characteristics of the amalgam filling as categorized by the index presented in this study, and discuss its effect on the filling's overall quality. It was suggested that lack of standardization of performance levels in Israel is reflected, in part, in the observed low quality of amalgam restorations. The conclusions of this investigation point to interventions which can be initiated through the dental education, financing and public health planning sectors of the society, to increase awareness of this problem and define specific interventions to improve the quality of restorative dental cave delivered in general practice in Israel.     

Hours worked and patient visits provided by dentists in Australia

Background

The aim was to examine the numbers of hours worked and patient visits provided by age and gender of dentists in Australia, and compare with previous estimates to describe trends.

Methods

Data were collected from a random sample (N = 2961) of Australian dentists. Private sector dentists working in clinical practise were included in the analysis.

Results

The response rate was 49% (N = 1345 dentists). Hours per year worked and number of patient visits per year were lower for dentists aged 65 years and older compared with younger dentists, and were higher for male compared with female dentists aged 35–45 to 55–64 years. Hours per year worked were lower in 2013–2014 than reported in 2009–2010, but the number of patient visits in 2013–2014 was similar to the previously reported estimate from 2009–2010.

Conclusions

Hours worked and visits provided were only lower among older dentists aged 65 years or more. Male dentists tend to work more hours per year and provide more patient visits per year than female dentists. Over the last decade, Australian dentists maintained a stable output of visits per year despite a trend towards fewer hours worked per year.     

Some factors influencing the quantity of prosthodontic treatment performed by general practitioners in public dental service.

For general dentists in public dental service, Orebro county, the numbers of artificial crowns, pontics, RPD:s and CRD:s produced in 1989 were studied in relation to some background factors. The dentist-related factors were: gender, time in profession, working time per week, and place of graduation. Factors related to dental clinics were: location of the clinic, general prosthodontic activity at the clinic. Multiple regression analyses were used. Two different patterns were found; one for fixed prosthodontics, another for removable prosthodontics. Prosthodontic activity at the clinic, the male sex, and (inversely) time in profession were significantly associated with high production of artificial crowns and pontics. The regression models for removable prosthodontics showed no significance.     

The effect of treatment provided by dentists and therapists in the South Australian school dental service. The second report

A survey of over 2,000 second year high school students at 13 South Australian schools indicated that those who had received school dental care at primary school had fewer carious teeth and, in some respects, better oral hygiene habits. Whilst they were better informed on dental subjects than were control students, fewer had attended a private dentist since leaving primary school.     

Dentist-related factors influencing the amount of prosthodontic treatment provided

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate, using multivariate methods, the associations between indicators of the amount of prosthodontic treatment and dentist-related factors. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 2,059 general dentists, response rate was 76%. Two indicators of prosthodontic activity were used as dependent variables: 1) reported weekly working hours used for prosthodontics and 2) reported numbers of produced single crowns, fixed partial dentures, and removable dentures. Independent variables were 'social and demographic attributes', 'job situation' and 'attitudes of dentists'. Multiple regression analysis was used in models with continuous dependent variables and logistic regression analysis for categorical dependent variables. RESULTS: 'Weekly working hours used for dental care of adults' showed a strong association in all models with the dependent variable 'weekly working hours used for prosthodontics'. Male dentists provided more prosthodontic services than female dentists, even if reporting less time used for prosthodontics. Private practitioners produced more fixed prosthodontics than dentists employed in the public dental health service. Dentists in the public dental health service reported a higher production of removable dentures than private practitioners. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that factors, besides those in the rational clinical model for decision-making, e.g. gender and delivery system, play a role in the provision of prosthodontic services.