Should dentists become 'oral physicians'? Yes, dentists should become 'oral physicians'

In summary, a new designation for the dental profession is warranted, not because paramedical professionals have done it, but because the new designation is appropriate for what they are able to do. Moreover, it can be done now with little resistance or fanfare. As has been suggested by others, changing the name "dentist" to the name "oral physician" would result in several benefits: dentists' being recognized as providers of services such as tobacco-use cessation, oral cancer screenings, nutritional counseling and, most recently, as a major health care resource for dealing with bioterrorism; the public's visiting dental professionals for services other than traditional dental procedures; the profession's being more likely to teach and provide services outside of traditional dental procedures; third-party payers' being more likely to pay for services other than traditional dental procedures; the improvement in the public's oral health that would result from patients' visiting "oral physicians" for services other than traditional dental procedures.     

Are Texas dentists burned out?

Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do "people work" of some kind. Health care providers, including dentists, are at high risk for burnout because their occupation often requires intense interaction with fearful, demanding patients on a daily basis. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of burnout among Texas dentists using a standardized measurement device, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Dentists attending the 1989 Texas Dental Association Annual Session were surveyed using the MBI. The respondents' results were analyzed and compared to each other as well as to the norms of medicine and to society (human service workers nationwide). Among the Texas sample, male dentists scored significantly higher for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than did female dentists. When compared to the norms of medical workers, Texas dentists scored higher burnout in the depersonalization subscale, but lower burnout for personal accomplishment. The Texas sample again scored lower for burnout in the personal accomplishment subscale when compared to societal norms. At no time did the Texas sample fall into the high range of experienced burnout as defined by the survey instrument. Texas dentists did not appear "burned out" as a group and actually demonstrated an increased sense of personal accomplishment in their profession.     

Are nice dentists purely fictional?

Fiction dentists, particularly the nice ones, give a neat image of what patients expect from us, for their creators are intrinsically sensitive to people's feelings. The few exemplary readings which follow show that, both through negative and positive images of dentistry, the basic message we get from many writers is that dentistry should be performed properly and painlessly.     

What guides professional behavior of dentists?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the question of what guides professional behavior in the hope that those who read it will reflect on how they conduct their relationships with patients, business associates, and employees. I propose that the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct are only a portion of what guides dentists' ethical behavior. The Principles and Code are founded on basic personal ethics and societal standards, and in the U.S. they are in turn the foundation for the state dental practice acts.     

Well! Am I afraid of dentists?

Do you think about what it's like at the other end of the drill? A patient tells it how it is from her point of view.     

Availability and services of dentists under pressure?

Signals in society point to a shortage of dentists in the Netherlands. Aim of this study is to explore how patients, against the background of supposed shortage, judge the availability and services of dentists. For this research the 'Consumerspanel Health Care', in which 1.395 persons participate, was asked to complete a postal questionnaire. Response rate was 73.8%. Results show that there are presently no serious problems for patients with the services of dentist due to the presumed lack of dentists. The patients were very satisfied with the accessibility and the services delivered by the dentists in the Netherlands. With the availability there seem to be some possible problems.     

Do Canadian dentists find dental research useful?

The aim of this joint CDA-IMHA study was to investigate what Canadian dentists think about the utility of dental research. A questionnaire was sent to all dentists in Canada with the December 2001 edition of JCDA. By April 1, 2002, 2,788 questionnaires, representing a response rate of approximately 16%, had been returned. In this first article in a 3-part series, we address the theme of research utility. The results show that 82% of respondents think that dental research has an important or very important impact on the dental health of Canadians. Furthermore, 98% of respondents claim to have modified an element of their clinical practice after having been informed of some research results.     

What are the research priorities of Canadian dentists?

A joint CDA-Institutes of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis study was undertaken to evaluate the dental research priorities of Canadian dentists. A self-complete questionnaire was sent to all dentists in Canada with the December 2001 JCDA. This last article in a 3-part series presents the results on funding priorities. By April 1, 2002, 2,788 questionnaires, representing a response rate of approximately 16%, had been returned. Of 8 broad areas of research, respondents identified areas related to treatments as the most important: 77% cited the evaluation of the effectiveness of techniques and treatments as high priority, 76% the development of treatments and 70% the development of materials. The areas judged less important were improvements in access to care (42%) and a better understanding of patient behaviour (25%). With respect to more specific research topics, the highest priority subjects were dental materials other than amalgam and periodontal diseases.