Norwegian dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning the HIV

Abstract— Knowledge about routes of HIV transmission and attitudes to HIV antibody testing was studied in a group of Norwegian dentists. Personal protection by gloves was also recorded. Eighty-three of 120 (69%) dentists in Bergen (private practitioners) completed a postal questionnaire. More than half of these considered themselves to be in potentially infectious situations daily. Overall knowledge was good, although one fifth gave wrong answers about the relation between antibody status and infectivity. About half the respondents had attitudes to antibody testing not consistent with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. These dentists scored significantly lower on the knowledge questions. Seventy-five (92%) reported consequent use of gloves. A low knowledge score was found among non-users. The present study indicates that lack of knowledge is related to non-recommended attitudes and behavior. The study underlines the need for continuous education and information about HIV.     

Norwegian dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning the HIV

Knowledge about routes of HIV transmission and attitudes to HIV antibody testing was studied in a group of Norwegian dentists. Personal protection by gloves was also recorded. Eighty-three of 120 (69%) dentists in Bergen (private practitioners) completed a postal questionnaire. More than half of these considered themselves to be in potentially infectious situations daily. Overall knowledge was good, although one fifth gave wrong answers about the relation between antibody status and infectivity. About half the respondents had attitudes to antibody testing not consistent with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. These dentists scored significantly lower on the knowledge questions. Seventy-five (92%) reported consequent use of gloves. A low knowledge score was found among non-users. The present study indicates that lack of knowledge is related to non-recommended attitudes and behavior. The study underlines the need for continuous education and information about HIV.     

Texas dentists' attitudes toward the Dental Medicaid program

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report the attitudes of Texas dentists toward the Dental Medicaid program. METHODS: A self-administered survey was mailed to all pediatric dentists and a random sample of general dentists. RESULTS: Surveys from 347 (69%) of 500 dentists (171 of 295 general dentists [58%] and 169 of 205 pediatric dentists [82%]) were returned. 57% of pediatric dentists and 29% of general dentists (P<.0001) treated at least 1 Medicaid patient in the past year. The major areas of dissatisfaction were: (1) broken appointments; (2) low reimbursement levels; and (3) patient noncompliance. This mirrors results from studies in Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Washington, and California. Both pediatric and general practitioners identified the following barriers to core for the Medicaid population: (1) low dental IQ; (2) few providers; and (3) no transportation. CONCLUSIONS: The major areas of dissatisfaction included both programmatic and patient-related factors. Attributes of the system (eg, lower reimbursement levels) are more modifiable than attributes of the patient population (eg, patient noncompliance and low dental IQ). Underfunding of dental Medicaid is endemic to all states studied in the literature. Providers, legislators, and government programs should target the programmatic problems with future efforts and funding.     

Comparing dentists' attitudes and knowledge concerning AIDS: differences and similarities by locale

A stratified random sample of 1,351 general practitioners in the continental United States was surveyed to determine dentists' attitudes relevant to treating AIDS/HIV+ patients and knowledge regarding the transmission of HIV infection. Survey results were analyzed nationally and by practice locale: high HIV+ prevalence urban areas, other urban areas, rural areas. While there are differences in fear-related HIV attitudes among GPs in the three locales, they are not present in attitude toward willingness to treat and knowledge of AIDS transmission. For dentistry, such findings in large part refute the National Commission on AIDS charges regarding the treatment of AIDS in rural America.     

Correlates of dentists' attitudes toward continuing education in TEAM.

All dentists in active practice in Rhode Island were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward continuing education in TEAM. A total of 74.6 percent of those surveyed responded to the questionnaire. Only one variable, location in a building with other dental offices, was found to be associated with a perceived need for training in TEAM. Demographic background, practice busyness, practice efficiency, and knowledge and attitude profiles were found to be associated with an interest in attending such continuing education courses.     

Dental care of HIV-infected patients: attitudes and behavior among Danish dentists

The aims of the study were to study Danish dentists' attitudes and behavior with regard to providing dental care to HIV-infected persons and to look for explanatory variables for the dentists' attitudes and behavior. Two hundred and twenty-eight Danish dentists responded to a questionnaire on dental treatment of HIV-infected patients and related problems (response rate: 91.2%). The dentists' attitudes differed a great deal from the current national policy as to where HIV-infected patients should be treated and with regard to the possibility of being tested for HIV anonymously. 64% of the dentists favored the idea of referral of HIV-infected patients to special dental clinics for routine dental treatment, and 93% disapproved of the idea that infected individuals themselves should decide whether they wish to inform their dentist or doctor of seropositivity. Older dentists were more reluctant to treat HIV-infected individuals than younger. Other differences with regard to a number of demographic variables were not found. No difference in attitude towards HIV-infected persons was found when compared to that towards HBV-infected individuals. The reluctance towards treatment of HIV-infected persons was present irrespective of any subsidy for an extra cost for treatment of HIV-infected patients.     

AIDS and infection control in dental practice: dentists' attitudes, knowledge, and behavior

A random sample of 541 dentists in California was surveyed to determine the dentists' attitudes toward AIDS and their role in relation to AIDS, their knowledge about AIDS, their behaviors in regard to screening for AIDS, and their use of infection-control measures. The survey results showed that dentists believe they have a responsibility to care for patients with AIDS but preferred not to do so; were moderately knowledgeable about AIDS and AIDS-related issues; and were inconsistent in their use of infection-control measures.     

Changing dentists' knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding domestic violence through an interactive multimedia tutorial

BACKGROUND: Dentists have a unique opportunity to address the problem of domestic violence (DV). The authors tested the effectiveness of a tutorial designed to educate dentists in identifying and responding to DV. METHODS: The authors developed a brief interactive multimedia tutorial for dentists and recruited practicing dentists (N = 174) for a randomized, controlled trial. A 24-question instrument assessed participants' knowledge, attitudes and practice behaviors regarding DV at two time points. The control group took the tutorial before completing a posttest. The authors also administered a 20-question empathy scale. RESULTS: The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in scores on most items, including knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, relative to control subjects (P < .01). Empathy scores did not show significant correlation with change scores on the DV assessment instrument. CONCLUSIONS: The tutorial is effective in helping dentists learn how to identify and help patients who are experiencing abuse. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Broad dissemination of the tutorial about DV would introduce dentists to simple strategies for responding to patients who experience DV.     

Nigerian dentists' knowledge and attitudes towards mouthguard protection

Abstract –  The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of Nigerian dentists towards mouthguard protection. A pre-tested 15-item, one-page questionnaire was distributed to 185 dentists practising in different parts of the country with government hospitals or private establishments, by 'hand-delivery' system. Filled and returned forms were 170 (response rate of 92%). The period of the survey was between April and August 2003. Dental graduates from the different dental schools in the country responded to this survey. About 49% of the respondents indicated having only classroom lectures on mouthguards during their undergraduate trainings, 11% said they had some laboratory sessions in addition while no form of education on mouthguards was received by 40%. About 82% had never recommended mouthguard protection for athletic patients, and the major reason was no formal training in the subject. Only 58.5% were familiar with the different types of mouthguards, 75.9% would not be able to supervise or fabricate mouthguards and 50.6% would prefer custom-made mouthguard for their athletic patients. About 84% felt the current training on mouthguards in Nigerian dental schools is inadequate. Over 98% agreed that mouthguard usage in contact sports should be encouraged with the involvement of the dentists. The knowledge and attitudes of the respondents towards mouthguard protection did not vary significantly across years of postqualification from dental schools as well as the professional status of the dentists ( P  > 0.05). Although Nigerian dentists support mouthguard protection in contact sports and want to be involved in the provision of mouthguards for athletes, their knowledge of the protective device is inadequate. There is need for attention to be given to this subject in the undergraduate curricula of our dental schools.     

Dental education and early careers of Canadian dentists: changes in attitudes, aspirations, and behavior.

Longitudinal data on two cohorts of Canadian dental students are examined in order to determine the nature of the changes in attitudes and aspirations which students experience during their undergraduate dental training and the extent to which attitudes and aspirations which students hold on graduation are consistent with subsequent attitudes and behavior in practice. Data are presented on three dimensions of career-related attitudes and behavior: (1) aspirations toward and actual involvement in alternative practice settings, (2) attitudes and behavior related to selected professional and community activities, and (3) attitudes toward specific issues in dentistry. The results indicate that the dental school has little influence on students for the dimensions considered and suggest that analysis of both student backgrounds and the early practice experience of dental graduates may be the key to understanding the career behavior of dental graduates.     

Dental education's involvement with dentists' learning in practice: data and theory

A careful reading of the Journal of Dental Education from its founding in 1936 and of the Proceedings of the American Association of Dental Schools (the predecessor of the American Dental Education Association) from 1924, as well as other documents, allows us to describe the role dental schools have played in supporting the learning of dentists following graduation from formal programs. This article is in two parts. First, data are presented showing the emergence of continuing dental education in the 1960s and its continual growth. The exception to this pattern is that dental schools shared in the initial bloom but experienced an inexorable decline beginning in the 1980s. In the second part, it is shown that scholarship regarding how dentists learn over multiple settings and as they acquire greater mastery of their discipline has also failed to develop. Reasons are given for both phenomena, reasons that include competitive external factors and point to intrinsic weaknesses in the scholarship of dental education.     

A theoretical model for understanding dentists' behavior in treating patients with AIDS.

This paper attempts to expand on a model from the theory of reasoned action to help us identify and better understand the reasons dentists do or do not treat dental patients with, or at risk for, AIDS. We propose in the model that the dentist's actual behavior in treating dental patients with, or at risk for, AIDS, in his or her practice is a function of both his or her intention to treat such patients and his or her nonvolitional factors relevant to the behavior. The dentist's intention to treat patients with AIDS or HIV infection, or those belonging to high risk groups, is influenced by two belief components: (1) attitudinal variables, which are the dentist's beliefs about the consequences of treating such patients and the value that these consequences have for him or her; and (2) normative variables, which indicate the dentist's perceptions of how his or her reference groups view the treatment of such patients in his or her practice and his or her motivation to comply with those views. Finally, both the two belief components and the nonvolitional factors are affected by the personal characteristics and the environmental variables.     

Dental attitudes and behavior related to vertical social mobility by marriage

ABSTRACT Following a dental examination of 5-year-old children, the mothers of 367 of them were interviewed. In 262 cases there was sufficient information relating to the social class of both the mother's husband and her father to enable the relationship between social mobility by marriage and the mother's dental attitudes and behavior to be assessed. The results showed that the views of mothers who moved from one social group to another fell between those of the mothers who were static in each of those two groups. Those mothers who were downward mobile had less favorable attitudes than those who had remained in the higher social group but more favorable than those who had always been in the lower social group. The reverse trend was found in upward mobile mothers. A notable exception to this pattern was the group who moved from social Class III into Class I or II. These mothers exhibited attitudes and behavior which were even more favorable than the static social Class I or II mothers. The similarity of these results to those of others in different fields is discussed.     

Dental health behavior and attitudes – an application of correspondence analysis

Differences in dental behavior and dental attitudes between people with (almost) all natural teeth, people with a full denture in both jaws and people with a full denture in only the maxilla are visualized by means of correspondence analysis in one overall picture. In this picture the three distinguished subgroups of dental patients and their characteristics are indicated as points in a two-dimensional space. The distances between the points in this picture show to what extent these points are connected. The findings obtained in this study can lead to the conclusion that: a. differences in dental status are related to differences in dental behavior and dental attitudes; b. people with all natural teeth and people with a full denture in both jaws obviously are opposite of each other in many respects, whereas people with a full denture in only one jaw can be characterized as a dental in-between group.     

Dental education and care for underserved patients: an analysis of students' intentions and alumni behavior

The U.S. surgeon general's report on oral health stressed the importance of providing dental care to underserved patients. The objectives of this study were to explore a) dental students' intentions and dentists' behavior concerning treating underserved patients, b) their perceptions of their education concerning these patients, and c) the relationship between dental education and their attitudes and behavior. Data were collected from 328 dental students (response rate: 77.5 percent) and 234 alumni (response rate: 43.7 percent). Only 67.4 percent of the students and 38 percent of the alumni indicated that their education had prepared them well to treat patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds; 71.3 percent of students and 55.2 percent of alumni responded that they had been well educated to treat patients from different ethnic/racial groups. The findings showed a positive relationship between the degree of curriculum focus on the importance of treating patients from all aspects of society and students' and alumni intentions to provide inclusive patient care to patients from diverse backgrounds. The more students agreed that their dental education had prepared them well to treat patients from different ethnic backgrounds, the more likely they were to report that they intended to treat these patients (r=.12; p=.033). In a similar manner, the more the alumni agreed that their dental education had prepared them well to treat patients in different communities, the more likely they were to treat patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds (r=.18; p=.009). In conclusion, these findings showed that access to oral health care for underserved patients could potentially be increased if dental students were more overtly educated about the importance of treating patients from all segments of society.