Survey of dental treatments for pediatric patients referred to the pediatric dental clinic of a dental school hospital.
(1/103)
This survey was conducted to clarify which dental treatments in children are regarded as difficult by general dentistry practitioners. The subjects were 615 children who first visited Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital from January 1995 to August 1999 with reference letters. There were 615 children in the study; 571 (92.8%) came from Chiba City where our hospital is located and the 11 regions surrounding Chiba City. The prime reasons for referral in the order of frequency were treatments of dental caries, malalignment/malocclusion, traumatized teeth, supernumerary teeth, retarded eruption/impacted teeth, abnormal direction of erupted teeth, congenitally missing teeth, prolonged retention of deciduous teeth, and abnormal frenulum. Patients with dental caries or traumatized teeth in the deciduous dentition period and those with malalignment/malocclusion, supernumerary teeth, or retarded eruption/impacted teeth in the mixed dentition period were often referred to medical organizations specializing in pediatric dentistry because of the difficulties in controlling the patients' behavior and in providing adequate treatment. The information about pediatric dental treatments considered difficult by general dentists revealed by this survey appears to be useful and needs to be incorporated in the programs for clinical training of undergraduate students and education of postgraduate students. (+info)
Increasing access to dental care for medicaid preschool children: the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program.
(2/103)
OBJECTIVE: Washington State's Access to Baby and Child Dent stry (ABCD) Program, first implemented in Spokane County in 1995, offers extended dental benefits to participating Medicaid-enrolled children and higher fees for certified providers. This study aimed to determine the program's effect on children's dental utilization and dental fear, and on parent satisfaction and knowledge. METHODS: The study used a posttest-only comparison group design. Trained interviewers conducted telephone interviews with 465 parents of chi dren ages 13 to 36 months (49% ABCD, 51% Medicaid-enrolled children not in ABCD). One year later, 282 of 465 parents completed a follow-up survey. Utilization and expenditures were calculated from Medicaid claims. RESULTS: Forty-three percent of children in the ABCD Program visited a dentist in the follow-up year, compared with 12% of Medicaid-enrolled children not in the ABCD Program. An ABCD child was 5.3 times as likely to have had at least one dental visit as a child not in the program. ABCD children were 4 to 13 times as likely to have used specific dental services. Parents of ABCD children were more likely to report having ever tried to make a dental appointment, less likely to report that their children were fearful of the dentist, and were more satisfied, compared to parents of non-ABCD children. CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that the ABCD Program was effective in increasing access for preschool children enrolled in Medicaid, reducing dental fear, and increasing parent satisfaction. (+info)
As a result of a European Union funded project (DentEd), a programme of visits to dental schools throughout Europe has been underway since 1998. This report describes the philosophy behind DentEd, gives a brief description of the features of a visitation, and covers the orthodontic and paediatric dentistry teaching as reported in 26 different dental schools in 16 different countries. It is based on a report submitted to DentEd from a small working group that looked at various aspects of educational provision within the two disciplines across Europe. The value of this information to teachers within the two disciplines and to the wider dental community is briefly discussed. The report recommends the adoption of an integrated course for orthodontics and paediatric dentistry. The main objectives are that the student should be able to understand orofacial and psychosocial growth and development of the child, recognize aberrant growth and development, and manage the behaviour of the child, their straightforward preventive, restorative and occlusal needs, and to make appropriate and timely referral. (+info)
Use of fissure sealant retention as an outcome measure in a dental school setting.
(4/103)
The purpose of this study was to describe and assess the use of fissure sealant retention as a quality measure of the delivery system for pediatric dentistry. The Pediatric Dentistry Section at the Ohio State University College of Dentistry adopted Sealant retention as a measure of quality. Sealant retention in first and second molars was evaluated at each six-month recall appointment. Sealants were categorized as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Two hundred five sealants were evaluated between March 1998 and March 1999. The mean age of the patients at the time of sealant evaluation was 14.0 +/- 2.9. Mean sealant retention period was 29.8 +/- 23.2 months, with a range of 0.9 to 148 months. Median sealant retention period was 23.2 months. Overall, 75.6 percent of the sealed teeth were classified as satisfactory. Use of this data in making improvements is discussed. Our results indicate that the use of sealant retention is a suitable measure for quality of care in pediatric dentistry. (+info)
Purposeful assessment techniques (PAT) applied to an OSCE-based measurement of competencies in a pediatric dentistry curriculum.
(5/103)
Careful measurements of knowledge, attitude, and psychomotor and communication skills are necessary components of testing in a competency-based approach to education in dentistry. In an effort to address these requirements, Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD), Dallas, Texas, has applied Purposeful Assessment Techniques (PAT) to the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) currently in use. PAT are those techniques that allow one to work toward development of linear measurement scales that are "person-free" and "item-free." Person-free measurement means that useful data are produced regardless of the group being measured and item-free measurement means that it does not matter which mix of items is completed over the course of an assessment. The Rasch probabilistic model and a guiding definition of Objective Measurement were used in an effort to implement PAT for the BCD OSCE. A Rasch analysis of a BCD-administered OSCE produced an item map that demonstrated the range of difficulty of items by student performance. This item map can be used to determine which items can be repeated on subsequent tests to allow for linear measurement of students' progression through the curriculum. The movement toward PAT described in this paper demonstrates how careful and evolving measurement in dental education can be of great benefit to faculty, staff, students, and the public. (+info)
Assessment of evidence-based dental prophylaxis education in postdoctoral pediatric dentistry programs.
(6/103)
The objective of the study was to investigate various aspects of evidence-based dental prophylaxis education in postdoctoral pediatric dentistry training programs in the United States. An anonymous nationwide postal survey of fifty-two postdoctoral pediatric dentistry program directors was conducted in September 2001. The survey had a response rate of 75 percent with all geographic regions of the nation represented and with a preponderance of university-based programs (62 percent). Most of the training programs (74 percent) routinely recommended dental prophylaxis for all recall patients. The proportion of programs that recommended dental prophylaxis for the following indications were: plaque, stain and/or calculus removal--97 percent; caries prevention--59 percent; prior to topical fluoride application--67 percent; prior to sealant application--62 percent; and for behavioral modification--77 percent. Most training programs (77 percent) defined dental prophylaxis as both rubber cup pumice prophylaxis and toothbrush prophylaxis. However, only one-half of the training programs (51 percent) had modified their teaching to substitute toothbrush prophylaxis in lieu of rubber cup pumice prophylaxis. In conclusion, only one half of postdoctoral pediatric dentistry training programs in the United States teach evidence-based practice of dental prophylaxis for recall patients. (+info)
Perception of orthodontic treatment need: opinion comparisons of orthodontists, pediatric dentists, and general practitioners.
(7/103)
AIM: To determine the relationship between treatment need assessment scores of orthodontists, general practitioners, and pediatric dentists. STUDY DESIGN: Observational. SAMPLE: Ten general dental practitioners, 18 orthodontists and 15 pediatric dentists reviewed 137 dental casts and recorded their opinion on whether orthodontic treatment was needed. RESULTS: We found a high level of agreement between pediatric dentists, orthodontists and general practitioners (Kappa range 0.86-0.95). Between the groups, the amount of agreement was lower. CONCLUSIONS: Orthodontists, general dental practitioners, and pediatric dentists in this sample exhibit high levels of agreement on orthodontic treatment need. (+info)
U.S. predoctoral education in pediatric dentistry: its impact on access to dental care.
(8/103)
This study sought to identify faculty, organization, patient pool, and procedures taught in predoctoral pediatric dentistry programs using a questionnaire sent to all fifty-five U.S. dental schools in 2001. Forty-eight (87 percent) programs reported an average of 3.9 full-time and 2.1 part-time FTE faculty, resulting in a mean faculty to student ratio of 1:6.4. One-third employ general dentists to teach pediatric dentistry, and 36 percent report fewer faculty than five years ago. Two-thirds were stand-alone departments. Over half (55 percent) reported increases in patient pools, but also a lack of patients with restorative needs. Half of the programs supplemented school-based pools with special populations, and two-thirds sent students on external rotations, most often to treat high-caries children. Those not using external rotations cited lack of faculty. Accepted patients averaged about four years, with only 6 percent of the pool under three years. Low-income or Medicaid-covered children accounted for 88 percent of school patient pools. Half of the schools felt the pool inadequate to meet competencies, attributable to lack of patients' restorative needs or inadequate intake numbers. Fewer than half of the programs (48 percent) provided hands-on experience with disabled patients, and one-third afforded every student with this experience. Pediatric dentistry was mentioned in fewer than half of the competency documents. Results suggest that U.S. pediatric dentistry predoctoral programs have faculty and patient pool limitations that affect competency achievement and adversely affect training and practice. (+info)