The identification of agreed criteria for referral following the dental inspection of children in the school setting. (1/53)

AIM: To clarify the function of the school based dental inspection. OBJECTIVE: For representatives of the Community Dental Service, General Dental Service and Hospital Dental Service to identify an agreed set of criteria for the referral of children following school dental inspection. DESIGN: Qualitative research methodology used to establish a consensus for the inclusion of referral criteria following dental screening. SETTING: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. MATERIALS: A Delphi technique was used to establish a consensus amongst the study participants on the inclusion of nine possible criteria for referral following dental screening. All participants scored each criterion in the range 1-9, with a score of 1 indicating that referral of individuals with the condition should definitely not take place, and a score of 9 indicating referral should definitely take place. Referral criteria were accepted only if they achieved a group median score of 7 or more, with an interquartile range of three scale points, with the lower value being no less than 7. RESULTS: Four of the nine possible criteria met the agreed group standard for inclusion: 'Sepsis', 'Caries in the secondary dentition', 'Overjet > 10 mm', and 'Registered & caries in the permanent dentition'. CONCLUSION: It is possible to agree clear criteria for the referral of children following the school dental inspection.  (+info)

Survey of dental treatments for pediatric patients referred to the pediatric dental clinic of a dental school hospital. (2/53)

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)

An orthodontic patient administration system (OPAS) for complete departmental management. (3/53)

There is a requirement for effective management and audit in today's hospital environment. This paper discusses some of the principal requirements of a computer program for comprehensive orthodontic department management and describes in detail one system.  (+info)

A report of an elective to the Hospital for Sick Children and Bloorview Macmillan Centre, Toronto. (4/53)

The Department of Dentistry based at the Hospital for Sick Children and Bloorview MacMillan Centre in Toronto is unique. It provides treatment for cleft lip and palate patients and all forms of specialist dental treatment to children and adolescents resident in Ontario. The quality of service provided by the department has been externally recognised and validated through an ISO 9002 award (February 1999). At that time, it was the first Dental Clinic in North America to receive the ISO 9002 standard. In addition, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association has recognised the department for its organisation and contributions in the field of cleft lip and palate and craniofacial surgery.  (+info)

Are specialist outreach clinics for orthodontic consultation effective? A randomised controlled trial. (5/53)

OBJECTIVE: To develop outreach clinics for orthodontic consultation and evaluate their costs and effectiveness. DESIGN: Single centre randomised controlled trial with random allocation of referred patients to outreach or main base consultation appointments. SETTING: One hospital orthodontic department and three community health centre clinics in Greater Manchester. Subjects 324 patients who were referred for orthodontic treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome of consultation, the cost and duration of the visit and the consumer's perceptions of the visit. RESULTS: There were no differences in outcome of the consultation. While consumer travel costs and the duration of appointments were significantly higher for the main base clinics, these differences were not great. However, consumers preferred to attend an appointment in an outreach clinic. CONCLUSIONS: There do not appear to be marked advantages or disadvantages in providing consultation appointments for orthodontics in outreach clinics  (+info)

The provision of general anaesthesia in dental practice, an end which had to come? (6/53)

31 December 2001 was the final day on which a general anaesthetic could be given in a dental practice in UK. Henceforth all dental treatment requiring a general anaesthetic will have to take place in a hospital setting, which has immediate access to critical care facilities. This will mark the end of the association between dental practice and general anaesthesia which dates back to the very first recorded clinical procedure performed under general anaesthesia, when in 1844, Horace Wells an American dentist, had a tooth removed by his assistant using nitrous oxide in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.  (+info)

Better opportunities for women dentists: a review of the contribution of women dentists to the workforce. (7/53)

In June 2000 the Department of Health commissioned a review to examine the need for improvements to the employment opportunities for women dentists in the National Health Service (NHS) across England. Dame Margaret Seward carried out the review, which was published in September 2001. The review was considered necessary for four main reasons. Firstly, workforce panning, because now more than 50% of new entrants to dental undergraduate courses in the UK are female and by 2020 over 50% of all practising dentists will be female. Secondly, evidence that 50% of women in dentistry work for no more than two days per week for the NHS. Thirdly, most women work either as associates in general dental practice (GDP) or in the Community Dental Service (CDS). Lastly, the perception that women find it difficult to return to dentistry after taking a career break.  (+info)

Military and VA general dentistry training: a national resource. (8/53)

In 1999, HRSA contracted with the UCLA School of Dentistry to evaluate the postgraduate general dentistry (PDG) training programs. The purpose of this article is to compare the program characteristics of the PGD training programs sponsored by the Armed Services (military) and VA. Surveys mailed to sixty-six VA and forty-two military program directors in fall 2000 sought information regarding the infrastructure of the program, the program emphasis, resident preparation prior to entering the program, and a description of patients served and types of services provided. Of the eighty-one returned surveys (75 percent response rate), thirty were received from military program directors and fifty-one were received from VA program directors. AEGDs reported treating a higher proportion of children patients and GPRs more medically intensive, disadvantaged and HIV/AIDS patients. Over half of the directors reported increases in curriculum emphasis in implantology. The program directors reported a high level of inadequate preparation among incoming dental residents. Having a higher ratio of residents to total number of faculty predicted inadequate preparation (p=.022) although the model was weak. Although HRSA doesn't financially support federally sponsored programs, their goal of improved dental training to care for medically compromised individuals is facilitated through these programs, thus making military and VA general dentistry programs a national resource.  (+info)