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International Journal of Environmental... Sep 2021The focus of this paper is the pediatric dental care of Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) children and the role of the pediatric dentist in the CLP team. The management of... (Review)
Review
The focus of this paper is the pediatric dental care of Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) children and the role of the pediatric dentist in the CLP team. The management of children with cleft lip and palate presents many challenges and a multidisciplinary and prepared team is always required. Affected individuals present a multiplicity of problems: effective management involves a wide range of specialities. The value of a multidisciplinary team is widely known and mentioned in the literature, but very few papers focus on the role and the importance of the pediatric dentist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to underline the role of the pediatric dentist as a member of the cleft lip and palate team which ranges from prenatal counseling, presurgical prevention and orthopedics, to post-treatment rehabilitation and restoration.
Topics: Child; Cleft Lip; Cleft Palate; Dentists; Female; Humans; Orthopedic Procedures; Pregnancy
PubMed: 34574411
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18189487 -
JAMA Network Open Jul 2022Evaluating the availability of dentists to provide dental care services to children is important for identifying interventions for improving access.
IMPORTANCE
Evaluating the availability of dentists to provide dental care services to children is important for identifying interventions for improving access.
OBJECTIVE
To assess dental care availability for children in the US by public insurance participation, rural-urban setting, and dentist taxonomy (general, pediatric, or specialized).
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This cross-sectional study analyzed the availability of dentists from matching 3 data sets: the 2020 National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, the 2019-2020 State Board of Dentistry information acquired from each state, and the 2019 InsureKidsNow.org database. Data on active dentists in most states (including the District of Columbia [combined hereinafter with states] and excluding Hawaii and Washington) were included in the analysis. The study was conducted from January 2019 to March 2022.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The number and percentage of dentists participating in public insurance programs (Medicaid and/or Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP]) were aggregated at the dental office and stratified by the rurality of their practice and taxonomy. State-level comparisons were derived between this study and reports from the Health Policy Institute of the American Dental Association, along with maps and summary statistics disseminated through a data portal and state reports.
RESULTS
Among 204 279 active dentists, participation in public insurance varied widely across states, especially for the states that manage the Medicaid and CHIP programs separately. Participation rates in Medicaid and CHIP varied substantially from those of the Health Policy Institute of the American Dental Association. Participation in Medicaid and CHIP was lowest among urban dentists (Medicaid, 26%; CHIP, 29%) and highest among rural dentists (Medicaid, 39%; CHIP, 40%), while urban dentists accounted for most of the dentist population (urban, 84%; rural, 5%). Similarly, participation in Medicaid and CHIP was substantially lower among general dentists (Medicaid, 28%; CHIP, 29%) vs pediatric dentists (57% in both programs), while each state's dentist population consisted of notably more general (84%) than pediatric (3%) dentists. Nearly half of the states revealed wide variations in Medicaid and CHIP participation between counties, ranging from no participation (21 states) to full participation (22 states).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The findings of this study suggest that disparities in the availability of dentists for pediatric dental care are extensive, particularly for Medicaid- and CHIP-insured children, those living in rural communities, and those receiving specialized care. Lack of dentist availability for Medicaid- and CHIP-insured children appears to deter access to receiving dental care.
Topics: Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dentists; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Insurance; Medicaid; United States
PubMed: 35816300
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.21444 -
Clinical Infectious Diseases : An... Sep 2022
Topics: Brain Abscess; Case-Control Studies; Dentists; Humans
PubMed: 34967903
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab1063 -
BMC Oral Health May 2022Teledentistry has expanded access to oral health care by allowing patients and providers the option to receive care using technology and telecommunications. This study...
BACKGROUND
Teledentistry has expanded access to oral health care by allowing patients and providers the option to receive care using technology and telecommunications. This study used a cross-sectional, mixed-methods design to evaluate dentists' perceptions in the United States and understanding of the value and scope of teledentistry in their practices and to adopt virtual encounters as a care delivery methodology.
METHODS
This study used a cross-sectional, mixed-methods design. The DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement (now CareQuest Institute for Oral Health) conducted an electronic survey of providers in the DentaQuest Network that assessed the impact of COVID-19 on dental practices' patient volume, staffing, dental insurance carriers, treatment protocols, and the office's pre-and post-COVID finances. A total of 2767 dental providers completed the survey with a response rate of 13%. Qualitative interviews were then conducted with ten providers to get more in-depth information on teledentistry. Descriptive statistics summarize the survey population. Thematic analysis, which allows both deductive and inductive approaches, were used to analyze the interviews.
RESULTS
About 23% of the dentists used teledentistry or virtual platforms. Findings illustrate that early adopter dentists were more likely to perceive the benefits of teledentistry as being more significant than its drawbacks. Late/resistant adopters to teledentistry were less aware of its benefits and were more focused on the drawbacks, such as upfront cost. Late adopters were also concerned about the level of care delivered through teledentistry.
CONCLUSIONS
This study explored dentists' perceptions of teledentistry. Expanding access to care was recognized as one of the greater values of teledentistry.
Topics: COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dentists; Humans; Surveys and Questionnaires; Telemedicine; United States
PubMed: 35562798
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-022-02208-z -
Inquiry : a Journal of Medical Care... 2022Dentists in Spain reached equal gender representation in 2012 and the number of female dentists has continued to grow (until 57.3% in 2020). This study aims to increase...
Dentists in Spain reached equal gender representation in 2012 and the number of female dentists has continued to grow (until 57.3% in 2020). This study aims to increase evidence about the gender distribution on the high responsibility positions and opinion leaders of the dental profession and academia. Composition of the executive comities of the main dental institutions of Spain (regional professional associations, national dental association, and scientific societies), members of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Granada in 2020 and speakers of the main dental congresses of 2019 (due to the lack of congress in 2020) were recorded and analyzed by genders using chi-squared test ( < .05). Mean representation of female dentists in executive committees of professional associations was 35.6%. More than 70% of presidents and vice-presidents of professional colleges and more than 60% of these positions in scientific societies were occupied by male dentists. None of dental congresses of 2019 reached equal gender participation, being 81.3% of lecturers presenting on main auditoriums male dentists. Although dental workforce in Spain is slightly overrepresented by females, leadership positions and figures among Spanish dentists doesn't seem to reflect the gender distribution of the collective. There is a lack of women occupying high-level positions in dentistry that proves the existence of the so-called "glass ceiling effect" on the profession. Further studies about sociodemographic aspects of dental workforce are needed to develop evidence-based policies for the collective.
Topics: Dentistry; Dentists, Women; Female; Humans; Leadership; Male; Spain; Universities
PubMed: 35912432
DOI: 10.1177/00469580221109970 -
Journal of the American Dental... Feb 2021
Topics: Dentists; Humans; Workforce
PubMed: 33168141
DOI: 10.1016/j.adaj.2020.09.001 -
Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica :... Apr 2021
Topics: Dentists; Humans; Maxillary Sinus; Sinusitis
PubMed: 34060527
DOI: 10.14639/0392-100X-suppl.1-41-2021-12 -
Journal of Dentistry Jun 2022To study the sociodemographic and work-related factors that affect the level of burnout syndrome in Spanish dentists through an observational epidemiological study. (Observational Study)
Observational Study
OBJECTIVE
To study the sociodemographic and work-related factors that affect the level of burnout syndrome in Spanish dentists through an observational epidemiological study.
METHOD
An online survey answered by 1298 Spanish dentists was used to record their gender, age, work environment, number of practices in which they work, whether they work alone or not, whether they own or co-own the practice, years of experience, working hours per week, and their answers to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS). A univariate analysis was carried out to study the relationship between the work-related and sociodemographic factors examined for each of the three dimensions of burnout: Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalisation (DP) and Personal Accomplishment (PA). Subsequently, multivariate logistic regression models were fitted.
RESULTS
The percentage of dentists with signs of burnout classified as "Emotional Exhaustion" was higher: for women (64.4%) than men (56.7%) (p=0.005); for those working in a rural setting (70.1%) than for those working in an urban setting (59.9%) (p=0.009); for non-owners (65.6%) in comparison to owners (58.3%) (p =0.008); and for those who always or frequently work alone (63.7%), compared to dentists who never or rarely work alone (59.9%) (p=0.007). A high level of burnout was experienced by 9.8% of dentists.
CONCLUSION
In the population studied, environment, age and working hours per week have a significant impact upon EE, while ownership of the practice, years of experience, and working hours per week significantly affect DP. Working alone brings with it a high risk of suffering from a low sense of PA.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Burnout syndrome is more likely to affect young dentists who do not own a practice and work long hours each week.
Topics: Burnout, Professional; Dentists; Female; Humans; Job Satisfaction; Male; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35472454
DOI: 10.1016/j.jdent.2022.104143 -
International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2021This work evaluates the prevalence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), among...
This work evaluates the prevalence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), among members of the Czech Dental Chamber. The assessment was based on an online questionnaire filled out by 2716 participants, representing 24.3% of all chamber members. Overall, 25.4% of the participants admitted they were diagnosed with COVID-19 by 30 June 2021, with no statistical differences between the sexes. While in the age groups under 50 the reported prevalence was around 30%, with increasing age, it gradually decreased to 15.2% in the group over 70 years. The work environment was identified as a place of contagion by 38.4% of the respondents. The total COVID-19 PCR-verified positivity was 13.9%, revealing a statistically lower prevalence ( = 0.0180) compared with the Czech general population, in which the COVID-19 PCR-verified positivity was ~15.6% (fourth highest rank in the world). The total infection-hospitalization ratio (IHR) was 2.8%, and the median age group of hospitalized individuals was 60-70 years. For respondents older than 60 years, the IHR was 8.7%, and for those under 40 years, it was 0%. Of the respondents, 37.7% admitted that another team member was diagnosed with COVID-19, of which the most frequently mentioned profession was a nurse/dental assistant (81.2%). The results indicate that although the dentist profession is associated with a high occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, well-chosen antiepidemic measures adopted by dental professionals may outweigh it.
Topics: Aged; COVID-19; Czech Republic; Dentists; Humans; Middle Aged; Prevalence; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 34886214
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312488 -
International Journal of Environmental... Apr 2021The use of dental hand pieces endanger dentists to vibration exposure as they are subjected to very high amplitude and vibration frequency. This paper has envisaged a...
The use of dental hand pieces endanger dentists to vibration exposure as they are subjected to very high amplitude and vibration frequency. This paper has envisaged a comparative analysis of vibration amplitudes and transmissibility during idling and drilling with micro motor (MM) and air-turbine (AT) hand pieces. The study aims to identify the mean difference in vibration amplitudes during idling, explore different grasp forces while drilling with irrigant injection by the dentist, and various vibration transmission of these hand pieces. The study utilized 22 separate frequency resonances on two new and eight used MMs and two new and eight used ATs of different brands by observing the investigator at 16 different dentist clinics. The study adopted a descriptive research design with non-probability sampling techniques for selecting dentists and hand pieces. Statistical methods like Levene Test of Homogeneity, Welch ANOVA, independent t-test, and Games-Howell test were utilized with SPSS version 22 and MS-Excel. The results reveal that vibration amplitudes and vibration transmissibility when measured at position 2 are higher than in another position 1. Vibrations during idling for used MMs are more than AT hand pieces, and the used MM (MUD) and used AT (AUA) hand pieces differ due to their obsolescence and over-usage. Vibration amplitudes increase every time with the tightening of grasping of the hand piece. Vibration amplitudes for each grasping style of MM hand piece differ from all other grasping styles of AT hand pieces. Routine exposure to consistent vibrations has ill physical, mental, and psychological effects on dentists. The used hand pieces more hazardous as compared to newer ones. The study suggests that these hand pieces must be replaced periodically, sufficient to break between two operations, especially after every hand piece usage. Hence, the present research work can be further extended by creating some control groups among dentists and then studying the vibration amplitude exposure of various dental hand pieces and subsequent transmissibility to their body parts.
Topics: Dentists; Hand Strength; Humans; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rotation; Vibration
PubMed: 33924408
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18084084