scholarly journals Administration of Systemic Antibiotics for Dental Treatment in Kosovo Major Dental Clinics: A National Survey

Author(s):  
Lirim Mustafa ◽  
Hilmi Islami ◽  
Ivana Sutej

Abstract Objective Antibiotics misuse and a high level of antibiotics resistance is observed worldwide, but particularly in developing countries. Kosovo in the last decade is facing challenges regarding antimicrobial resistance. The purpose of the present study was to investigate patterns of antibiotics prescriptions of dentists in Kosovo's major dental clinics. Materials and Methods For Kosovo's prescribing pattern, data collection was obtained from 10 Regional Dental Clinics and a Tertiary Health Center regarding patients who were prescribed antibiotics in the years 2015 to 2019. Data analysis was performed by using descriptive statistics and was processed by using MS Excel. Results Most prescribed antibiotic during the observed period from 2015 to 2019 in Kosovo was amoxicillin, although a drastic increase of amoxicillin with clavulanic acid—as a broad-spectrum antibiotic—is observed. The trend of antibiotics use in tertiary health institutions is in an overall decrease in Kosovo with an exception in the year 2017. Despite this overall decrease, inconsistency in prescribing is observed when the pattern is analyzed for each region separately. The highest number of patients in health care dental clinics received antibiotics for maxilla-related health conditions and the lowest number of them for oncologic ones. Conclusion The patterns of antibiotics prescriptions by dental practitioners in Kosovo during the years 2015 to 2019 are fluctuating. Compared with the global health care standards, the irrational use of antibiotics in dental health care clinics in Kosovo still exist and this issue should be further addressed by respective actors.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Tobias

Background: First infections of COVID-19 pandemic occurred in December 2019 in China and then spread rapidly all over the world. In February 2020, the first Corona case was diagnosed in Israel, since then, three national lockdowns have been imposed. Israeli Ministry of health published guidelines for dental treatment during times of social distancing which include: 1) Questioning patients prior to admittance. 2) Increasing intervals between appointments. 3) Restricting number of people permitted in the waiting room to prevent crowds. 4) Wearing masks at all times. 5) Wearing long sleeve waterproof surgical gowns, goggles / face shield. Methods: Data from 54 dental clinics (MaccabiDent health maintenance organization) were collected between March and October 2020 regarding: 1) Number of treatments performed. 2) Number of health care providers participating in the procedures. 3) Number of patients with positive COVID-19 results. 4) Number of healthcare workers positive for COVID-19. 5) Number of paramedical and administrative staff positive for COVID-19. 6) Number of patients treated by dentists who later turned out to be infected by the virus. Results: 1,079 dentists and 354 dental hygienists worked during the study period, and performed 1.29 million procedures of these, seventy eight dentists treated 99 verified COVID-19 patients. 17 dentists (1.58%) tested positive for the virus. Conclusion: By following guidelines, the risk of transmission of coronavirus is minimal in the dental setting. Practical Implications: This article reinforces the evidence regarding the importance of education and following guidelines regarding infection control for dental professionals employed in public clinics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-248
Author(s):  
Suraksha Shrestha ◽  
Smriti Narayan Thakur ◽  
Najma Dulal

Background: Infection control is an imperative issue in the dental practice. Almost all of the dental procedures involve dealing with the saliva, blood and oral fluids which may have sufficient pathogens and cause cross infection through contaminated instruments, materials and surfaces. Therefore the dental health care workers must be aware of the possible contamination and should follow the measures to prevent it. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of dental health care professionals regarding infection control and modes of infection control employed by them during one of the dental procedure i.e. impression making. Methods: A self-assessment questionnaire based survey was carried out among dental health care professionals to assess the knowledge and practice of infection control in dental clinics. Survey instruments containing 14 questions were randomly distributed to 113 dental health care professionals regarding knowledge of infection control methods and infection control practice during impression making in dental clinics and hospitals. Data was collected and analyzed. Results: Though most of the health care professionals (88.6 %) think an impression taken from patient mouth will have enough pathogens to cause cross infection, our study showed that only 52.3 % of them disinfect all the impression and washing impression under running water was the method used for disinfection by the majority (78.9 %). Conclusions: The knowledge about infection control during impression making is better among the dental health care professionals. But there is a need to improve the practice to minimize cross infection in dental set up and reduce the associated morbidity and mortality rates for both dental practitioners themselves and patients. Keywords: dental impression; infection control; disinfection; knowledge; dental healthcare professional


2010 ◽  
pp. 151-156
Author(s):  
KAROLINA GERRETH

Most people in developing countries have little or no access to organized oral health care or to basic emergency dental treatment. The main reasons are lack of dentists and poor socio-economic status. Particularly access to dental health is characteristic of isolated groups such as, e.g., lepers’ colonies. The author presents her own observations gathered during two medical missions organized by the Redemptoris Missio Humanitarian Aid Foundation to the Karunalaya Leprosy Care Center in Puri, in 2001 and 2003. The paper describes the problems resulting from health status, methods of dental treatment and ways of teeth cleaning. The author’s experience shows that even if dental aid is rendered at irregular intervals it allows to treat successfully a relatively high number of patients. The poor appreciate any dental help, which, in turn, encourages the dentist to continue his/her efforts in the future.


2010 ◽  
Vol os17 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Izadi ◽  
Daljit S Gill ◽  
Farhad B Naini

Aim The aim of this study was to determine the possible effects of the 2006 National Health Service General Dental Services contract changes on the referral pattern to the orthodontic department at St George's Hospital, South West London. Method This study was carried out on a retrospective basis. The notes of consecutive patients referred between 1st May and 30th September in 2005 and 2008 were assessed, and the patient's Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) and the source of referral noted. Results The total numbers of referrals increased from 260 in 2005 to 405 in 2008. The number of referrals from general dental practitioners decreased slightly from 165 to 156, as did the numbers of referrals from other sources, such as tertiary referrals. The number of referrals made by specialist practitioners increased from 41 in 2005 to 207 in 2008, representing an increase from 16% to 51% of overall referrals. Overall, the number of patients being referred with an IOTN dental health component grade of 5 increased from 27% to 55%. Conclusion The increase in referrals from specialist practitioners may be partly due to the changes brought to the commissioning of orthodontic services for specialist practitioners. Overall, the number of cases being referred with IOTN grades 4 and 5 remains high at St George's Hospital, indicating that appropriate referrals are being made.


Author(s):  
Shanthi Vanka ◽  
Futon Mohammed Alharbi ◽  
Raghad Sameer Baljoon ◽  
Rahaf Abdullah Albakri ◽  
Rewaa Fadil Alturkistani ◽  
...  

Introduction: The close proximity to the patient’s oropharyngeal region and also involved aerosol production presents a potential high risk for the transmission of disease across patients and dental health practitioners. This requires dentists and patients to be aware of the risks of contracting coronavirus from the patient’s perspective when they seek dental treatment. Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of the patients toward the dental visits during the pandemic crisis. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted in IBN Sina National College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 6th July, 2020 to 24th July 2020. All the patients who had visited the dental clinics attached to the dental college were sent online google docs form with a consent through WhatsApp. Questions were divided into 2 sections, one section related to demographic data of participants like age, gender, education level, frequency of dental visits and the other section related to patients’ perspective with regards to the coronavirus infection in the dental set up. The results were analysed using SPSS version 23. Results: The questionnaire was sent to all the patients online and all of them had responded to the survey. Majority of the patients {1757 (80.9%)} have knowledge about the COVID-19 disease signs, symptoms, transmission and complications. Among these respondents 6.6% (144) had routinely visited a dentist, 8.8% (192) had sometimes visited a dentist and only 0.3% (7) visited a dentist only once and they generally try to avoid visiting a dentist. Conclusion: At a clinical level, education is limited only to the patients who approach the dentists. At a community level, government, dental colleges and dentists have to take several measures in educating the public in equipping them with health promotional materials. Community-based online programs should be planned and implemented by different levels of administration.


Author(s):  
Monika Tysiąc-Miśta ◽  
Arkadiusz Dziedzic

The coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put enormous pressure on health care systems around the world. Dentistry has had to adjust to the new epidemic situation to not only bring relief to suffering patients but also to avoid becoming a source of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Methods: A comprehensive, cross-sectional survey was conducted between April 6 and 16, 2020 among 875 Polish dental practitioners. The aim of the research was to assess dentists’ attitudes and professional approaches resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: 71.2% of dentists who responded to the questionnaire decided to suspend their clinical practice during that particular time. The main factors for this fact were the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), the respondents’ subjective perceptions of the risk of COVID-19 contraction and a general feeling of anxiety and uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 situation. The authors observed a significant decrease in the number of patients admitted weekly in April 2020 (12.06; SD, 11.55) in comparison to that in the time before the state of pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020 (49.21; SD, 24.97). Conclusions: Due to the unpreparedness of the dental sector, both in national health and private settings, most of the Polish dentists decided to voluntarily suspend their clinical practice in order to mitigate the spread of the disease. The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed numerous shortcomings in the dental care system, especially regarding the insufficient coordination of health services related to the pandemic and lack of advanced PPE. This has led to an overwhelming feeling of fear, confusion and anxiety among dental professionals in Poland and a sudden decrease in the number of performed dental procedures. Hopefully enriched with the recent experience and due to the implementation of proper strategic and long-term measures, dental practitioners will be better prepared and adapted to global health care disruptions in the future.


Author(s):  
Bartosz Dalewski ◽  
Lukasz Palka ◽  
Paweł Kiczmer ◽  
Ewa Sobolewska

Currently, SARS-CoV-2 is the primary pathogen worldwide, disrupting most of our everyday activities. The study aim was to evaluate its impact on the Polish dental community, standards of care, health, and welfare. Methods: A Google Forms survey was conducted among 303 dental practitioners. Results: Of respondents, 54.93% curbed the number of patients in the last six months, 34.21% declared no changes, and 10.86% reported an increase; whereas 70.7% of the respondents reported a treatment price increase within the same period (27.96% and 1.32% reported no changes and a decrease, respectively). Of the respondents, 15.5% did not close their businesses during the first wave of the pandemic. Most declared 1 or 2 month break, 30.7% and 34.7%, respectively. Some reported 3, 4, or 5 month breaks (15.84%, 1.32%, and 0.99%, respectively), and only two respondents (0.66%) did not admit patients at all. Headache episodes were more frequent among female dentists before the pandemic; after the pandemic, headache frequency increased among both sexes. Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) were more frequent among women (p = 0.017). Conclusions: Most Polish dentists followed SARS-CoV-2 recommendations and restricted their practices to admitting only patients with pain or incomplete treatment. Decreased sleep parameters, head, back, and neck pain, were observed. This situation may affect dental health conditions in Polish society over time.


Author(s):  
Khaled A AL-Haddad ◽  
Mohammed Mohammed Ali Al-Najhi ◽  
Al-Kasem Mohammed Abbas ◽  
Ameen Abdullah Yahya Al-Akwa ◽  
Hassan Abdulwahab Al-Shamahy ◽  
...  

Background: Periodontitis is an inflammation caused by plaque in the surrounding dental structures. It is a major factor in adult tooth loss. There is lack of information on associated clinical features, risk factors and microbial etiology of periodontitis in Sana’a, Yemen. Aim: The study focused on associated clinical features, risk factors and the separation and classification of bacteria in periodontitis and associated risk factors amongst patients attending dental clinics is Sana’a city.  Methods: First, 296 patients were admitted to the dental clinic at the Republican University Hospital and private dental clinics in Sana'a during a period of nearly one year, which began in December 2019 AD and ended in November 2020 AD, when they were diagnosed with dental diseases, then 49 of them were selected who are suffering from periodontitis, of whom 22 are males and 27 are females. Sterile paper points were used for the sample collection. Standard culture and biochemical techniques were used for the isolation and identification. Structured questionnaires were used to record clinical features, demographic variables and other risk factors of periodontitis. Results: A total of 130 microorganisms were isolated from 49 patients with periodontitis. Male patients accounted for 14.4% and females 18.9% of the all 296 patients who attended our clinics.  There was no important association between sex and periodontitis occurrence while there was significant association the younger age groups (45.4% in <26 years of age). The most common signs and symptoms were swollen or puffy gums (91.9%), bleed easily gums (96%), halitosis (96%), painful chewing (87.8%), pus between teeth and gums (71.4%), loose teeth or loss of teeth (44.9%), gingival recession (83.7%), spitting out blood when brushing or flossing teeth (79.6%), and tender gums (93.9%). Conclusion: This study is new in Sana'a city. The clinical features of preiodentitis in Yemen and the risk factors are similar to those reported in the literature elsewhere, but the isolated bacteria differ in frequency from those reported elsewhere, as some upper respiratory tract pathogens such as Streptococcus pyogenes are commonly isolated in this study. Knowledge of the clinical features, bacterial causes of gum disease, and risk factors is the key to successful periodontal therapy.                     Peer Review History: Received 8 January 2021; Revised 5 February; Accepted 25 February, Available online 15 March 2021 UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency.  Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.0/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.5/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Tamer Elhabibi, Suez Canal University, Egypt, [email protected] Dr. Rawaa Souhil Al-Kayali, Aleppo University, Syria, [email protected] Rola Jadallah,  Arab American University, Palestine, [email protected] Prof. Dr. Gorkem Dulger, Duzce University, Turkey, [email protected] Similar Articles: RISK FACTORS OF PERIODONTAL DISEASES AMONG YEMENI YOUNG DENTAL PATIENTS KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF MOLAR INCISOR HYPOMINERALIZATION AMONG DENTAL PRACTITIONERS IN SANA’A CITY- YEMEN PREVALENCE OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS IN DENTAL INFECTIONS AND THE OCCURRENCE OF MRSA IN ISOLATES ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS BIOFILM FORMATION AND DENTAL CARIES EXPERIENCE AND ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANCE IN ADULT FEMALES


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qirong Huang ◽  
Tamer Marzouk ◽  
Razvan Cirligeanu ◽  
Hans Malmstrom ◽  
Eli Eliav ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of the present study was to monitor and evaluate CO2 levels in dental operatories using a consumer-grade CO2 sensor and determine the utility and accuracy of various methods using CO2 levels to assess ventilation rate in dental clinics. We aim to find a practical tool for dental practitioners to conveniently and accurately monitor CO2 levels and assess the ventilation rates in their office in order to devise a pragmatic and effective strategy for ventilation improvement in their work environment.MethodsMechanical ventilation rate in air change per hour (ACHVENT) of 10 dental operatories was first measured with an air velocity sensor and air flow balancing hood. CO2 levels were measured in these rooms to analyze the effects of ventilation rate and number of persons in the room on CO2 accumulation. Ventilation rates were estimated using natural steady state CO2 levels during dental treatments and experimental CO2 concentration decays by dry ice or mixing baking soda and vinegar. We compared the differences and assessed the correlations between ACHVENT and ventilation rates estimated by steady states CO2 model with low (0.3 L/min, ACHSS30) or high (0.46 L/min, ACHSS46) CO2 generation rates, by CO2 decay constants using dry ice (ACHDI) or baking soda (ACHBV), and by time needed to remove 63% of excess CO2 generated by dry ice (ACHDI63%) or baking soda (ACHBV63%).ResultsACHVENT varied from 3.9 to 35.0 with a mean of 13.2 (±10.6) in the 10 dental operatories. CO2 accumulation occurred in rooms with low ventilation (ACHVENT≤6) and more persons (n>3) but not in those with higher ventilation and less persons. ACHSS30 and ACHSS46 correlated well with ACHVENT (r=0.83, p=0.003), but ACHSS30 was more accurate for rooms with low ACHVENT. Ventilation rates could be reliably estimated using CO2 released from dry ice or baking soda. ACHVENT was highly correlated with ACHDI (r=0.99), ACHBV(r=0.98), ACHDI63%(r=0.98), and ACHBV63% (r=0.98). There were no statistically significant differences between ACHVENT and ACHDI63% or ACHBV63%.ConclusionsDental operatories with low ventilation rates and overcrowding facilitate CO2 accumulations. Ventilation rates could be reliably calculated by observing the changes in CO2 levels after a simple mixing of household baking soda and vinegar in dental settings. Time needed to remove 63% of excess CO2 generated by baking soda could be used to accurately assess the ventilation rates using a consumer-grade CO2 sensor and a basic calculator.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
MAI Khan ◽  
A Taleb

A survey was conducted on dental surgeons’ perception of ethics concerning informed consent. Forty-six dentists employed in different private and government dental colleges and private dental clinics, responded to a questionnaire, which contained ten questions related to the ethics of informed consent. The Study revealed that the dentists were aware of legal and ethical issues related to informed consent, and majority of them relied on verbal consent (82.6%) rather than a written consent for any form of treatment. All the dentists (100%) agreed to the importance of informed consent for patients, and almost all the participants (97%) agreed that patients hold the right to refuse treatment or take legal action if they were not informed properly, although 19% of the participants did not consider failure in obtaining informed consent as an offence. Sixty-three percent of the participants did not agree to the notion that a written consent would make dentistry difficult while the remaining 37% feared that dentistry would be difficult if written consent was made mandatory. The survey also revealed that participants were keen to learn more about principles of medical ethics and felt ethics be taught more elaborately in the undergraduate level. In conclusion it was suggested that dentists should obtain a written consent for ethical reason or legal safeguard or at least keep a written account of the type of consent given by the patient.DOI: http://doi.dx.org/10.3329/bjdre.v2i2.16241 Bangladesh Journal of Dental Research & Education Vol.2(2) 2012: 31-35


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