scholarly journals A Balanced Professional in Dentistry: Perception of Supervisors

Author(s):  
Norlela Yacob ◽  
Wan Mohamad Nasir Wan Othman

The curriculum of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery in Faculty of Dentistry, USIM is based on the integration of naqli (revealed) and aqli (acquired) knowledge. It aspires its graduates to exhibit the values of balanced professionals in providing community oral health care by being technically competent, socially responsible, spiritually enlighted and professionally accountable. Their clinical supervisors are in an enviable position to assess them from these perspectives. The aim of this paper was to determine the supervisors’ perception on the performance of the graduates from the Faculty of Dentistry, USIM who were under their charge. It was a qualitative study on the performance of 100 graduates from the first three batches. A total of 21 supervisors spread across the country responded to an open-ended questionnaire on the qualities of USIM graduates under their supervision.  They may supervise more than one graduate. The perceptions of the supervisors were categorised into three major themes. They felt that the graduates were socially responsible in performing their functions with competence in the community oral health services They were seen to have good personal and leadership qualities. Their supervisors also perceived them to require further exposure, guidance and training as they were new to the service.  The results indicated that the Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme at USIM was able to instill the values of a balanced professional in dentistry among its graduates but these values need to be further enhanced in providing care in the community. These findings can provide the principles in curriculum development to enhanced the qualities of the graduates in the context of balanced professional.  

Author(s):  
Siv-Elin Leirvaag Carlsen ◽  
Katja Isaksen ◽  
Lars Thore Fadnes ◽  
Ole Jørgen Scheie Lygren ◽  
Anne Nordrehaug Åstrøm

Abstract Background People with substance use disorders often have poor oral health, which can negatively impact their quality of life. Since 2005, patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) in Norway have been eligible for free oral health care services offered through public oral health clinics. Despite a large need for oral health services amongst patients in OMT, figures suggest that the use of these services is low amongst this patient group. It has been unclear which barriers that contribute to this. This qualitative study explores the underlying barriers to the use of oral health care services amongst patients in OMT, from the perspective of the patients as well as dental health care workers (DHW). Methods Through a combination of focus group interviews and individual interviews, data were collected from 63 participants; 30 patients in OMT and 33 DHW. Thematic analysis identified key themes for the use (or not) of oral health care services amongst patients in OMT. Results Both individual and structural barriers prevent OMT patients from using the free oral health care services offered to them. These barriers include struggling to attend appointments, anxiety and fear of dentists, discrepancies between patients’ expectations and the services offered and perceived stigma. OMT patients’ lack of information regarding their rights and access to oral health services was also a barrier, as was DHWs’ lack of knowledge and information of the OMT system and what they can offer patients. Conclusions OMT patients face several barriers in accessing and using oral health care services. However, through a number of relatively simple measures, it is possible that the use of oral health services amongst OMT patients can be increased.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1473-1476
Author(s):  
Ashwika Datey ◽  
Soumya Singhai ◽  
Gargi Nimbulkar ◽  
Kumar Gaurav Chhabra ◽  
Amit Reche

The COVID 19 outbreak has been declared a pandemic by the world health organisation. The healthcare sector was overburdened and overstretched with the number of patient increasing and requiring health services. The worst-hit population always are the people with special needs, whether it is children, pregnant females or the geriatric population. The need for the emergency kind of health services was so inflated that the other special population which required them equally as those patients with the COVID 19 suffered a lot. Dentistry was not an exception, and even that is also one of the important components of the health care delivery system and people requiring oral health care needs were also more. Those undergoing dental treatments would not have completed the treatment, and this would have resulted in various complications. In this situation, some dental emergency guidelines have been released by Centres for Disease Control (CDC) for the urgent dental care those requiring special care dentistry during the COVID 19 pandemic. Children with special care needs were considered more vulnerable to oral diseases; hence priority should have been given to them for dental treatments moreover in the future also more aggressive preventive measures should be taken in order to maintain oral hygiene and prevent many oral diseases. Guardians/caregivers should be made aware and motivated to maintain the oral health of children with special health care needs. This review mainly focuses on the prevention and management of oral diseases in children's with special care needs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 238008442110119
Author(s):  
M. McNally ◽  
L. Rock ◽  
M. Gillis ◽  
S. Bryan ◽  
C. Boyd ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 novel coronavirus closed oral health care in Nova Scotia (NS) Canada in March 2020. Preparing for a phased reopening, a knowledge exchange coalition (representing government, academia, hospitals, oral health professions, and regulators) developed return-to-work (RTW) guidelines detailing the augmentation of standard practices to ensure safety for patients, oral health care providers (OHPs), and the community. Using online surveys, this study explored the influence of the RTW guidelines and related education on registered NS OHPs during a phased return to work. Methods: Dissemination of R2W guidelines included website or email communiques and interdisciplinary education webinars that coincided with 2 RTW phases approved by the government. Aligned with each phase, all registered dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants were invited to complete an online survey to gauge the influence of the coalition-sponsored education and RTW guidelines, confidence, preparedness, and personal protective equipment use before and after the pandemic. Results: Three coalition-sponsored multidisciplinary webinars hosted 3541 attendees prior to RTW. The response to survey 1 was 41% (881/2156) and to survey 2 was 26% (571/2177) of registrants. Survey 1 (82%) and survey 2 (89%) respondents “agreed/strongly agreed” that R2W guidelines were a primary source for guiding return to practice, and most were confident with education received and had the skills needed to effectively treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Confidence and preparedness improved in survey 2. Gowns/lab coat use for aerosol-generating procedures increased from 26% to 93%, and the use of full face shields rose from 6% to 93% during the pandemic. Conclusions: A multistakeholder coalition was effective in establishing and communicating comprehensive guidelines and web-based education to ensure unified reintegration of oral health services in NS during a pandemic. This multiorganizational cooperation lay the foundation for responses to subsequent waves of COVID-19 and may serve as an example for collaboratively responding to future public health threats in other settings. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The return-to-work strategy that was developed, disseminated, and assessed through this COVID-19 knowledge exchange coalition will benefit oral health practitioners, professional regulators, government policy makers, and researchers in future pandemic planning.


Author(s):  
Pekka Salkinoja ◽  
Tiina Tuononen ◽  
Anna Liisa Suominen ◽  
Johanna Lammintakanen ◽  
Eero Raittio

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1903-1911 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Rodrigo ◽  
Hanny Calache ◽  
Martin Whelan

The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic characteristics of the eligible population of users of public oral health care services in the Australian state of Victoria, aged 17 years or younger. The study was conducted as a secondary analysis of data collected from July 2008 to June 2009 for 45,728 young clients of public oral health care. The sample mean age was 8.9 (SD: 3.5) years. The majority (82.7%) was between 6 and 17 years of age, and 50.3% were males. The majority (76.6%) was Australian-born and spoke English at home (89.1%). The overall mean DMFT was 1.0 (SD: 2.1) teeth, with a mean dmft of 3.16 (SD: 5.79) teeth. Data indicate that, among six year olds in the Significant Caries Index (SiC) category, the mean dmft was 6.82 teeth. Findings corroborate social inequalities in oral health outcome and provide suggestions for oral health services to develop strategies and priorities to reduce inequalities in health and well-being, and better coordinate and target services to local needs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Gasteiger ◽  
Theresa Fleming ◽  
K Day

© 2020 The Authors Background: Patient portals have the potential to increase access to mental health services. However, a lack of research is available to guide practices on extending patient portals into mental health services. This study explored stakeholder (student service users' and health providers') expectations and perceptions of extending patient portals into a New Zealand university-based mental health service. Materials and methods: This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 17 students and staff members at a university-based health and counselling service on an Internet-based patient portal through a software demonstration, two focus groups and 13 interviews. Data were analyzed thematically. Results: Staff and students perceived the patient portal as useful, easy to use and expected it to help make mental health care more accessible. Staff were most concerned with the portal's ability to support their triage processes and that it might enable students to ‘counselor hop’ (see multiple counselors). Staff recommended extension into services that do not require triage. Most students expected the portal to enhance patient-counselor contact and rapport, through continuity of care. Students were concerned with appointment waiting times, the stigmatization of poor mental health and their capacity to seek help. They considered the portal might assist with this. Students recommended extension into all services, including urgent appointments. After viewing findings from initial student and staff groups, staff concluded that extending a patient portal into their counseling services should be prioritized. Conclusion: This research suggests that there is value in extending patient portals into mental health care, especially into low-risk services. Future research should explore opportunities to support triage and appointment-making processes for mental health services, via patient portals.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heriberto F. Sanchez ◽  
Andrea Maria D. Vargas ◽  
Marcos Azeredo F. Werneck ◽  
Efigênia F. Ferreira

Knowledge of patients' views can contribute to the strengthening of health services. The aim of this study is to describe the patients' perception of a public oral health service, contributing to evaluations in health services. This is a qualitative study in which a focus group was conducted, with the participation of six patients of the oral health system in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, all with a minimum experience of three years of using the service. A theoretical model with dimensions aimed at assessing integrality and primary care services was used. In conducting the research, a semi-structured script was used. The data were analyzed by content analysis. The most representative categories for evaluating oral health actions in primary care are the health unit; the welcoming and its relation with the creation of the bond; service with a strong emphasis on the humanized relationship between professional and patient and on teamwork and; as a highlight, citizen participation, based on the recognition of a “system” that prevents the proper functioning of services and that must be fought with citizenship. Patients’ perceptions can be used to assess oral health in primary care from the perspective of those who actually use health services, seeking ultimately to constantly improve them. Knowledge of patients' perceptions may enable organizations to know their performance, through assessment methodologies based on the established perceptions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.D. Meyer ◽  
R. Wang ◽  
M.J. Steiner ◽  
J.S. Preisser

Background: Despite early evidence touting the effectiveness of physician-provided oral health services (POHS), recent evidence suggests these services might have little impact on caries-related outcomes in children. General anesthesia (GA) is often used to treat early childhood caries and may be considered the most extreme utilization outcome. We sought to assess the impact of POHS utilization on dental GA utilization and expenditures. Methods: We used the Medicaid claims of a birth cohort of children born in 2008 in North Carolina ( N = 32,558) to determine the impact of POHS on dental utilization and expenditures under GA for individual children. Children were followed until their eighth birthday. We analyzed the association of the number of prior POHS visits with visit-specific outcomes of dental treatment under GA using population-averaged models fit with generalized estimating equations with exchangeable working correlation structure. Results: Children with 2 or more previous POHS visits had reduced odds of GA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.93; confidence interval [CI], 0.87–0.99; P = 0.029) and expenditures ($114; CI,−$152.61 to −$75.19; P < 0.001) compared to those without physician-provided oral health visits, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic residence. Dental expenditures did not differ between POHS and non-POHS subjects at non-GA visits. Conclusions: POHS decreased the odds of having dental GA treatment and dental expenditures at GA visits. The role of physicians in oral health care can reduce the impact on the most severe outcome—treatment under general anesthesia. Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this study have important financial implications for state Medicaid programs and disease management programs trying to mitigate the costs of treating early childhood caries under general anesthesia. Children who receive physician oral health care are less likely to use and more likely to save money on general anesthesia to complete dental treatment.


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