Psychological distress and its correlates among dental students: a survey of 17 Colombian dental schools.

BACKGROUND: Links between the demanding nature of studies in the health sciences, students' personality traits and psychological distress have been well-established. While considerable amount of work has been done in medicine, evidence from the dental education arena is sparse and data from Latin America are lacking. The authors conducted a large-scale investigation of psychological distress among dental students in Colombia and sought to determine its curriculum and student-level correlates. METHODS: The Spanish version of the Derogatis' Symptoms Checklist Revised (SCL-90-R) was administered to all students officially registered and attending classes or clinics in 17 dental schools in 4 geographic districts of Colombia between January and April 2012. Additional information was collected on participants' socio-demographic information and first career choice, as well as school's characteristics such as class size. The Global Severity Index (GSI) score, a measure of overall psychological distress, served as the primary analytical endpoint. Analyses relied on multilevel mixed-effects linear and log-binomial regression, accounting for study design and sample characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 5700 dental students completed the survey, a response rate of 67%. Pronounced gradients were noted in the association between socio-economic status and psychological distress, with students in higher strata reporting fewer problems. After adjustment for all important covariates, there was an evident pattern of increasing psychological distress corresponding to the transition from the didactic, to the preclinical and clinical phases of training, with few differences between male and female students. Independent of other factors, reliance on own funds for education and having dentistry as the first career choice were associated with lower psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Levels of psychological distress correlated with students' socio-economic and study-level characteristics. Above and beyond the influence of person-level factors, variations in levels of distress paralleled specific transitional stages of the 5-year dental curriculum, providing opportunities for targeted interventions.

Impact of a virtual learning environment on the conscious prescription of antibiotics among Colombian dentists.

Appropriate antibiotic prescription contributes to reducing bacterial resistance; therefore, it is critical to provide training regarding this challenge. The objective of this study was to develop a virtual learning environment for antibiotic prescription and to determine its impact on dentists' awareness, attitudes, and intention to practice. First, the learning content on multimedia resources was developed and distributed into three challenges that participants had to overcome. Then, a quasi-experimental study was performed in which the virtual learning environment was implemented on dentists from seven Colombian cities. The median of correct answers and the levels of awareness, attitudes, and intention to practice were compared before, immediately after, and 6-months post-intervention. Wilcoxon signed-rank and McNemar's tests were used to determine the differences. A total of 206 participants who finished the virtual learning environment activities exhibited a favorable and statistically significant impact on the median of correct answers of awareness (p < 0.001), attitudes (p < 0.001), and intention to practice (p = 0.042). A significant increase occurred in the number of participants with a high level of awareness (p < 0.001) and a non-significant increase in participants with high levels of attitudes (p = 0.230) and intention to practice (p = 0.286). At 6 months, the positive effect on the median of correct answers on awareness and intention to practice persisted (p < 0.001); however, this was not evident for attitudes (p = 0.105). Moreover, there was a significant decrease in the number of participants who showed low levels of awareness (p = 0.019) and a slight increase in those with high levels of the same component (p = 0.161). The use of a virtual learning environment designed for dentists contributed to a rapid improvement in awareness and intention to practice antibiotic prescription; however, their attitudes and information retention need reinforcement.

Prescribing antibiotics by dentists in Colombia: Toward a conscientious prescription.

OBJECTIVES: Inappropriate prescription of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the awareness, attitudes, and intention to practice of dentists prescribing antibiotics in Colombia in order to design a virtual learning environment on this subject. METHODS: In a descriptive study across seven cities, 700 dentists from different Colombian cities were requested to complete a validated questionnaire containing five sections: general information, awareness on antibiotic effectiveness and antibiotic resistance, attitudes regarding prescription decision, intention to practice concerning clinical cases, and complementary information. The level of awareness, attitudes, and intention to practice was determined and Chi-square test was used to determine the existence of significant differences among cities. RESULTS: The majority of dentists showed a medium level regarding the number of correct answers on awareness (62.4 percent) and attitudes (88.7 percent) and a high level on intention to practice (91.7 percent). Common errors within the awareness section included the meaning of the term "antibiotic resistance" (35 percent) and most dentists were not convinced that such resistance could be derived from prescription of antibiotics (51.2 percent). In the attitudes section, only 45 percent declared that they prescribe antibiotics based mainly on symptoms, and the intention to practice section showed a significant percentage of unnecessary prescription (51 percent for pacemaker users) or absence of prescription (53.9 percent for ventricular septal defect) in antibiotic prophylaxis for infectious endocarditis (IE). CONCLUSION: The dentists interviewed should be trained and made aware of antibiotic resistance, microbiological and clinical foundations, and current antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines.

Moldeado nasoalveolar prequirúrgico de un paciente con labio y paladar hendido unilateral izquierdo / Presurgical nasoalveolar molding in a patient with left unilateral cleft lip and palate

Resumen Introducción: El labio y paladar hendido son malformaciones craneofaciales que se presentan en 1:1000 nacidos vivos en Colombia. Realizar un moldeado nasoalveolar previo a la cirugía favorece el reposicionamiento de los cartílagos nasales deformados y de los procesos alveolares. Objetivo: Dar a conocer a los profesionales la importancia de realizar moldeado nasoalveolar en un paciente con labio y paladar hendido antes de la intervención quirúrgica. Materiales y métodos: En la clínica odontológica de la Universidad del Sinú de Montería (Córdoba, Colombia), se atendió una paciente de 17 días de nacida que presentaba labio y paladar hendido completo unilateral izquierdo severo. Luego de diligenciar la historia clínica odontológica, se realizó placa de órtesis, que se cambió cada 15 días y se hizo el retoque del "tutor" cada 8 días. Resultados: La placa de órtesis permitió un moldeado naso alveolar, con el progreso en la alimentación y mejoras en el contorneado de los tejidos nasales, que mejoró la preparación para la operación de la hendidura a los 8 meses de edad. Conclusiones: La importancia del moldeado nasoalveolar en casos como el presentado, es propiciar mejores condiciones físicas, favoreciendo la ingesta de alimentos y beneficiando la apariencia física.

Abstract Introduction: Cleft lip and palate is a craniofacial birth defect that accounts for 1:1000 live birhts in Colombia. Performing nasoalveolar molding before surgery facilitates the reshaping of deformed nasal cartilage and alveolar processes. Objective: To make professionals aware of the importance of performing nasoalveolar molding in a patient with cleft lip and palate before surgical intervention. Materials and methods: A 17-day-old infant with a full left unilateral cleft lip and palate was treated at the dental clinic of the University of Sinú, Montería (Córdoba, Colombia). Once the dental clinical history was recorded, an orthosis plate was made. The plate was changed every 15 days and the molding appliance was repositioned every 8 days. Results: The orthosis plate promoted nasoalveolar molding, which facilitated feeding and improved the shape of nasal tissues. Consequently, this early intervention improved the preparation for the surgery of the cleft when the child reached 8 months of age. Conclusions: Nasoalveolar molding in patients with full cleft lip and palate is important to promote better physical conditions, which favor food intake and benefit their physical appearance.