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1.
J Migr Health ; 9: 100232, 2024.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38826513

Introduction: The Global Strategy for Human Resources for Health 2030, requires member states to half their dependency on an international workforce by 2030. In order to design policies towards that goal, country-specific research on migration motivations of the health workforce is required. The United Kingdom (UK) is a net importer of health professionals and whilst there is a body of research on doctors' and nurses' migration, there is no research on the migration motivations of migrant dentists in the UK. This research explored the migration motivations of internationally qualified dentists (IQDs) in the UK and presents a typology to understand the global migration of dentists in the context of oral health workforce. Methods: The paper presents qualitative data from semi-structured interviews conducted between August 2014 and October 2017, of IQDs working in the United Kingdom. The topic guide for interviews was informed by the literature, with new themes added inductively. A phenomenological approach involving an epistemological stance of interpretivism, was used with framework analysis. Results: A total of 38 internationally qualified dentists (M = 18, F = 20), migrating from the five World Health Organization regions, and working in general practice, NHS hospitals and in community dental services across the four nations of the UK were interviewed. Seven types of internationally qualified dentists were identified working in the UK. They were livelihood migrants, career-orientated migrants, dependant migrants, backpacker migrants, commuter migrants, undocumented migrants, and education-tourist migrant. The categories were based on their migration motivations, which were complex, multifactorial, and included personal, professional, national, and international drivers. The typology, based on their migration motivations, offered a structured, comprehensive understanding of the migrant dental workforce. This typology involving dentists provides additional dimensions to commuter and undocumented migrants described in the context of other health professionals. The education-tourist migrant is a new category proposed as an extension to existing typology in health professional migration. Conclusions: The typology of internationally qualified dentists has congruency with other health professionals' typology in categories previously described and demonstrates that each of these categories are complex, fluid and change in response to policy changes. The new category of education-tourist migrant along with oral health dimensions of commuter and undocumented migrants adds to the existing typology in health professional migration.

2.
PLoS One ; 19(6): e0305234, 2024.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38875266

BACKGROUND: Globally, there is growing attention towards health system strengthening, and the importance of quality in health systems. However, fragile and conflict-affected states present particular challenges. The aim of this study was to explore health system strengthening in fragile and conflict-affected states by synthesising the evidence from published literature. METHODS: We conducted a review of systematic reviews (Prospero Registration Number: CRD42022371955) by searching Ovid (Medline, Embase, and Global Health), Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases. Only English-language publications were considered. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tool was employed to assess methodological quality of the included studies. The findings were narratively synthesised and presented in line with the Lancet's 'high-quality health system framework'. RESULTS: Twenty-seven systematic reviews, out of 2,704 identified records, considered key dimensions of health systems in fragile and conflict-affected states, with the 'foundations' domain having most evidence. Significant challenges to health system strengthening, including the flight of human capital due to safety concerns and difficult working conditions, as well as limited training capacities and resources, were identified. Facilitators included community involvement, support systems and innovative financing mechanisms. The importance of coordinated and integrated responses tailored to the context and stage of the crisis situation was emphasised in order to strengthen fragile health systems. Overall, health system strengthening initiatives included policies encouraging the return and integration of displaced healthcare workers, building local healthcare workers capacity, strengthening education and training, integrating healthcare services, trust-building, supportive supervision, and e-Health utilisation. CONCLUSION: The emerging body of evidence on health system strengthening in fragile and conflict-affected states highlights its complexity. The findings underscore the significance of adopting a comprehensive approach and engaging various stakeholders in a coordinated manner considering the stage and context of the situation.


Delivery of Health Care , Humans , Armed Conflicts , Global Health
3.
Eur J Dent Educ ; 28(1): 71-78, 2024 Feb.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37147927

INTRODUCTION: Analysis of the diversity of reading lists on courses offered by universities is one way to assess what is being taught and how it shapes our understanding of the world. Very little work has been carried out so far within dentistry on decolonising the curriculum. Existing work looks at the representation of women or ethnic minorities but not at the dental curriculum per se. This article starts to address this. METHODS: The reading lists within the 5 year Bachelor of Dental Surgery curriculum in a large UK dental school were collected and assessed. A data extraction spreadsheet was developed and journal articles on every course reading list across the 5 year curriculum were read in detail. Information on authorship and author affiliations, alongside patient and population representation within the article itself, were collected and collated. RESULTS: We found that there are 2.5 times more male authors than female authors, and almost three times more male lead authors in the articles evaluated. The majority of journal articles included in the reading lists are written by academics and/or clinicians affiliated with institutions in the United Kingdom and most articles are from the global north. In addition, 65% of articles do not specify the focus patient or population group studied. DISCUSSION: It is unlikely that current reading lists within dentistry fully reflect the composition of the profession itself, the variety of knowledge needed to provide evidence-based practice in a globalised oral health arena or the heterogeneous nature of the patient population.


Curriculum , Education, Dental , Schools, Dental
4.
J Clin Periodontol ; 51(2): 118-126, 2024 02.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37817400

AIM: Although dentine hypersensitivity is widespread, can cause substantial pain and impact quality of life, it is not routinely discussed during dental consultations. This qualitative study aimed to develop an understanding of the barriers and facilitators to these discussions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the Theoretical Domains Framework to shape the topic guide, N = 7 online focus groups were organized with a total N = 40 participants comprising experienced dentists, dental foundation trainees and dental care professionals. Inductive and deductive thematic analyses of the anonymized, transcribed focus group conversations were undertaken. RESULTS: An attitude-behaviour gap was observed in dental teams' accounts. Although they saw it as part of their professional role to routinely discuss sensitivity, and believed that such conversations were 'an easy win', in practice they experienced several behavioural barriers that hindered these conversations from taking place. These included competing priorities, a perceived lack of seriousness and assessment of dentine hypersensitivity and practical issues such as time. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic (e.g., lack of time and training, professional culture) and behavioural (e.g., dental teams' belief that conversations should take place only with patients likely to be adherent) barriers to dentine hypersensitivity conversations explain why these conversations do not routinely take place.


Dentin Sensitivity , Quality of Life , Humans , Dentin Sensitivity/diagnosis , Qualitative Research , Referral and Consultation
5.
BDJ Open ; 9(1): 52, 2023 Dec 04.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38049403

BACKGROUND: Professionalism is expected of health professionals and advocated by professional regulators in the United Kingdom (UK). Concepts of professionalism have evolved in sociological discourse and its meaning for dentistry is unclear. It is, none-the-less, considered a core domain of dental education and professional practice by the United Kingdom regulator, the General Dental Council. This paper reports the sense-making process, or social process, of professionalism in practice within England. AIM: To explore the research question 'What does dental professionalism mean in practice? METHODS: Taking a constructivist grounded theory approach, involving purposive and theoretical sampling, 24 dental professionals were recruited to participate in this qualitative study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted by one interviewer (AT). Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed leading to the development of a theory grounded in the data. RESULTS: A focus on the social-professional constructs used by participants to make sense of their experiences, resulted in a grounded theory where Reconciling Duty emerged as the core category. This represents a process of meeting professional duties to different parties that are often mutually exclusive. It is comprised of three supporting categories: Applying order to the system, where individuals attempt to identify what constitutes professional attitudes and behaviours, Rationalising what is fair, where individuals make judgements on how the conflict between duties should be resolved, and finally Responding to the System, where individuals attempt to actualise these desired resolutions in the context of the complex social system in which they practice. Three dentist archetypes (typologies) emerged, which involved a personal (Type 1), patient (Type 2), or a societal (Type 3) compromise. CONCLUSION: Professionalism can be conceptualised as process of reconciling multiple, competing, legitimate duties to different parties, in seeking a fair solution. Once this has been identified, individuals need to work within the complex system of dentistry to make their identified outcome a reality. The findings suggest that using the theory of Reconciling Duty helps us to engage with the meaning that the participants drew from the term 'professionalism', and anchors it in the lived, everyday professional experiences and challenges faced. A novel typology is proposed, commensurate with calls for a systems approach to the topic.

6.
Br Med Bull ; 148(1): 79-88, 2023 12 11.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37838360

INTRODUCTION: Patient-centred care (PCC) is widely used within the medical setting, but there is a need for more research on PCC implementation in dentistry. SOURCES OF DATA: A narrative review was conducted with literature identified from the Ovid Interface, including several databases such as Embase and Medline. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: PCC is associated with better health outcomes for patients, and greater work satisfaction among healthcare professionals. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: Efforts to implement PCC in dentistry are lacking due to several issues including non-consensus about PCC definition and lack of explicit guidelines on how to implement PCC in dentistry. GROWING POINTS AND AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: A theory-derived model of PCC explicitly designed for the dental setting was identified. This serves as a starting point to enhance PCC in dentistry, though further research is needed to empirically test the implementation of this model.


Health Personnel , Patient-Centered Care , Humans , Databases, Factual , Dentistry
7.
Br Dent J ; 2023 Aug 21.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37604922

Objective To explore the career decision-making journey towards dentistry and identify possible challenges and supports in this process as perceived by academically able, science-minded, London school pupils and their careers teachers.Methods A mixed-methods study was conducted using a purposive sample of London schools. Focus groups (n = 13) with 91 pupils aged 14-18 years and a survey of career teachers (n = 12) were conducted at a range of school-types. A topic guide, informed by the literature and previous research, guided discussions. Ethical approval was obtained from King's College London Research Ethics Committee (BDM/10/11-17 and 14/15-40). School, teacher, parental and pupil written informed consent were obtained. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically using framework methodology.Results Four distinct phases of the career decision-making journey were identified: 1) initiation of aspiration, with wider influences promoting medicine as a primary aspirational career option; 2) exposure to dentistry as a career, leading to recognition of dentistry as an alternative; 3) exploration of the career; and 4) the application process. Dentistry received little early consideration in this process. Greater representation of dental professionals within the school, access to work experience, and support in the student application process were identified as possible supports.Conclusions The findings suggest a four-phase journey towards a dental career, which may be enhanced by engagement of dental professionals at each stage. This may be particularly helpful in widening participation from under-represented groups.

8.
Br Dent J ; 235(1): 24-28, 2023 07.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37443223

Person-centred care (PCC) is acknowledged as a fundamental dimension of quality within health care and provides significant benefits for patients and clinicians. Models of PCC have primarily been developed from the medical literature, with limited consideration of their application within dentistry. The Personalised Care Institute was established to deliver education and training on PCC and is working with the Office of the Chief Dental Officer for England to develop resources on shared decision-making (SDM) to promote tailored recall intervals.This paper seeks to promote the value of PCC and SDM in delivering high-quality care but cautions against the use of generic models or training in view of the potential differences which may exist within dentistry, particularly general dental practice. The authors highlight the need to develop materials and training which are appropriate, contextualised and relevant to dentistry. The capacity and desire to deliver PCC is strongly influenced by the healthcare system which is in operation. The current units of dental activity (UDA) system operating in England would appear to act as a barrier to the delivery of PCC. Unless significant and rapid changes are introduced to the NHS Contract, UDA targets will continue to take precedence over PCC, SDM and tailored recall intervals.


Delivery of Health Care , State Medicine , Humans , Patient-Centered Care , General Practice, Dental , Quality of Health Care
10.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol ; 51(2): 292-300, 2023 04.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35274756

INTRODUCTION: Identifying which aspects of how a family functions are relevant to child oral health provides opportunities for interventions targeting the family context. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of general and domain-specific family functioning with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of 3-4-year-old children. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from 740 parent-child dyads from East London were analysed. Family functioning was assessed with the 60-item Family Assessment Device that yields scores for general functioning and six domains (roles, behaviour control, communication, affective involvement, affective responsiveness and problem solving). Children's OHRQoL was measured using the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS), which measures the lifetime impacts of children's oral conditions on the child (child impact section, CIS) and family (family impact section, FIS). The associations of family functioning with the ECOHIS total, CIS and FIS scores were assessed in negative binomial regression models (rate ratios [RR] and 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] were calculated), adjusting for parental sociodemographic factors and child demographic factors and caries experience. RESULTS: Children in families with unhealthy general functioning had 1.45 (95% CI: 0.87-2.43), 1.24 (95% CI: 0.73-2.13) and 2.19 (95% CI: 1.20-3.99) times greater ECOHIS total, CIS and FIS scores, respectively, than those in families with healthy general functioning after adjustment for confounders. Unhealthy functioning in the roles domain was associated with greater ECOHIS total and FIS scores. Unhealthy functioning in the problem solving, roles and affective involvement domains were also associated with greater FIS scores. CONCLUSIONS: Unhealthy family functioning was associated with worse child OHRQoL, especially in terms of disrupting family life. Effective assignment and undertaking of roles should be further explored as a target for intervention.


Dental Caries , Quality of Life , Humans , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Dental Caries/epidemiology , Dental Caries/psychology , Oral Health , Parents/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires
11.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol ; 51(2): 153-164, 2023 04.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35112389

There is a need for a theoretically informed, contextualized approach to measuring oral health from a multidisciplinary perspective that goes beyond the commonly used clinical indices and sociodental measures. This commentary aims to discuss the potential for the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to provide a model for the development of indicators for oral health. It is suggested that the ICF might provide both a theoretical model and an operational classification for indicators of oral health. The ICF model states that human experience of physical, cognitive and social functioning is universal and, thus, can be described and qualified. Human function is given social and environmental context within the model at both an individual and population level. The ICF can not only capture data regarding oral health and function at the physiological level (e.g. chewing) but also at the social level (e.g. sharing meals). It is able not only to capture aspects of preventive behaviour (e.g. caring for teeth) but also aspects of social facilitation (e.g. economic self-sufficiency) or ability to fulfil a social role (e.g. remunerative employment). It also includes aspects of social environment, such as healthcare services or political, economic and legal systems. Case studies are given as examples of the potential use of the ICF in the oral health domain. Examples are also given of the first steps that have been made towards operationalization of the ICF in data collection and oral health research. The challenges of encompassing such a comprehensive model into a practical oral health measure are discussed.


Disabled Persons , Oral Health , Humans , Activities of Daily Living
12.
Health (London) ; 27(4): 540-558, 2023 07.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34727785

An ageing population, an estimated 47 million people currently living with dementia, and predictions of a threefold increase in people living with a diagnosis by 2050 have led the WHO to declare dementia a public health priority. Emerging research also suggests that dementia is linked to poor oral health and that oral health declines alongside cognitive decline. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of field and capital, this paper presents an analysis of interview data from participants with dementia, carers and carer/diagnosed dyads participating in a qualitative study of the mouth and oral health. We argue that Bourdieu's conceptual toolkit provides a way of contextualising experiences of oral health within dementia and un-picking the multi-layered impact of structure, institutions, biology, resource mobilisation and self in the context of a progressive disease which ultimately challenges knowledge of the self and the ability to interact with the world around us.


Dementia , Oral Health , Humans , Caregivers/psychology , Qualitative Research , Dementia/psychology , Mouth
13.
Br Dent J ; 2022 Dec 13.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36513757

Objectives The aim of this pooled data analysis was to establish if there is an association between a patient's race and the proportion of successful outcomes of endodontic treatments, and if so, what factors may determine this association.Methodology Data collected from four prospective clinical outcome studies were pooled. Patients were recalled 12 months after the completion of the treatment. Treatment outcome was determined by clinical findings and cone beam computed tomography examination. Statistical analysis included the description of categorical and continuous variables and simple binary logistic regression models, chi-squared tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results Data from 301 patients were available. Of these patients, 43 were Black (14.3%), 50 were from a Non-Black Minority Ethnic (NBME) group (16.6%) and 208 were white (69.1%). The risk of an unfavourable outcome was higher in teeth with short root canal fillings (OR = 3.36; p = 0.002), when a preoperative radiolucency was present (OR = 2.59; p = 0.019) and when an intra-operative root canal perforation was detected (OR = 5.25; p = 0.016).Multiple regression models showed that Black (OR = 2.28; p = 0.05) and NBME patients (OR = 3.07; p = 0.008) had a higher risk of an unfavourable result compared to white patients.Conclusions Black and NBME patients had a significantly higher failure rate of root canal treatments compared to white patients. All other known pre-, intra- and post-operative risk factors for root canal treatment failure were present in similar proportions in BME and white patients.

14.
BDJ Open ; 8(1): 21, 2022 Jul 23.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35871067

BACKGROUND: There is a social expectation that dentists demonstrate professionalism. Although the General Dental Council puts it at the heart of their regulatory agenda, there is not yet consensus on the meaning and implications of the term. OBJECTIVE: To explore practising dentists' understanding of the character traits commonly associated with professionalism and what these mean in practice. METHOD: Constructivist grounded theory was employed throughout this study. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with dental professionals in England recruited through theoretical sampling to saturation point. Interviews used a topic guide informed by the literature, and analysis was conducted through constant comparison during data collection. RESULTS: The study found that traits commonly associated with professionalism in the literature were difficult for dentists to define clearly or operationalise in a clinical setting. There was disagreement over how some traits should be understood, and it was unclear to participants how, or indeed if, the listed traits were directly relevant to practice in their current form. CONCLUSION: Rather than expecting unconditional adherence to an externally imposed definition, further exploration is required to understand how health professionals make sense of professionalism by reference to their lived experiences and worldviews. IN BRIEF: Institutional expectations of professionalism, defined through character traits and behaviours, do not appear to map neatly on to the experiences of dental professionals. Straightforward, apparently uncontroversial terms elicited a wide range of responses, including disagreement. This brought in to question whether achieving consensus is possible. Analysing how our respondents understood the terms by reference to the meanings they constructed from lived experience offers deeper insights.

15.
Psychol Belg ; 62(1): 152-165, 2022.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35510131

We examined perceived self-other differences (self-uniqueness) in appraisals of one's risk of an infectious disease (COVID-19), one's adherence to behavioural precautionary measures against the disease, and the impact of these measures on one's life. We also examined the relationship of self-uniqueness with information seeking and trust in sources of information about the disease. We administered an online survey to a community sample (N = 8696) of Dutch-speaking individuals, mainly in Belgium and The Netherlands, during the first lockdown (late April-Mid June 2020). As a group, participants reported that they were less likely to get infected or infect others or to suffer severe outcomes than average (unrealistic optimism) and that they adhered better than average to behavioural precautionary measures (illusory superiority). Except for participants below 25, who reported that they were affected more than average by these measures (egocentric impact bias), participants also generally reported that they were less affected than average (allocentric impact bias). Individual differences in self-uniqueness were associated with differences in the number of information sources being used and trust on these sources. Higher comparative optimism for infection, self-superiority, and allocentric impact perception were associated with information being sought from fewer sources; higher self-superiority and egocentric impact perception were associated with lower trust. We discuss implications for health communication.

16.
Br Dent J ; 232(6): 396-406, 2022 03.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35338293

Aim To explore young people's perceptions of dentistry as a potential future career, including features which would attract or deter them from wanting to become dentists and the perceived influences on these views.Methods Purposive sampling of London schools was undertaken. Exploration of academically-able, science-minded young people's (aged 14-18 years) perceptions of dentistry as a potential career was achieved through a series of focus groups conducted at various types of school in the Greater London region (13 focus groups and 91 students). A topic guide, informed by the literature and previous research, explored the perceived motivating and demotivating factors and associated influences, identified by these pupils, on studying dentistry at university. Data were analysed using framework methodology.Results Multiple factors were identified by London secondary school pupils that would attract them to dentistry. Pull factors were: 1) science-based; 2) status and security - extrinsic rewards; 3) structure of service provision; 4) career opportunities; 5) social interactions; 6) personal skills and care - intrinsic rewards; and 7) being a vocational degree. Push factors away from the career included lack of diversity within the job and the 'negative image' of dentists, with medicine having greater social status and more varied career options. Individual and wider influences on pupils' perceptions included their personal experience with dentistry, social and community networks, the school environment, as well as system and societal level influencers.Conclusions These findings suggest that a wide range of influences determine teenagers' perceptions of a dental career. Pupils in London schools report similar features of dentistry as being attractive as dental students, as well as its importance as a vocational degree, and although dentistry appears to lack status and profile when compared with medicine, it may be more acceptable in relation to its lifestyle. Individual sociodemographic characteristics and wider environmental factors may influence the relative importance of these features.


Career Choice , Dentistry , Adolescent , Focus Groups , Humans , London , Universities
17.
Hum Resour Health ; 20(1): 7, 2022 01 10.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35012564

INTRODUCTION: Regulatory processes for Oral health care professionals are considered essential for patient safety and to ensure health workforce quality. The global variation in their registration and regulation is under-reported in the literature. Regulatory systems could become a barrier to their national and international movement, leading to loss of skilled human resources. The General Dental Council is the regulatory authority in the UK, one of the nine regulators of health care overseen by the Professional Standards Authority. AIM: The aim of this paper is to present the professional integration experiences of internationally qualified dentists (IQDs) working in the UK, against the background of regulation and accreditation nationally. METHODS: Registration data were obtained from the General Dental Council to inform the sampling and recruitment of research participants. Semi-structured interviews of 38 internationally qualified dentists working in the United Kingdom were conducted between August 2014 and October 2017. The topic guide which explored professional integration experiences of the dentists was informed by the literature, with new themes added inductively. A phenomenological approach involving an epistemological stance of interpretivism, was used with framework analysis to detect themes. RESULTS: Internationally qualified dentist's professional integration was influenced by factors that could be broadly classified as structural (source country training; registration and employment; variation in practising dentistry) and relational (experiences of discrimination; value of networks and support; and personal attributes). The routes to register for work as a dentist were perceived to favour UK dental graduates and those qualifying from the European Economic Area. Dentists from the rest of the world reported experiencing major hurdles including succeeding in the licensing examinations, English tests, proving immigration status and succeeding in obtaining a National Health Service performer number, all prior to being able to practice within state funded dental care. CONCLUSION: The pathways for dentists to register and work in state funded dental care in UK differ by geographic type of registrant, creating significant inconsistencies in their professional integration. Professional integration is perceived by an individual IQD as a continuum dictated by host countries health care systems, workforce recruitment policies, access to training, together with their professional and personal skills. The reliance of the UK on internationally qualified dentists has increased in the past two decades, however, it is not known how these trends will be affected by UK's exit from the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic.


COVID-19 , Pandemics , Accreditation , Dentists , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , State Medicine , United Kingdom
18.
J Public Health Dent ; 82(4): 406-414, 2022 09.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34545569

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship of family functioning with dental caries among 3-4-year-olds and the role of family functioning in explaining the relationship of family socioeconomic status (SES) with childhood dental caries. METHODS: Data from 761 parent-child dyads who took part in the East London Oral Health Inequalities study were analyzed. Family functioning was assessed using the 60-item family assessment device that yielded scores on general functioning and six domains (roles, communication, problem-solving, affective involvement, affective responsiveness, and behavior control). Children were clinically examined at home for dental caries. The association of family functioning and family SES (education and socioeconomic classification) with dental caries (dmft and dt scores) was tested using negative binominal regression while adjusting for child and parental demographic factors. RESULTS: Children from families with unhealthy general functioning had 1.49 (95% CI: 1.01-2.20) and 1.84 (95% CI: 1.20-2.82) times greater dmft and dt, respectively, than those from families with healthy functioning after adjustment for confounders. The estimates for the associations of parental education and socioeconomic classification with dmft and dt were attenuated by around 12%-18% after adjusting for family functioning. Of the six family functioning domains assessed, only unhealthy behavior control in the family was associated with greater numbers of decayed teeth after adjustments. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that unhealthy family functioning was associated with dental caries among young children. Family functioning partly explained the relationship between family SES and childhood dental caries.


Dental Caries , Child, Preschool , Humans , Child , Dental Caries/epidemiology , Oral Health , Social Class , Parents , DMF Index
19.
Br Dent J ; 2021 Dec 09.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34887552

Introduction Patients are often keen to replace their missing teeth after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer (HNC), yet such replacement does not always take place.Aims This study aimed to investigate the influences on dentists' provision of dentures for patients treated with radiotherapy for HNC, including whether risk of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) is a factor influencing intention to provide dentures.Methods An online cross-sectional survey including a case scenario, self-reported behaviour and measures of factors (selected using the theoretical domains framework) that may affect dentists' decisions was completed by general dental practitioners (n = 150) and HNC multidisciplinary team dentists (n = 25) in England.Results Dentists' reluctance to provide dentures for HNC patients post-radiotherapy was often due to concerns about dry mouth and radiation caries rather than risk of ORN. Knowledge of guidelines and beliefs about consequences were independently associated with dentists' intention to replace missing teeth with dentures.Conclusion The likelihood of replacing missing teeth with dentures increased with awareness of clinical guidance on the use of dentures in HNC and that denture provision would have positive consequences that outweigh the costs.

20.
Br Dent J ; 231(11): 709-712, 2021 12.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34893736

Two publications that recently appeared in the British Dental Journal mooted the position that dentistry may not be ready for person-centred care. This commentary takes up this discussion and agrees that while person-centred care is essential to dentistry, it is not without its challenges. Drawing on the multidisciplinary expertise of its authors (two sociologists, one psychologist and a dentist), the nature of these challenges is interrogated further. It also identifies opportunities for change on this position from within the literature, as well as by clinical practice. We present evidence to suggest that the current pandemic has shown that dental teams are capable of rising to a challenge and adapting to change. In this light, we propose that the pandemic presents dental teams with an opportunity to be even more person-centred.


COVID-19 , Humans , Pandemics , Patient-Centered Care , SARS-CoV-2 , Self Care
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