Oral health research funding in relation to disease burden in Australia.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate and compare the major Australian government research funding schemes for oral health science with other disciplines from the burden of disease perspective. METHODS: Major government research funding scheme outcomes were identified. An innovative index of Fair Research Funding (FRF) was developed to examine the extent to which National Health and Medical Research Council funding is aligned with the disease burden. In addition to comparing different diseases, overall governmental research funding for different areas of oral health sciences was explored. RESULTS: Oral disorders with $15 million NHMRC grant funds (2017-2021) and FRF of 10.7 has the lowest and most inequitable amount of Australian government support in relation to disease burden. The share of oral health science in the Australian Research Council and Medical Research Future Fund was very minimal, with $3.43 and $1.88 million respectively. CONCLUSION: Governmental research funding for oral health sciences is inequitable according to the disease burden. More dedicated oral health sciences research funding schemes are essential. Funding for prevention-focused public oral health programmes is a vital requirement towards reducing the inequalities in population oral health.

What do Australian health consumers believe about commercial advertisements and testimonials? a survey on health service advertising.

BACKGROUND: There has been little examination of consumer attitudes towards the commercial advertising of healthcare services in Australia and how marketing is used by consumers in their health decision-making. In this research, we examined how consumers reported commercial advertising helped them to understand the health services available to them and the influence that marketing had upon their choices. METHODS: A survey instrument using a Likert scale to indicate agreement or disagreement with 21 questions was developed using qualitative interviews before being distributed online within Australia. Sampling of participants was stratified by age, gender and location. The results were subjected to statistical analysis with Spearman Rank Correlation test being used for bivariate analysis. RESULTS: One thousand five hundred sixty-four complete surveys were collected. The results revealed certain consumer beliefs, for example; the title of 'Dr' was believed to indicate skill and high levels of training (81.0%), with 80.3% agreeing incorrectly that use of the title was strictly regulated. Participants reported to have a higher confidence in their own abilities (71.2%) than the public (52.8%) in assessing health advertising. The level of self-confidence increased with higher education level and decreased by age (p < 0.05). Testimonials were reported to be lacking in reliability (67.7%) and that they should not be used in healthcare in the same manner as they are used in other industries. Only 44.8% of participants reported that they felt confident to spot a review that was not written by a genuine user of a service. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrated that many health consumers felt that while commercial health advertising was helpful, it was also confusing, with many participants also holding mistaken beliefs around other elements of commercial health advertising. While the advertising of healthcare services might have educational effects and be superficially empowering, advertising is primarily intended to sell, not educate. This research demonstrates that there is significant potential for healthcare advertising to mislead. Future developments in regulatory health advertising policy, and the related ethical frameworks developed by professional healthcare associations, need to consider how the consumers of healthcare services might be better protected from misleading and predatory advertising practices.

Improving Caries Risk Prediction Modeling: A Call for Action.

Dentistry has entered an era of personalized/precision care in which targeting care to groups, individuals, or even tooth surfaces based on their caries risk has become a reality to address the skewed distribution of the disease. The best approach to determine a patient's prognosis relies on the development of caries risk prediction models (CRPMs). A desirable model should be derived and validated to appropriately discriminate between patients who will develop disease from those who will not, and it should provide an accurate estimation of the patient's absolute risk (i.e., calibration). However, evidence suggests there is a need to improve the methodological standards and increase consistency in the way CRPMs are developed and evaluated. In fact, although numerous caries risk assessment tools are available, most are not routinely used in practice or used to influence treatment decisions, and choice is not commonly based on high-quality evidence. Research will propose models that will become more complex, incorporating new factors with high prognostic value (e.g., human genetic markers, microbial biomarkers). Big data and predictive analytic methods will be part of the new approaches for the identification of promising predictors with the ability to monitor patients' risk in real time. Eventually, the implementation of validated, accurate CRPMs will have to follow a user-centered design respecting the patient-clinician dynamic, with no disruption to the clinical workflow, and needs to operate at low cost. The resulting predictive risk estimate needs to be presented to the patient in an understandable way so that it triggers behavior change and effectively informs health care decision making, to ultimately improve caries outcomes. However, research on these later aspects is largely missing and increasingly needed in dentistry.

Perceptions and Attitudes toward Data Sharing among Dental Researchers.

INTRODUCTION: Increasing attention is being given to the roles of data management and data sharing in the advancement of research. This study was undertaken to explore opinions and past experiences of established dental researchers as related to data sharing and data management. METHODS: Researchers were recruited from the International Association for Dental Research scientific groups to complete a survey consisting of Likert-type, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. RESULTS: All 42 respondents indicated that data sharing should be promoted and facilitated, but many indicated reservations or concerns about the proper use of data and the protection of research subjects. Many had used data from data repositories and received requests for data originating from their studies. Opinions varied regarding restrictions such as requirements to share data and the time limits of investigator rights to keep data. Respondents also varied in their methods of data management and storage, with younger respondents and those with higher direct costs of their research tending to use dedicated experts to manage their data. DISCUSSION: The expressed respondent support for research data sharing, with the noted concerns, complements the idea of developing managed data clearinghouses capable of promoting, managing, and overseeing the data-sharing process. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT: Researchers can use the results of this study to evaluate and improve management and sharing of research data. By encouraging and facilitating the data-sharing process, research can advance more efficiently, and research findings can be implemented into practice more rapidly to improve patient care and the overall oral health of populations.

Embarrassing Realities: the Portrayal of Dentistry in Reality TV 'Dentertainment'.

BACKGROUND: Dentists are not common subjects within reality TV. When presented in film, the overall impression has been reported to be negative. The British reality TV show 'Embarrassing Bodies' includes within its format, cases where complex and extensive dental treatment is presented. This analysis examines how these cases frame dentistry, as a rare example of the profession and its activities upon the small screen. METHODS: 14 dental cases from the show were located and transcribed. Semiotic and thematic analysis was used to explore the deeper and hidden meanings and signs within the cases. This developed understanding of the implications of the show upon the public presentation of dentistry, oral health and disease, patients and dental professionals. RESULTS: Five distinct themes were identified within the corpus of cases; Professional Values and Portrayal of Cosmetic Dentistry; The Presentation of Oral Health and Disease; Dental Physiognomy; Dentistry as Empowerment and Unequal Professional Relationships. CONCLUSIONS: 'Embarrassing Bodies' portrays a presentation of dentistry that focuses disproportionately upon restorative dental interventions, especially cosmetic dental therapies, in preference to preventative treatment. Dental disease is presented in a way that associates oral health conditions with dirt and as being caused by neglect and carelessness.

Professionalism by proxy: a case for the formal regulation of dental assistants in Australia.

Dental assistants are the most numerous member of the dental team in Australia, responsible for many clinical and non-clinical duties. Despite this, dental assistants are not registered and regulated in the same manner as their clinical colleagues within the dental profession. In this article, the authors argue that this is an unacceptable situation within the Australian dental context. In the examination of events within the profession both within Australia and overseas, it becomes apparent that this is an untenable position with regards to promoting the safety of the public. The current stance towards dental assistants is often perpetuated by a dental profession whose motives would not seem to be free from issues of professional dominance. Dental assistants may also be an essential division of the dental profession in providing culturally competent, economically viable and sustainable oral healthcare to those communities that are traditionally difficult to access.

How compliant are dental practice Facebook pages with Australian health care advertising regulations? A Netnographic review.

BACKGROUND: The National Law that regulates the dental and other health care professions in Australia sets out regulations that dictate how dental practices are to advertise. This study examines the extent to which the profession complies with these regulations and the potential impact that advertising may have upon professionalism. METHODS: A Facebook search of 38 local government areas in Sydney, New South Wales, was carried out to identify dental practices that had pages on this social media site. A framework for assessment of compliance was developed using the regulatory guidelines and was used to conduct a netnographic review. RESULTS: Two hundred and sixty-six practice pages were identified from across the 38 regions. Of these pages, 71.05% were in breach of the National Law in their use of testimonials, 5.26% displayed misleading or false information, 4.14% displayed offers that had no clear terms and conditions or had inexact pricing, 19.55% had pictures or text that was likely to create unrealistic expectations of treatment benefit and 16.92% encouraged the indiscriminate and unnecessary utilization of health services. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that compliance with the National Law by the Facebook pages surveyed was poor.

Paradigm shift or annoying distraction: emerging implications of web 2.0 for clinical practice.

Web 2.0 technologies, known as social media, social technologies or Web 2.0, have emerged into the mainstream. As they grow, these new technologies have the opportunity to influence the methods and procedures of many fields. This paper focuses on the clinical implications of the growing Web 2.0 technologies. Five developing trends are explored: information channels, augmented reality, location-based mobile social computing, virtual worlds and serious gaming, and collaborative research networks. Each trend is discussed based on their utilization and pattern of use by healthcare providers or healthcare organizations. In addition to explorative research for each trend, a vignette is presented which provides a future example of adoption. Lastly each trend lists several research challenge questions for applied clinical informatics.

Supporting the emergence of dental informatics with an online community.

Dental Informatics (DI) is the application of computer and information science to improve dental practice, research, education, and program administration. As an emerging field, dental informatics faces many challenges and barriers to establishing itself as a full-fledged discipline; these include the small number of geographically dispersed DI researchers as well as the lack of DI professional societies and DI-specific journals. E-communities have the potential to overcome these obstacles by bringing researchers together at a resources hub and giving them the ability to share information, discuss topics, and find collaborators. In this paper, we discuss our assessment of the information needs of individuals interested in DI and discuss their expectations for an e-community so that we can design an optimal electronic infrastructure for the Dental Informatics Online Community (DIOC). The 256 survey respondents indicated they prefer electronic resources over traditional print material to satisfy their information needs. The most frequently expected benefits from participation in the DIOC were general information (85% of respondents), peer networking (31.1%), and identification of potential collaborators and/or research opportunities (23.2%). We are currently building the DIOC electronic infrastructure: a searchable publication archive and the learning center have been created, and the people directory is underway. Readers are encouraged to access the DIOC Website at www.dentalinformatics.com and initiate a discussion with the authors of this paper.

Adaptive hypermedia: a new paradigm for educational software.

Traditional online dental education courses follow the broadcast paradigm which centers on the teacher, not the student. This one-size-fits-all approach resembles a mass-production idea which cannot take individual learner characteristics into account. Most online course designs do not address the issue that users with different goals and knowledge may be interested in different pieces of information about a topic. Adaptive hypermedia (AH) is an emerging field in education research which investigates how computer systems can overcome this problem. AH can be applied to any course content. This learner-centered approach first considers the learning goal(s), then evaluates the user's abilities and determines the individual learning style, to structure and tailor the curriculum most efficiently. The presented AH environment exploits various concepts of AH. The system collects data to create a model of the individual user, which is continuously refined based on test results throughout the course. The system then adapts the learning material dynamically, using active and passive curriculum sequencing and adaptive presentation.

Dental informatics. A cornerstone of dental practice.

BACKGROUND: Dental informatics is a relatively new field that has significant potential for supporting clinical care. Most dentists are unaware of what dental informatics is, what its goals are, what it has achieved and how they can get involved in it. METHODS: The authors conducted a literature review and several round-table discussions with dental informatics experts to discuss the preceding issues surrounding dental informatics. RESULTS: Dental informatics is the application of computer and information sciences to improve dental practice, research, education and management. Numerous applications that support clinical care, education and research have been developed. Dental informatics is beginning to exhibit the characteristics of a discipline: core literature, trained specialists and educational programs. CONCLUSIONS: Dental informatics presents possible solutions to many long-standing problems in dentistry, but it also faces significant obstacles and challenges. Its maturation will depend as much on the efforts of people as on the collective efforts of the profession. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Dental informatics will produce an increasing number of applications and tools for clinical practice. Dentists must keep up with these developments to make informed choices.

Internet basics.

This is a primer on the Internet, intended for those making a first-time acquaintance with how the system works. Topics include a brief history and discussion of access and basic services. The World Wide Web and information about finding material are also presented. Emphasis is placed on defining basic terms and providing addresses, resources, and help.

Educational implications for copyright in a digital world.

Statutory law and court cases currently leave fair use of copyrighted material poorly defined and fail to provide effective guidance for the use of others' work. Copyright legislation is undergoing significant change, accelerated by the evolution of computing and communication technologies. This paper reviews copyright issues, fair use guidelines, and applicable laws and statutes to help administrators and educators understand and comply with copyright regulations. The paper describes principles of copyright and ownership, the rights of copyright holders, and the conditions under which copyrighted material can be used by others. Recently introduced legislation, such as the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, may significantly affect how educators can use copyrighted material in the future. The integration of computer and communication technology into education raises a number of intellectual property issues for dental schools. This paper provides some general guidelines regarding copyright issues in academic environments.

[Effective use of medical-scientific internet resources]. / Effektive Nutzung medizinisch-wissenschaftlicher Internet-Ressourcen.

PROBLEM: The Internet is not structured hierarchically and therefore it distinguishes from today's common knowledge sources. The rapidly growing number of medical websites offers comprehensive but not easy to find information resources and continuing education opportunities for ophthalmologists. METHODS AND RESULTS: The efficiency of an Internet search is related to knowledge about existing search strategies. Several search systems are described (search engines, catalogs, databases, indices, etc.). Additional advice about efficient usage (Meta-Search, use of Boolean operators, phrase search, etc.) is provided. The suggested search strategies are evaluated regarding their specific results, update status, and the usability of search engines used. New applications such as SemioMap and Intelligent Agents are described. CONCLUSION: Today the Internet provides practitioners and scientists who are able to use efficient search strategies with easy and fast to use information resources. The total number of scientific-medical documents on the Web is growing very quickly. More and more, their content is related to current problems in patient treatment and future trends in clinical research.

A profile of current Internet users in dentistry.

The authors developed a profile of current Internet users in dentistry using a survey administered through electronic mail and the World Wide Web. Eight hundred twenty-five respondents from 52 countries comprised dentists, assistants, hygienists, dental students and educators. Respondents reported that they used the Internet for discussing clinical cases, obtaining diagnostic and therapeutic information, buying dental products, communicating with patients and participating in continuing education. Eighty percent considered the Internet to be a useful or very useful resource in dentistry.

Scientific data-exchange in periodontology via Internet.

The aim of the present paper was to study the current state of electronic scientific data-exchange in the field of dentistry and particularly in the specialty of periodontology. The use of electronic communication is unquestionably growing in all areas of life and has established itself in almost all areas of sciences and research. The potential use of Internet resources in the area of periodontology is the main topic of this paper. An overview explains the Internet system, its history, its structure, and the necessary hardware and software to use it. Text-orientated software and graphic interfaces like the World Wide Web will be described. Examples will be included to describing the basic services of Internet. The pros and cons of Internet use will be discussed and a preview of possible future developments in the field of communication for scientifically-oriented information will be included. This paper indicates that modern periodontal therapy and research may be enhanced by the use of Internet resources.