The Perceptions of Dentists Working in Saudi Arabia of the Utility of Different Restoration Options for a Shortened Dental Arch in Patients of Different Ages.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess dentists' views of the utility of an unrestored shortened dental arch (SDA) compared to the utility of various prosthetic treatment options. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 142 dentists working at four sites in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were interviewed and presented with 18 scenarios for patients of different ages with SDAs that lost molar teeth. Participants were asked to indicate on a standardized visual analog scale (VAS) how they would value the health of the patient's mouth if the SDAs were left unrestored or restored with five prosthetic dental restorations. RESULTS: With a utility value of 0.0 representing the worst possible health state for a mouth and 1.0 representing the best, dentists' mean utility value for unrestored SDAs was 0.43 (standard deviation [SD] = 0.28). For implant-supported fixed dental prostheses (ISFDPs), cobalt-chromium removable partial dentures (RPDs), acrylic RPDs, cantilever conventional fixed dental prostheses (CFDPs), and cantilever resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs), the mean utility values were 0.64 (SD = 0.27), 0.54 (SD = 0.20), 0.48 (SD = 0.20), 0.42 (SD = 0.28), and 0.39 (SD = 0.27), respectively. Neither patient age nor dentists' clinical experience had an impact on dentists' perceptions of the utility of unrestored SDAs and outcomes of this treatment concept (P > .01). CONCLUSION: Restoration of SDAs by ISFDPs received the highest utility value among the surveyed group of dentists. Although the assigned value for unrestored SDAs was low, this value was comparable to the value of SDAs that were restored by acrylic RPDs or cantilever FDPs of either type.

The Impact of Subject Age, Gender, and Arch Length on Attitudes of Syrian Dentists towards Shortened Dental Arches.

Objective. This study aimed to investigate the impact of subject age, gender, and arch length on dentists' attitudes towards unrestored shortened dental arches. Materials and Methods. 93 Syrian dentists were interviewed and presented with 24 scenarios for male and female subjects of different ages and shortened dental arches of varying length. Participants were asked to indicate on a standardized visual analogue scale how they would value the health of the mouth if the posterior space was left unrestored. Results. A value of 0.0 represented the worst possible health state for a mouth and 1.0 represented the best. The highest mean value (0.73) was assigned to a shortened dental arch with missing second molar teeth in the mouth of a 70-year-old subject. A 35-year-old female subject with an extremely shortened dental arch (all molar and premolar teeth are missing) attracted the lowest mean value (0.26). The statistical analysis indicated a significant decrease in the value placed on unrestored shortened dental arches as the number of remaining teeth decreased (p < 0.008). While subject gender had almost no impact on dentists' attitudes towards shortened dental arches, the scenarios for the older shortened dental arch subjects attracted significantly higher values compared to the scenarios for the younger subjects (p < 0.017). Conclusion. Subject age and arch length affect dentists' attitudes towards shortened dental arches, but subject gender does not.

The disutility of tooth loss: a comparison of patient and professional values.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study are to study how tooth loss affects the utility of the dentition from both patient and professional perspectives and to compare patient and professional utility values. METHODS: One hundred six patients and 118 dentists were asked to read 19 different written scenarios accompanied by visual images and models, describing mouths with missing teeth, and to indicate on a visual analog scale the value of that oral health state. RESULTS: Both groups of participants attached the greatest utility to missing incisor teeth and disutility of tooth loss decreased as the tooth in question became nearer the back of the mouth. When dentist and patient utility values for the loss of different tooth types were compared, using independent t-tests, differences were statistically significant for only one tooth loss scenario - the loss of upper canines. CONCLUSIONS: The patient and professional groups valued tooth loss scenarios in a similar way. This finding is contrary to the majority of previous studies comparing patient and professional utilities.

Is there a relationship between birthweight and subsequent growth on the development of dental caries at 5 years of age? A cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between childhood growth and the presence of dental caries at age 5. METHODS: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) a population-based, prospective cohort study were used. We enrolled 14,541 pregnancies, and a 10% sample of these were dentally examined and measured at 61 months of age. Birthweight was obtained from medical records, and birth length and birthweight were assessed by trained ALSPAC measurers. A number of social and lifestyle factors were treated as potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Of 985, children, 242 (24.6%) had caries at 61 months of age. After adjustment, increased weight at birth was associated with a small increased risk of caries at 61 months (OR: 1.08 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.13) per 100 g increase, P = 0.002). A similar association was noted with respect to increased length at birth. Current weight and height did not appear to be associated with caries risk. Children who had caries at 61 months had slower increases in weight and height between birth and 61 months than those without decay at 61 months. CONCLUSIONS: The weak associations we have demonstrated between weight and length at birth and risk of caries at age 61 months cannot be considered causal, however, the relationship between the two variables warrants further investigation.