Knowledge, opinions and practices of French general practitioners in the assessment of caries risk: results of a national survey.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe the knowledge, opinions and practices of French general dental practitioners with respect to caries risk assessment (CRA) through the use of a national questionnaire survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A postal questionnaire survey was applied to a simple random sample of dentists (n = 2000) in France. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The response rate was 34.7 %. Of the respondents, 38.4 % reported that CRA was not part of their routine practice. Among those who claimed to use CRA only 4.5 % did so using a specific evaluation form. Responses showed that there is great variation among respondents with respect to the importance given to different factors to be considered for the development of a treatment plan in adults. Moreover, 32.3 % of respondents reported no regular scheduling of preventive care based on the caries risk of their patients. Nearly 12 % of respondents admitted they did not know exactly what minimal intervention in caries management involved. The results also showed that socio-demographic characteristics of the practitioner influence the use of CRA and other practice patterns. CONCLUSIONS: CRA has not widely entered clinical practice in France. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study, the first of its nature in France, shows the need to develop the use of CRA in daily dental practice in France.