Job satisfaction and perceived future roles of Malaysian dental therapists: findings from a national survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess Malaysian dental therapists' perceptions of their job satisfaction and future roles. METHODS: A nationwide postal survey involving all Malaysian dental therapists who met the inclusion criteria (n = 1726). RESULTS: The response rate was 76.8%. All respondents were females; mean age 35.4 years (SD = 8.4). Majority were married (85.5%) and more than one-half had a working experience of <10 years (56.1%). Majority worked in community dental service (94.3%) and in urban areas (61.7%). Overall, they were highly satisfied with most aspects of their career. However, they were least satisfied with administrative workload (58.1%), career advancement opportunities (51.9%) and remuneration package; specifically income (45.2%), allowances (45.2%) and non-commensurate between pay and performance (44.0%). Majority perceived their role as very important in routine clinical tasks such as examination and diagnosis, preventive treatment, extraction of deciduous teeth and oral health promotion. However, fewer than one-half consider complex treatment such as placement of preformed crowns on deciduous teeth (37.1%) and extraction of permanent teeth (37.2%) as very important tasks. CONCLUSION: Majority expressed high career satisfaction with most aspects of their employment but expressed low satisfaction in remuneration, lack of career advancement opportunities and administrative tasks. We conclude that most Malaysian dental therapists have positive perceptions of their current roles but do not favour wider expansion of their roles. These findings imply that there was a need to develop a more attractive career pathway for therapists to ensure sustainability of effective primary oral healthcare delivery system for Malaysia's children.

Dentinal tubules occluded by bioactive glass-containing toothpaste exhibit high resistance toward acidic soft drink challenge.

BACKGROUND: Dentine hypersensitivity is a common problem attributed by patent dentinal tubules. Ingredients incorporated in toothpastes aim to occlude patent dentinal tubules to minimize the dentine hypersensitivity. However, frequent consumption of acidic soft drinks may reverse the dentinal tubules' occlusion. In this in vitro study, the efficacy of dentinal tubules occluded by commercially available toothpastes to withstand different durations of an acidic soft drink challenge was investigated. METHODS: One hundred and twenty dentine discs were divided into three groups. The discs from each group were brushed with toothpaste containing bioactive glass, arginine and control toothpaste. Each group was then divided into four subgroups and exposed to acidic soft drink over four different time durations. RESULTS: The scoring and the percentage of occluded dentinal tubules by Novamin-containing toothpaste was significantly better compared with arginine or the control toothpaste. Acidic soft drink challenge reduced the extent of dentinal tubules occlusion along with time. Dentinal tubules occluded by Novamin-containing toothpaste withstand the acidic challenge comparatively for a longer period. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated that occlusion of dentinal tubules is more efficient by the bioactive glass-containing toothpaste and thus may contribute to its better resistance to acidic soft drink challenge.

Oral Health Behaviours and Preventive Dental Care Experiences Among Patients with Special Health Care Needs at Special Care Dentistry Clinic, University of Malaya

@#To assess the oral health behaviour and preventive dental care experiences of patients with special health care needs (SHCN) who attended the Special Care Dental (SCD) Clinic at University of Malaya. Data were collected from 31 patients using a self-administered questionnaire which consisted of questions pertaining to their oral health behaviours and experiences on receiving preventive dental care (PDC). For patients who were unable to answer due to existing health conditions, parents or primary caregivers were approached as proxy. Descriptive analysis was conducted and reported based on percentages to identify the oral health behaviour and PDC of the individuals. Majority brushed their teeth at least once a day (84%), used fluoridated toothpaste (87%) and oral hygiene aids (58%). However, almost half of them (48%) required assistance from parents or caregivers during tooth brushing and consumed sugary snacks in between meals (58%). About 80% had received PDC where the type of care received was mainly oral hygiene advice (77%). Slightly more than 80% preferred the one-to-one demonstration method during PDC. Most gave positive evaluation on their PDC experience especially on items pertaining to the dentist’s attitude. Whilst most of the SHCN patients in this study had positive perception on the PDC that they received and practised good brushing behaviour, their dietary habits need to be improved. Thus, regular preventive dental visit amongst SHCN patients is important for appropriate and comprehensive dental care in maintaining oral health..