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Preventive activity of dentists and its associations with dentist and dental practice characteristics in northern Germany

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Abstract

Aim

This study aimed to characterize preventive activity (PrA) of German dentists by determining the rates of preventive service delivery in dental practices and exploring associations between PrA and dentist and dental practice characteristics.

Subjects and methods

A postal survey was sent to 2,075 dentists practicing in the States of Bremen and Lower Saxony. A PrA index was constructed, covering information on addressing prophylaxis to patients, providing anti-smoking interventions and advice on proper oral hygiene techniques.

Results

Of the 685 questionnaires returned (response rate: 33 %), 640 were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. Approximately 10 % of responding dentists had low PrA, two-thirds moderate PrA, and 22 % high PrA. Dentists, especially those in the high and low PrA groups, differed slightly regarding topical fluoride application (99 % vs. 85 %), but considerably in providing behavioural counselling, e.g. anti-smoking (17 % vs. 0 %) and dietary interventions (88 % vs. 35 %). There were statistically significant associations between PrA and gender (p = .017), participation in continuing education and training (CET) (p < .001), employment of qualified prophylaxis personnel (p < .001), presence of a prophylaxis unit (p < .001), and percentage of private patients (p = .001).

Conclusion

Dentists in the current study are actively providing preventive care. Deficiencies were found in assessing dental risks and providing behavioural counselling. Reasons for this suboptimal care should be explored in future studies. Apparently, the allocation of resources for prevention (e.g. employment of qualified prophylaxis personnel and participation in prevention-oriented CET programmes) is an important factor for the preventive orientation of dental practices.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the German Academic Exchange Service. The authors would like to thank all participating dentists as well as Dr. Michael Sereny, President of the Lower Saxony State Dental Association, and Dr. Dirk Mittermeier, Executive Chairman of the Bremen Association of Statutory Health Insurance-Accredited Dentists, for providing data and partial financial support for the project. We would also like to thank Mr. Werner Hofmann for his help with the statistics.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health Care System Research, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Strasse 1, 30623, Hannover, Germany

    Rugzan J. Hussein & Ulla Walter

  2. Institute of Medical Psychology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Strasse 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Thomas Schneller

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  1. Rugzan J. Hussein
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  2. Thomas Schneller
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Correspondence to Rugzan J. Hussein.

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Hussein, R.J., Schneller, T. & Walter, U. Preventive activity of dentists and its associations with dentist and dental practice characteristics in northern Germany. J Public Health 21, 455–463 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0566-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0566-7

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