Community Dental Health

cover art

Cover Date:
September 2008
Print ISSN:
0265 539X
Vol:
25
Issue:
3

Restorative treatment threshold reported by Iranian dentists

Objective: To study Iranian dentists’ conceptions of the earliest stage to place a restoration on proximal caries lesions. Basic research design: A questionnaire survey was carried out among the participants of two annual dental meetings in Tehran, Iran, in December 2004 and July 2005. The questionnaire was filled in anonymously and returned during the meeting days. The questions covered two patient paper cases with schematic drawings of the radiolucency of proximal caries lesions according to bitewing radiographs from 20-year-old patients: one high-caries case and one low-caries case. Dentists’ gender, age, working experience and place, and participation in continuing education served as background data. In total, 1,033 dentists completed the questionnaire, 63% were men. Statistical evaluation was by the Chi square test and logistic regression. Main outcome measures: Respondents were to select from four alternatives the earliest stage in the progression of a lesion at which they would intervene by restorative treatment. Results: For the high-caries case, 77% of the respondents chose to restore a caries lesion confined to enamel; activity in continuing education was the strongest factor (OR=1.4) to explain dentists’ restoring a lesion no earlier than in dentine. For the low-caries case, 32% chose to restore a lesion in enamel. Restoring a lesion no earlier than in dentine was more likely (OR=1.5) among female dentists. Conclusion: Iranian dentists seem to prefer early restorative intervention, which indicates a need to focus on the preventive aspects of caries treatment both in dental curricula and in continuing education.

Key words: Dentists’ characteristics, patient paper case, proximal caries, restorative treatment decisions.

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£
Page Start
185
Page End
190
Authors
H. Ghasemi, H. Murtomaa, H. Torabzadeh, M.M. Vehkalahti

Articles from this issue

  • Title
  • Pg. Start
  • Pg. End

  1. Editorial - Research on oral health and the quality of life – a critical overview
  2. 130
  3. 131

  1. Comparison of two methods in deriving a short version of oral health-related quality of life measure.
  2. 132
  3. 136

  1. Oral health and its impact on the life quality of homeless people in Hong Kong
  2. 137
  3. 142

  1. The presenting complaints of low income adults for emergency dental care: An analysis of 35,000 episodes in Victoria, Australia.
  2. 143
  3. 147

  1. International variation in the incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancer
  2. 148
  3. 153

  1. Caries prevalence in 2-year-old children in the city of Zurich
  2. 154
  3. 160

  1. Association between breastfeeding duration and non-nutritive sucking habits
  2. 161
  3. 165

  1. I want braces: factors motivating patients and their parents to seek orthodontic treatment.
  2. 166
  3. 169

  1. Cariogenic and erosive potential of the medication used by HIV-infected children: pH and sugar concentration
  2. 170
  3. 172

  1. Prevalence of breath malodour in 7-11 year old children living in Middle Anatolia, Turkey.
  2. 173
  3. 177

  1. Enamel fluorosis in 12- and 15-year-old school children in Costa Rica. Results of a National Survey, 1999
  2. 178
  3. 184

  1. Restorative treatment threshold reported by Iranian dentists
  2. 185
  3. 190

  1. Short Communication - Fissure sealants on permanent first molars – consequences of a one-year delay
  2. 191
  3. 192