Dental sealant knowledge, opinion, values and practice of Spanish dentists

[Background] Multiple guidelines and systematic reviews recommend sealant use to reduce caries risk. Yet, multiple reports also indicate that sealants are significantly underutilized. This study examined the knowledge, opinions, values, and practice (KOVP) of dentists concerning sealant use in the southwest region of Andalusia, Spain. This is a prelude to the generation of a regional plan for improving children’s oral health in Andalusia.[Methods] The survey’s target population was dentists working in western Andalusia, equally distributed in the provinces of Seville, Cadiz, and Huelva (N=2,047). A convenience sample of meeting participants and meeting participant email lists (N=400) were solicited from the annual course on Community and Pediatric Dentistry. This course is required for all public health sector dentists, and is open to all private sector dentists. Information on the dentist’s KOVP of sealants was collected using four-part questionnaire with 31, 5-point Likert-scaled questions.[Results] The survey population demographics included 190 men (48%) and 206 women (52%) with an average clinical experience of 10.6 (± 8.4) years and 9.3 (± 7.5) years, respectively. A significant sex difference was observed in the distribution of place of work (urban/suburb) (p=0.001), but no sex differences between working sector (public/private). The mean ± SD values for each of the four KOVP sections for pit and fissure sealants were: knowledge = 3.57 ± 0.47; opinion = 2.48 ± 0.47; value = 2.74 ± 0.52; and practice = 3.48 ± 0.50. No sex differences were found in KOVP (all p >0.4). Independent of sex: knowledge statistically differed by years of experience and place of work; opinion statistically differed by years of experience and sector; and practice statistically differed by years of experience and sector. Less experienced dentists tended to have slightly higher scores (~0.25 on a Likert 1–5 scale). Statistically significant correlations were found between knowledge and practice (r=0.44, p=0.00) and between opinion and value (r=0.35, p=0.00).[Conclusions] The results suggest that, similar to other countries, Andalusian dentists know that sealants are effective, have neutral to positive attitudes toward sealants; though, based on epidemiological studies, underuse sealants. Therefore, methods other than classical behavior change (eg: financial or legal mechanisms) will be required to change practice patterns aimed at improving children's oral health.We acknowledge the following sources for invaluable financial support NIMHD 1 R34 DE022272 (NIH2385) and NIDCR 1 U24 MD006964

Encuesta de Salud Oral en España 2015

Las encuestas nacionales sobre salud bucodental tienen como función básica proporcionar una idea de conjunto sobre salud y necesidades de tratamiento poblacional con el fin de vigilar la evolución de las tasas de morbilidad. Nos permiten conocer: - La medida en que los servicios odontológicos existentes responden a las necesidades de la población. - La naturaleza y cuantía de los servicios de prevención y restauración necesarios. - Los recursos necesarios para implantar, mantener, aumentar o reducir los programas de salud bucodental, estimando las necesidades cuantitativas y el tipo de personal requerido. En 1993, el Consejo General de Colegios de Odontólogos y Estomatólogos de España (actualmente denominado Consejo General de Colegios de Dentistas de España) encargó la realización de una encuesta epidemiológica bucodental, siguiendo los criterios establecidos por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) para la ejecución de estudios transversales tipo Pathfinder. Ese estudio, publicado en 19951, se realizó una década después del anterior, desarrollado en 1984 bajo supervisión de la OMS. En los años 2000, 2005 y 20105 se realizaron las correspondientes encuestas, siempre financiadas el Consejo General de Dentistas. Transcurridos 5 años desde entonces, la necesidad de monitorizar la situación oral de nuestra población es la principal justificación de este proyecto