Dental students' experiences of treating orthodontic emergencies - a qualitative assessment of student reflections

Introduction Professional regulatory bodies in the UK and Europe state that dental graduates should be able to manage orthodontic emergency patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore dental student experiences of treating orthodontic emergencies within a teaching institution. Materials and method This study was designed as a single-centre evaluation of teaching based in a UK university orthodontic department. The participants were fourth-year dental students who treated orthodontic emergency patients under clinical supervision as part of the undergraduate curriculum. Student logbook entries for one academic year detailing the types of emergencies treated and structured, reflective commentaries for each procedure were analysed using thematic analysis methods. The total numbers and types of orthodontic emergencies treated by students were presented. Overall, self-reported student confidence in managing orthodontic emergencies was calculated. Themes, which represented student reflections, were identified. Results Seventy-two students participated in the study. Overall, 69% of students stated they were confident in managing orthodontic emergencies. Students treated a range of emergencies, of which the most frequent was debonded brackets (38%). Reflections from student commentaries were housed under a primary theme of building procedural confidence. Three subthemes were identified: (i) theory-practice integration; (ii) expanding clinical experience; and (iii) importance of a supportive clinical learning environment. Conclusion The majority of dental students were confident in managing orthodontic emergencies. Theoretical knowledge supplemented by exposure to a range of clinical problems within a supported learning environment made students feel more confident

Nurses' emotions and oral care for hospitalised adults

Background: It is reported that hospitalised adults require daily oral care to prevent respiratory infections and maintain oral health but patient oral health declines in hospital. Enhancing knowledge and attitudes has not proven effective for changing behaviours or improving oral health. Reports suggest that some nurses find providing oral care unpleasant, therefore, emotions may influence care provision. Aim: To understand how nurses’ and student nurses’ emotional experiences and reactions influence the provision of oral care for hospitalised adult patients. Methods: The initial study explored emotional experiences, reactions and oral care practices. Eight focus groups and ten one-to-one semi-structured interviews with 48 subjects were used to collect data. These were analysed with Grounded Theory. A second study developed and tested methods to measure student nurses’ emotions towards oral care. This used a self-report questionnaire, interviews and Stroop tests. In the final study, 248 student nurses completed a revised self-report questionnaire, a disgust sensitivity questionnaire and two oral care attitude measures; 41 participants additionally completed emotional Stroop tests, implicit association tests and interviews. Qualitative data were analysed with thematic analysis. Χ2 tests, correlations, and Principal Component Analysis were used to analyse quantitative data. Results: Nurses and student nurses experience emotions towards the social, moral and physical aspects of providing oral care; emotions vary with different situations. Unclean mouths are associated with unpleasantness. Failure to provide oral care evokes moral disgust and anxiety. Providing oral care can evoke anxiety and disgust in unpleasant situations, this leads to student nurses reporting altering oral care procedures. Conclusions: Nurses’ and student nurses’ emotions of disgust and anxiety influence oral care. Although these emotions can motivate nurses to provide care, anxiety and disgust can lead to the selection of procedures that avoid aspects of oral care thus reducing the quality of care provided. Nurses’ oral care training programmes need to address these emotions to improve the quality of oral care for patients in hospitals

Oral cancer: exploring the stories in UK newspapers

Objective Reports suggest that patients with oral cancer delay seeking help because they are unaware of the symptoms. The majority of adults (95%) engage with news reports and 40% read newspapers. Newspaper oral cancer stories may influence awareness and health-seeking behaviour. The aim of this study was to explore how oral cancer is portrayed in UK newspaper print media. Design Qualitative content analysis of articles from ten newspapers with the widest UK print circulation. All articles using the terms 'mouth cancer' and 'oral cancer' over a three year period were retrieved. Duplicates, non-cancer and non-human articles were excluded. Results 239 articles were analysed. Common topics included 'recent research', 'survivor stories', 'health information' and 'celebrity linkage'. Articles were often emotive, featuring smoking, alcohol, sex and celebrity. Articles lacked a proper evidence base and often failed to provide accurate information about signs and symptoms, information about prevention and signposting to treatment. Conclusions Opportunities to save lives are being missed. Further work to improve social responsibility in the media and develop guidance to enhance the quality of information, health reporting and signposting to help are indicated