Journal of the Canadian Dental Association最新文献

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the self-reported oral health status and needs and the patterns of use of dental services by a sample of pregnant women from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Method: A 34-item cross-sectional survey was administered to women enrolling in a prenatal program for 4 months in 2012/13. For data analysis, we used a 2-sample t test and tested categorical variables using a χ2 test. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds ratio for the variables, self-reported oral health status and use of dental services.

Results: Of the 740 pregnant women who participated in this survey (87% of registrants), 30% were considered vulnerable because of inability to live within their household income, smoking status, self-reported depression, lack of dental insurance and time since last dental visit. Most respondents (84%) rated their oral health good or excellent. Almost half of the women had not visited a dental professional during the past year, while 23% saw a dental professional only for emergency purposes. Women with dental insurance were 6.6 times more likely to have visited a dental professional than those without insurance.

Conclusion: Although most pregnant women considered dental care during pregnancy to be important, almost half had not visited a dental professional during the pregnancy.

Purpose: To examine the influence of gender on practice ownership among Ontario dentists.

Methods: In 2012, a 52-item survey was sent to a random sample of 3000 Ontario dentists (1500 men and 1500 women) to collect information on personal, professional and sociodemographic characteristics. The resulting data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling.

Results: The 867 respondents included 463 men, 401 women and 3 people whose gender was unreported, yielding a response rate of 29%. Univariate regression analyses revealed that male dentists were 2.2 times more likely to be practice owners than female dentists. Dentists > 60 years were less likely to be owners than younger dentists. The odds of practice ownership were lower for dentists who preferred the ability to secure part-time work. A higher level of confidence in one's business acumen significantly predicted practice ownership. Dentists making concessions in their career to pursue family life were more likely to be associates, and those who perceived that their partners made concessions to aid in their career were more likely to be owners. In multivariate analyses, the effect of gender on practice ownership became insignificant, yet the influence of age, preference for career aspects, confidence in business skills and perceptions regarding concessions by self and partner persisted. Gender-stratified analyses revealed that familial factors significantly predicted ownership for female dentists, but not for male dentists.

Conclusion: Gender appears to be linked to practice ownership, but when other factors are considered such as age, preference for part-time work, higher levels of confidence in business skills and perceptions of career concessions, the relationship does not remain.

Purpose: To determine the influence of gender on weekly work hours of Ontario dentists.

Methods: In 2012, a 52-item survey was sent to a random sample of 3000 Ontario dentists (1500 men and 1500 women) to collect information on personal, professional and sociodemographic characteristics. The resulting data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling.

Results: The 867 respondents included 463 men, 401 women and 3 people whose gender was unreported, yielding a response rate of 29%.Most dentists worked full-time, with men working, on average, 2 h/week longer than women. Younger dentists worked more than older dentists. Practice ownership increased weekly work hours, and men reported ownership more often than women. Canadian-trained women worked significantly fewer hours than those trained internationally. Women were more likely than men to work part time and take parental leave and more often reported being primary caregivers and solely responsible for household chores. Women with partner support for such tasks worked more hours than those who were solely responsible. Dentists with children ≤ 3 years of age worked fewer hours than those without children; however, after controlling for spousal responsibility for caregiver duties, this effect was eliminated. More women than men reported making concessions in their career to devote time to family.

Conclusion: Gender, age, practice ownership, training location and degree of spousal support for household and caregiving responsibilities were predictors of weekly work hours. For women specifically, training location and household and caregiving responsibilities predicted weekly work hours.

Although radiation therapy is a common treatment for head and neck cancer, osteoradionecrosis (ORN) represents a major complication during or after treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen is often mentioned as a prophylactic and therapeutic treatment for ORN. In this article, we review the literature on hyperbaric oxygen therapy in head and neck irradiated patients. The widespread use of such therapy for the prevention and treatment of ORN appears to be based mainly on personal beliefs and experience, as no consensus exists in the scientific literature about its efficacy. Randomized controlled trials are, thus, needed to assess the real impact of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in head and neck irradiated patients. More fundamental research is also needed to clarify the pathophysiology of ORN, which in turn would help identify appropriate treatments.

Background: Statistics Canada's population health surveys may be an important source of up-to-date evidence on fluoridation and population oral health. The objective of this study was to examine the validity of a geographic measure of fluoridation from a national survey (based on site of data collection), by comparing it with estimates of fluoride level from urine samples.

Methods: The data source is the environmental urine subsample (n=2563) from Cycle 2 (2009-2011) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Mean comparison and multivariable linear regression were used to examine whether urinary fluoride levels differed between respondents classified as "fluoridated" versus "non-fluoridated" based on data collection site.

Results: Respondents who attended data collection sites classified as fluoridated had significantly higher mean urinary fluoride levels than those who attended sites classified as non-fluoridated. This effect was robust to adjustment for covariates and was somewhat stronger among an "exposed" subpopulation (defined based on tap water consumption and residential history) compared with a non-exposed subpopulation. No apparent added value was associated with using a more precise geographic indicator based on home postal code.

Conclusions: Fluoridation status based on data collection site seems crude, but is actually reasonably accurate compared with fluoride level in urine, in the context of a large national Canadian survey of urban and rural residents. Although findings are of limited use for individual-level risk assessment, they may be of interest to dental public health researchers and to those engaged in public health surveillance, because they inform efficient and readily available options for monitoring fluoridation status in populations.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the current status of Canadian predoctoral implant programs in terms of director demographics, curriculum characteristics and preferences in the techniques that are used to teach and carry out implant therapy. We compared the findings to analogous data recently acquired from dental schools in the United States.

Methods: A survey instrument was sent electronically to directors of predoctoral implant programs at all 10 accredited dental schools in Canada.

Results: All 10 dental schools responded to the survey. Program directors were affiliated with prosthodontics (90%) or oral surgery (10%) departments. Most Canadian institutions (90%) formally integrate their implant program into the third year of the curriculum. Clinical implant curricula include simulated exercises and direct patient care under supervision in 90% of predoctoral programs. Frequently taught restorative modalities include the posterior single-tooth implant crown (100%), mandibular implant-retained overdenture (90%), anterior implant-supported single crown (60%) and posterior 3-unit implant-supported bridge (50%). All programs reported the routine use of guided surgery planning software and surgical guides to aid in implant treatment planning. Preferred clinical protocols include implant-level impressioning (90%), use of open-tray impression copings (70%), custom abutment fabrication (60%), coronal fixation by screw-retention (60%) and use of titanium (100%) or zirconia (60%) abutments. Half of the program directors reported feeling that graduating students were adequately prepared to provide implant therapy on graduation. The demographics of Canadian directors of predoctoral implant programs were very similar to those of their counterparts in the United States. The largest divergences existed in clinical curriculum preferences and subjective perception of student preparedness in oral implantology on graduation.

Conclusion: Greater homogeneity exists among Canadian dental schools with regard to predoctoral implant program curricula, compared with those in the United States. Further investigation is warranted to examine the reasons for Canadian program directors' current perceptions of lack of preparedness of graduating predoctoral students.

Objective: Comprehensive data on the characteristics and opinions of graduating dental students in Canada are lacking. Specifically, only minimal information is available on graduates' immediate career plans and factors that may influence their decisions regarding these plans. Our aim was to gather such data to allow better understanding of this issue and improve the design of future studies on this topic.

Methods: The Career Development Committee at the school of dentistry, University of Alberta, designed a short survey to be administered to graduating students over 5 years to gain insight into their immediate career plans and opinions on career services at the school. Preliminary results from 2012-2014 are reported here.

Results: With a response rate of close to 90% (n = 99/111), the data reveal considerable differences in immediate career plans between the surveyed students and those in other schools in Canada and the United States. Of the students, 89% were planning to work in a general dental practice and only 9% were planning to enroll in advanced education, including general practice residency training.

Conclusion: More research is needed to better understand the factors affecting career path decisions of students.