Dentists’ Decision to Conduct CRA in Adult Patients in Turkey: A Questionnaire-based Survey

Abstract

Aim: The concept of minimal intervention in dentistry is one of the most important stages of the preventive dentistry, and caries risk assessment (CRA) is an application that needs to be primarily evaluated in order to perform minimal intervention approaches. This study was aimed to evaluate the awareness of CRA and whether CRA is included in daily practice by dentists in Turkey. Materials and Methods: This study used a questionnaire survey. A survey was prepared and sent to the dentists who were registered with the Turkish Dental Association via e-mail. A total of 790 dentists returned and 95 respondents were excluded. All the registered dentists filled and returned their survey. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed (n = 695). Results: A total of 86.9 percent dentists who took the survey said that they performed CRA in daily practice. “Lack of time” was specified as the most important factor by the respondents who did not perform CRA in daily practice (61.5%). Current oral hygiene status (96.4%) and the presence of one or more active caries lesions (74.5%) were considered the most important risk factors for not performing CRA. Results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that clinical experience, number of patients treated per day, and type of practice were mostly associated with whether or not performing CRA ( P = .012, .018, and .035, respectively). Conclusions: It can be concluded that most of the dentists are aware of the importance of conducting CRA and, with differences in the factors considered, CRA is required in their daily practice in Turkey. The concept of minimal intervention in dentistry is one of the most important stages of preventive dentistry, and CRA is an application that needs to be primarily evaluated in order to perform minimal intervention approaches.