Knowledge, opinions and practices of French general practitioners in the assessment of caries risk: results of a national survey.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the knowledge, opinions and practices of French general dental practitioners with respect to caries risk assessment (CRA) through the use of a national questionnaire survey. A postal questionnaire survey was applied to a simple random sample of dentists (n=2000) in France. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. The response rate was 34.7%. Of the respondents, 38.4% reported that CRA was not part of their routine practice. Among those who claimed to use CRA only 4.5% did so using a specific evaluation form. Responses showed that there is great variation among respondents with respect to the importance given to different factors to be considered for the development of a treatment plan in adults. Moreover, 32.3% of respondents reported no regular scheduling of preventive care based on the caries risk of their patients. Nearly 12% of respondents admitted they did not know exactly what minimal intervention in caries management involved. The results also showed that socio-demographic characteristics of the practitioner influence the use of CRA and other practice patterns. CRA has not widely entered clinical practice in France. This study, the first of its nature in France, shows the need to develop the use of CRA in daily dental practice in France.