Dental Health Center Research Articles

Dental service satisfaction in dental health centers in Erbil city Iraq

Dental service satisfaction in dental health centers in Erbil city Iraq

General dentists staffing requirement based on workload in the public dental health centers in Turkey

ABSTRACT Background The Turkish healthcare system struggle with absolute shortages and imbalanced distribution of healthcare personnel. The present study aimed to measure the gap between the actual number of dentists and the ideal dentist staffing complement and evaluate the distribution of dentists among six public oral and dental health centers. Methods The workload indicators of staffing need method, developed by the World Health Organization, was used to determine the staffing requirement in these centers. Face-to-face interviews were held with 109 dentists agreeing to participate in the study. Results The results revealed the total number of actively serving dentists to be 145, the staffing requirement to be 154, and the workload to be 0.94. The actual number of dentists, therefore, needs to be increased by 6%. The most significant activities generating the workload among dentists and increasing staffing requirement were permanent tooth extraction, two-sided amalgam bonding, and fixed dental prosthesis. The number of dentists required for preventive oral health services was found to be only 4.98. Conclusion It was found high dental workload and imbalanced distribution of the participating dentists. Workload-based human resources planning may increase efficiency, effectiveness, and equality in healthcare services.

Diş Hekimliğine Başvuran Hastaların COVID-19 Hakkındaki Bilgi ve Tutumlarının Değerlendirilmesi: Kesitsel Bir Çalışma

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of Turkish dental patients about COVID-19 infection. Material and Methods: Four hundred fifteen patients who received an oral and dental health center were interviewed in this study. A questionnaire of 20 questions was applied to the patients to evaluate their knowledge and attitude about COVID-19 and its relationship with dentistry. Results: Two hundred-three women and two hundred-twelve men participated in the study. Thirty three percent of the participants were between the ages of 18-30, and 30.4% were between the ages of 31-40. Most of the participants (87.72%) stated that they did not have COVID-19, while 26.9% were in contact with someone who had COVID-19. In the pandemic process, most dental complaint reported by the participants was gum diseases (55.2%). Loss of taste and smell, and weakness, and joint pain were the most marked COVID-19 symptoms by participants (52.5% and 47.7% respectively). Of the participants 44.6% reported the dentistry devices do not carry the risk of COVID-19 infection transmission. The three methods most frequently used by the participants to reduce the risk of transmission are masks, attention to distance rules, and hand washing. The majority of the participants (88.7%) stated that they paid more attention to their oral and dental health during the restriction period. Conclusion: Individual behaviors and knowledge are important to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Though participants in this study's general knowledge and attitude about COVID-19 are positive, their knowledge about COVID-19 risks in dental treatment is inadequate.

Dental treatments of disabled citizens who consulted oral and dental health clinics during COVID-19 pandemic and ethical dilemmas experienced

This study has been planned to show disabled peoples problems in getting oral and dental health services and their ethical dilemmas they experienced after the first Covid-19 case announced on 11 March 2020 in Turkey and World Health Organisation declared this epidemic as pandemic. Study datas were obtained from a public oral and dental health center in Malatya, Turkey with ethics committee approval and institution permit. When the datas have been analyzed, it has been seen that disabled citizens couldn’t get oral and dental health treatments and general anesthesia due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It can be said that Covid-19 pandemic is a problematic period for disabled individuals for their oral and dental health services.

Improper patient positioning incidence for panoramic radiographic imaging of pediatric patients: Retrospective study

Background/Aim: Improper positioning of the patient reduces the diagnostic quality of panoramic radiographs. It is important to perfect the panoramic patient positioning technique to avoid unnecessary repeat exposures especially in pediatric patients. In this study, pediatric patient sample of records collected from an oral and dental health center were analyzed to determine the relative incidence of positioning errors of panoramic radiographs. Material and Methods: 3788 (1928 girls, 1860 boys) digital panoramic radiographs obtained from the stored data in the system were selected randomly. The radiographs were evaluated by two radiology specialists, by recording separately. The positioning errors of the images were categorized into ten groups: the chin tipped high, chin tipped low, a slumped position, the patient positioned forward, the patient positioned backward, failure to position the tongue against the palate, patient movement during exposure, the head tilted, and the head turned to one side. The results were statistically analyzed for positioning errors according to age and gender. Results: In 3788 radiographs, 2138 (56.4%) were error-free and 1650 (43.6%) were present with positioning errors. In the improper images, a single positional error was present in 1379 (83.6%); two positional errors were present in 248 (15%) and three or more positional errors in 23 (1.4%). The most common error observed was the tongue not being in contact with the hard palate (32.1%). On the other hand, the least common experienced error was patient movement during exposure (2.0%). Conclusions: The positioning errors of panoramic radiographs were common in the sample group of this study. Careful patient positioning can play a significant role in improving the radiographic quality and reducing the number of retakes.

The evaluation of panoramic, periapical, and cephalometric radiographic errors in dentistry

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effects of working days and hours on panoramic and periapical radiographic errors and investigate the association between patient-induced cephalometric radiographic errors and skeletal malocclusions.
 Methodology: Obtained from archives of Manisa Dental Health Center, 1402 periapical, 1329 panoramic, and 309 cephalometric radiographs were investigated retrospectively between January-June 2018, and the radiographic errors were determined. Periapical, panoramic, and total errors were grouped according to the number of radiographs, day intensity, and acquisition date and time for each day. Cephalometric radiographs were not included to determine the effects of working hours and days on radiographic errors since the radiographs were taken over the weekend. Patient-induced cephalometric radiographic errors were investigated under the classification of skeletal malocclusions. The independent sample t-test was used to investigate the average range difference between two independent groups for normally distributed variables. However, in situations where the assumption of normality was not met, the Mann-Whitney U test was performed.
 Results: Total errors were mostly detected on Tuesday (p=0.035). Errors of panoramic and periapical radiographs acquired in the afternoon were higher than those of the radiographs acquired before noon only on Monday (p=0.024, p=0.035). The most common errors observed in periapical radiographs were the positioning errors (23.9%) and cone cut (17.3%), respectively. The most common errors observed in panoramic radiographs were chin tipped high (17.00%), and head turned to one side (9.9%), respectively. Among Class I, II, and III malocclusions, open lips were observed as the most frequent cephalometric radiographic errors (28.6, 15.4, and 16.1%, respectively).
 Conclusion: The percentage of radiographic errors increases with the intense workload. An anatomical structure may lead to patient-induced cephalometric radiographic errors.
 
 How to cite this article: Titiz S, Evirgen Ş. The evaluation of panoramic, periapical, and cephalometric radiographic errors in dentistry. Int Dent Res 2021;11(3):185-94. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2021.vol11.no3.8
 
 Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.

Association of Fear and Annoyance with Acoustic Levels of Dental Equipment Among Adolescents Attending Rural Dental Health Center: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Noise is increasingly becoming pervasive in occupational health concerning practicing dentists as well as patients. A stimulus such as noise from dental equipment compared to anxiety is often multifactorial and can result from a combination of fear of pain, dental instruments noise, or even upcoming negative events and future threats. Aim: This study aimed to assess fear and annoyance levels among adolescents attending a rural dental health centre and compare the acoustic noise levels of dental equipment and its association with fear and annoyance levels among adolescents. Methods: The acoustic noise spectra originating from different tools/equipment in a rural dental health centre is assessed using an application named sound meter of a standard mobile android phone (Samsung galaxy grand 2). Following a 15-minute treatment, a questionnaire was filled by a professional investigator through personal interviews with all subjects. The data is subjected to analysis by Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0. Results: 61.5% of the subjects felt anxious about the anticipatory dental visit, and there was a significant difference observed between genders. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant differences in the fear and annoyance with increasing noise levels in various treatment groups. (p> 0.05). Conclusion: In the present study, fear and annoyance levels increased with increasing noise levels of equipment. Annoyance was found to be significantly higher in females.

Approaches of General and Specialist Dentists to Deep Caries Management: A Cr Management: A Cross-Sectional Study fr oss-Sectional Study from Turkey

Objective: To determine the differences in treatment strategies and material preferences for deep dentine carious lesions (DDCLs) management among general and specialist dentists. Methods: Dentists working in universities, oral and dental health centers, or private practice were administered a 14-item web-based questionnaire regarding demographic and occupational characteristics, approaches to DDLCs, pulp capping methods, and preferences for restorative materials. The data were examined using descriptive statistical analysis and Pearson’s chi-square tests. Results: The study enrolled 298 general and 265 specialist dentists among whom 67.1% were female and 73.3% were aged 25 to 35 years. Total excavation and permanent restoration of DDCLs were the commonly preferred treatments (67.0%), although the pediatric dentists tended toward selective caries removal in these lesions. Mineral trioxide aggregate was used more regularly by the pediatric dentists and endodontists. The pediatric dentists exhibited statistically significantly lower preference for canal treatment than general dentists and endodontists as treatment option for mature teeth with DDCLs (p<0.05). Conclusion: Conservative treatment approaches and material preferences of specialists and general dentists in DDCLs are generally different. The age of dentists, the time since their graduation, place of work and the number of patients they have seen daily may affect the approaches and preferences.

Knowledge, attitude, and behavior of Turkish dentists about radiation protection and radiation safety.

Dentists use dental imaging methods frequently in the diagnosis and treatment of dental diseases. This study aimed to determine dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about radiation protection during dental imaging procedures. Dentists from two major dental health centres in İzmir province were asked to participate in this study. The participants replied to a questionnaire that consisted of questions on the use of radiographic devices, knowledge on the radiation protection of patients and staff, and attitudes and behaviors regarding radiation protection. The questionnaire also included questions about the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Descriptive statistics of data were performed using the SPSS software program. Sixty-six dentists participated in the survey. The mean knowledge score of dentists on dental imaging, radiation, and radiation protection was 8.3 ± 2.6 out of 17, while the mean attitude and behavior score was 8.3 ± 2.1 out of 27.97% of the participants stated that medical imaging technicians should carry out imaging procedures. The use of rectangular collimators was 9.1%, and using E/F film was 56.3% among dentists. 23.3% of participants stated that they applied the bisecting angle technique during dental imaging, 23.8% stated that they wear a lead apron during imaging, and 37.8% stated that they always used thyroid shields on the patients. In addition, 37.2% of the dentists stated that the patient holds the film during preapical radiography, and 81.5% used the same imaging parameters for adult and pediatric patients. 62% of dentists stated that they question the pregnancy of female patients before imaging. Findings of the study suggest that the knowledge of dentists about dental imaging procedures and radiation protection needs to be improved. The implementation and the follow-up of quality training programs in accordance with the standards set by the national authority will be of great importance.

Analysis of the Characteristics of Children and Adolescent Patients Received Sealant after National Health Insurance Coverage using Big Data

The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of pediatric and adolescent patients who received sealant after health insurance coverage based on demographic factors such as gender, age, insurance type, care institution and region.<br/>Patient Sample Data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service were used for this study. A total of 8,454,636 patients’ data were obtained from 2010 to 2017. Of these, 114,680 patients got sealant treatment. Females were more likely to receive sealant treatment than males. 5 - 9 year age group showed the highest number of patients and proportion of treatment. Patients with health insurance were more likely to receive pit and fissure sealant treatment compared to patients with medical aid program. The number of sealant patients and the proportion of sealant treatment were the highest in dental clinics, followed by dental hospitals and public health centers. The number of sealant patients were the highest in Gyeonggi and proportion of sealant patients were the highest in Jeonbuk.

Analisis Faktor yang berhubungan dengan Kejadian Karies Gigi pada Anak di SDN 44 Palembang

<em>Dental caries is a disease which leads to cavities. Based on the Health Profile<br /> of Palembang in Puskesmas Dempo, from 2,542 students who were tested<br /> there were 1,697 of students needed dental care and oral. Based on information from<br /> the Poli Dental Health Center Dempo in Palembang, it revealed that many students in<br /> SDN 44 Palembang suffered dental caries. The aim of this study was to know<br /> the relationships between dental and oral personal hygiene and lifestyle toward dental<br /> caries of students in SDN 44 Palembang, which was conducted from<br /> October to November 2019. This study used quantitative research methods with cross<br /> sectional approach. The population of this study was all students grades 4-6 in SDN 44 Palembang. The total of population was 242 students and 71 students were<br /> selected as sample using accidental sampling method. The research instrument used<br /> in the form of questionnaires and medical equipment dental and oral examination.<br /> The results showed that there was a relationship between the teeth and mouth personal hygiene including social practice (p value 0.004) and knowledge (p value 0.01) and the incidence of dental caries, while socioeconomic (p value 0.464) had no relationship to the incidence of dental caries. In addition, there was a relationship between lifestyle associated with dental and oral including health behaviours (p value 0.022) and consumption of food and<br /> beverages cariogenic (p value = 0.02), whereas the consumption of empek-empek<br /> vinegar (p value 0.639) did not have a relationship with the incidence of caries tooth.<br /> <br /> </em>

Need to understand challenges at rural dental health centers among developing countries in COVID-19 context

Need to understand challenges at rural dental health centers among developing countries in COVID-19 context

Attitude, perception, and awareness among dental practitioners in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and disease management - A prevalence study

Background: Due to the availability of proper hygiene standards and suggestions, many dental health centers fail to satisfy the minimal disease control criteria. Objective: The goal of this research was to investigate the degree of attitude, perception, and awareness of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) and disease management among dental practitioners in Namakkal district - A prevalence study. Methods: Dental practitioner operating in Namakkal district private health center, nursing homes, and health-care organizations was included in the research population. An questionnaire survey was issued to a test group in May 2020. The participants answered a sequence of quiz about dental practitioner survey was, their deep understanding of latent period, disease symptoms, SARS-COV-2 spreading route, and disease prevention. Results: A total of 207 dental practitioner were included in this study (98 males and 109 females). While all respondents (100%) were aware of the PPE required in this situation, a small percentage (2.5%) did not prefer to use one. About 99.5% of them endorsed social isolation as a containment measure to avert this epidemic and correctly identified the age group in which the disease is most prevalent. Few respondents (81.6% and 73.9%, respectively) were aware with the specifics of vaccine development and the death rate in the worst-affected nations. Similarly, not everyone was aware of the disorders associated with this disease (91.3%) or the actions that should be educate patients. Conclusion: In general, participants possessed a reasonable/above-average level of knowledge of the virus, its transmission, prevention, and therapy (around 90-100% correct responses overall). Almost all participants endorsed sharing this information with their patients, while a few expressed reservations. This research reveals that dental practitioner had a high level of knowledge and awareness of the pandemic.

SUPPLIER SELECTION WITH AHP AND 0-1 GOAL PROGRAMMING: AN APPLICATION IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

In order for health institutions to continue their activities, the goods and services they need must be supplied at the right time, in the right amount, at the right quality, at an affordable price and from the right source. This is possible with an effective supply chain management and selection of the right supplier. Supplier selection studies in the health sector are almost nonexistent, therefore, it was wanted to contribute to the literature by studying in this sector. In this study, it was aimed to work with the right suppliers to ensure that a dental health center provides critical medical supplies. First of all, the products of vital importance were determined by ABC (Always, Better Control)-VED (Vital, Essential, Desirable) matrix analysis and a supplier list was created. The best suppliers were selected with the Zero-One Goal Programming method based on AHP priorities, one of the multi-criteria decision making methods, by determining the criteria suitable for the sector.It is thought that this model will contribute significantly to the literature and will save time in supplier selection studies in the health sector.

COVID-19 pandemisinde görev yapan sağlık çalışanlarında anksiyete belirtileri ve uykusuzluk

Amaç: Bu çalışmada, COVID-19 pandemisi döneminde görev yapan sağlık çalışanlarının anksiyete ve uykusuzluk düzeyleri incelenmiştir. Yöntem: Kesitsel türde olan bu çalışmanın evrenini bir ilçe sağlık müdürlüğünde görevli sağlık çalışanları oluşturmaktadır. Veriler yüz yüze görüşme yoluyla uygulanan anket formlarıyla toplanmıştır. Üç bölümden oluşan anket formunda katılımcıların tanımlayıcı özelliklerine yönelik sorular, Yaygın Anksiyete Bozukluğu-7 Testi ve Uykusuzluk Şiddeti İndeksi yer almaktadır. Bulgular: Çalışma evreninin %85.6’sına (n=149) ulaşılmıştır. Yaş ortalaması 35.70±9.27 olup %71.5’i kadındır. %82.3’ü üniversite mezunu, %10.8’i hekimdir. Halk sağlığı hizmetleri biriminde görev yapanlar tüm personelin %31.5’ini; ağız ve diş sağlığı merkezinde görev yapanlar ise %24.6’sını oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcıların %33.1’i pandemi döneminde de aynı görevine devam ederken, %27.7’si vaka filyasyonu, %16.9’u ise Halk Sağlığı Yönetim Sistemi işlemlerinde görev yapmaktadır. COVID-19 tanısı alanların oranı %19.2’dir. Çalışanların %52.3’ünde yaygın anksiyete bozukluğu, %53.1’inde uykusuzluk mevcuttur. Hem yaygın anksiyete bozukluğu hem de uykusuzluk olanların oranı %36.9’dur. Öğrenim durumuna göre, lise mezunları anksiyete bozukluğu ve uykusuzluğun en az olduğu gruptur (sırasıyla p=0.029; p=0.031). Sonuç: Pandemiyle mücadelede ön safta görev yapan ilçe sağlık müdürlüğü personelinde yaygın anksiyete bozukluğu ve uykusuzluk sık görülmektedir. Çalışanların korunması pandemi döneminde alınması gereken önlemlerin önemli bir parçasıdır. Hem çalışanların iyilik halinin sürdürülmesi hem de sağlık hizmetlerinin yürütülmesinde yeterli insan kaynağını sağlayabilmek için sağlık çalışanlarının ruh sağlığı sorunlarına önem verilmelidir. Bu sayede hem çalışanların sağlıkları korunacak hem de topluma sundukları sağlık hizmeti aksamadan devam edecektir.

Evaluation of information quality on the internet for periodontal disease patients.

To evaluate the quality of accessible information on periodontal diseases on the Internet using different scales. A search was performed using the Google search engine with questions about periodontal disease symptoms. The first 30 web sites obtained after searching for each question were evaluated. Duplicate web sites, advertisements, discussion groups, links to research articles, videos, and images were excluded. A total of 90 web sites were included and evaluated with Health on the Net Code of Conduct Certification (HONCode) presence, Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and the quality criteria for consumer health information (DISCERN) toolkit. Only 27.8% of the analyzed web sites contain HONCode certificates. No webpages fulfilled all JAMA criteria, whereas 32.2% of the web sites did not provide any of them. Majority of the web sites' (44.4%) overall rating score was 2 with the DISCERN instrument. In the DISCERN Section Scores comparison between various types of web sites, information web site scores were higher than Dental Health Center Web sites in Section 1 and Section 3 scores (p=.000 and p=.001, respectively). Overall quality of periodontal information based on patients' questions on the Internet has serious shortcomings especially in terms of attribution and the quality of information on treatment choices.

Ağız ve Diş Sağlığı Merkezlerinin Verimlilik Analizi: Marmara Bölgesi Örneği

The aim of this research is to determine the technical, allocative and scale efficiency of Oral and Dental Health Centers in Marmara region under the Turkish Ministry of Health in 2014 and 2017. Input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method was used for efficiency measurement. Two inputs and six output variables were used in the study. Super efficiency analysis was performed to rank the advantages among the centers found to be efficient as a result of DEA, and regression analysis was performed to determine the correlation between the efficiency results and the input/output variables. As a result of the research, the average technical efficiency of 33 centers in 2014 was 0,909, allocative efficiency 0,945 and scale efficiency 0,960. In 2017, the centers had an average technical efficiency of 0,916, allocative efficiency of 0,954 and scale efficiency of 0,960. Inefficient centers must make the necessary potential improvements based on the reference set in order to achieve technical, allocative and scale efficiency.

Perceptions and Attitudes toward Use of Loupes among Dental Hygienists

The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions and attitudes of dental hygienists on the use of dental loupes. A questionnaire survey was conducted to 180 dental hygienists working at dental institutions and public health centers. 4.6% of all respondents answered that they use dental loupes currently, and 38.9% answered that they need to introduce dental loupes in the dental clinic. About half indicated that loupes were a benefit to improved vision(53%) and Improved clarity(44%). The most commonly reported disadvantages to loupes wear were limited depth of vision(39%) and overall dependency. It was confirmed that most dental hygienists did not use loupes, there was little interest in loupes. More research is needed on the effects of loupes in dental practice.

RELATION BETWEEN PATERNALISTIC LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION LEVEL: AN APPLICATION IN A HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION

Paternalistic leadership is defined as the kind of leadership seen in mostly non-western societies, combining strong discipline and authority in a helpful manner. The concept of motivation is defined as the enthusiasm of employees to achieve organizational goals and to continue to work. In this study, which deals with paternalistic leadership and motivational variables, the perceptions of paternalistic leadership and motivation levels of healthcare employees were measured firstly, and then, it was investigated whether there were significant relations between the perception of paternalistic leadership in employees and the level of motivation. The “Paternalistic Leadership Scale”, which was developed by Pellegrini and Scandura (2006) to measure the paternalistic leadership perceptions of employees in the form of one single dimension and 13 items, and the “Motivation Level Scale”, which was developed by Türker (2013) whose validity and reliability analyses were conducted by Sayan (2018) containing 3 dimensions and 20 items in total was used to measure motivational levels. This study was conducted with 158 employees working at an Oral and Dental Health Center in the city of Ankara. It was determined as a result of the analyses that the employees had high paternalistic leadership perceptions (3.89) and motivation levels (3.96). Also, a positive, high and significant relation (r= .722; p< .01) was detected between the perception of paternalistic leadership and motivational levels in the employees.

Determination of Burnout Levels of the Personnel Working in an Oral and Dental Health Center: A Pilot Study

Ağız ve diş sağlığı merkezleri diş hekimi, hemşire ve diş teknisyeni/klinik yardımcının beraber bir ekip halinde çalıştığı multidisipliner bir birimdir. Çalışmanın amacı, bir ağız ve diş sağlığı merkezinde çalışan personelin tükenmişlik düzeylerinin ve etkileyen faktörlerin belirlenmesidir. Araştırma tanımlayıcı tiptedir. Anket olarak, ‘Sosyodemografik Özellikler Formu’ ve ‘Maslach Tükenmişlik Ölçeği’ uygulanmıştır. Araştrımaya katılanların % 77,8’i kadın, % 22,2’si erkek, yaş ortalaması 33,44, çalışma yılı ortalaması 9,56, aynı işte işte çalışma yılı ortalaması 5,56’dır. Araştırmaya katılanların meslek, gelir durumu, çalışma süresi ve gürültü değişkenlerinde tükenmişlik düzeyleri bakımından anlamlı fark elde edilirken; cinsiyet, yaş, çalışma yılı, medeni durum ve tek ünitli ya da çok ünitli odada çalışma değişkenleri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark bulunamamıştır (p&amp;gt;0.05). Bu çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre, meslek, gelir durumu, çalışma süresi ve gürültü ağız ve diş sağlığı merkezinde çalışan personelin tükenmişlik düzeylerini anlamlı bir şekilde etkilemektedir. Ağız ve diş sağlığı merkezinde gerek çalışan personel gerekse de kurum olarak alınan bir takım önlemlerle tükenmişlik düzeylerini azaltmak mümkün olabilir.