INVESTIGATION OF THE SELF-REPORTED ATTITUDE OF DENTISTS TOWARDS PREVENTIVE APPLICATIONS
FLUORIDE, sa.1, ss.23-40, 2023 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2023
- Dergi Adı: FLUORIDE
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aqualine, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Veterinary Science Database, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.23-40
- İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet
Özet
The purpose of this study was to determine the approaches of dentists to the use of fluoride applications as preventive treatment options. The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional survey divided into two sections and the participating dental practitioners were asked to answer a questionnaire about: (i) demographic data and (ii) dentists' attitudes to prevention. Data entry and analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and Chi-square test. The sample (N=481), who volunteered to participate, consisted of 332 general dentists (69%) and 149 specialist dentists (31%). 380 (79%) dentists applied preventive applications. 452 dentists (94%) considered that fluoride was effective in preventing caries. 235 dentists (48.9%) thought that fluoride had side effects. Significantly more female dentists thought that fluoride had a caries preventive effect than male dentists (p=0.005) and they applied preventive treatments more frequently than male dentists (p=0.01). All age groups believed that fluoride was useful to prevent caries, and almost all the dentists in the 18-25 age range believed in a caries preventive effect of fluoride (98.6%) (p=0.0001). Dentists in 18-25 age range used preventive applications for their patients more than other age groups (p=0.019). Fewer dentists aged 26-35 than dentists in the other age groups (p=0.037) thought that the fluoride preparations had dental and/or medical side effects. Non-specialist dentists gave more priority to preventive applications than specialist dentists (p=0.0001). The approach of dentists to the use of preventive practices will change if they keep up-todate with information about preventive practices through ongoing training.