Browsing by Subject "dentists"

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    Assessment of the Influence of Demographic and Professional Characteristics on Health Care Providers' Pain Management Decisions Using Virtual Humans
    (2016-05) Boissoneault, Jeff; Mundt, Jennifer M.; Bartley, Emily J.; Wandner, Laura D.; Hirsh, Adam T.; Robinson, Michael E.; Department of Psychology, School of Science
    Disparities in health care associated with patients’ gender, race, and age are well documented. Previous studies using virtual human (VH) technology have demonstrated that provider characteristics may play an important role in pain management decisions. However, these studies have largely emphasized group differences. The aims of this study were to examine dentists’ and physicians’ use of VH characteristics when making clinical judgments (i.e., cue use) and to identify provider characteristics associated with the magnitude of the impact of these cues (β-weights). Providers (N=152; 76 physicians, 76 dentists) viewed video vignettes of VH patients varying in gender (male/female), race (white/black), and age (younger/older). Participants rated VH patients’ pain intensity and unpleasantness and then rated their own likelihood of administering non-opioid and opioid analgesics. Compared to physicians, dentists had significantly lower β-weights associated with VH age cues for all ratings (p<0.001; d>0.69). These effects varied by provider race and gender. For pain intensity, professional differences were present only among non-white providers. White providers had greater β-weights than non-white providers for pain unpleasantness but only among men. Provider differences regarding the use of VH age cues in non-opioid analgesic administration were present among all providers except non-white males. These findings highlight the interaction of patient and provider factors in driving clinical decision making. Although profession was related to use of VH age cues in pain-related clinical judgments, this relationship was modified by providers’ personal characteristics. Additional research is needed to understand what aspects of professional training or practice may account for differences between physicians and dentists and what forms of continuing education may help to mitigate the disparities.
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    U.S. Pediatric Dentists’ Perception of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization
    (AAPD, 2018) Tagelsir, Azza; Dean, Jeffrey A.; Eckert, George J.; Martinez Mier, Esperanza A.; Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry
    Purpose: The purpose of this survey-based study was to target U.S. pediatric dentists in the Midwest region to determine their knowledge, perceptions, and clinical management strategies of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH). Methods: After obtaining appropriate authorizations, all pediatric dentists identified by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's 2016 to 2017 membership directory in the 12 Midwest states were invited to take part in the study. The questionnaire, adopted from previous studies, incorporated information of the participants' demographics and educational/clinical backgrounds and MIH-focused questions. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used for analysis. An alpha level less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 251 out of 975 surveys were completed (26 percent). Nearly all participants were familiar with MIH. The majority reported the MIH prevalence to be less than 10 percent in their clinical practice (62 percent). Most respondents were either very confident (65 percent) or confident (34 percent) when diagnosing teeth with MIH. The most cited clinical challenge in managing MIH teeth was "long-term success of restorations" (79 percent). When analyzed individually, responses differed significantly for different demographics and educational characteristics of the respondents (P<0.05). Conclusion: MIH is generally well acknowledged by U.S. Midwest pediatric dentists, with differences related to their perceptions of the condition's prevalence as well as clinical and restorative management challenges.