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General dental practitioners’ approach to caries prevention in high-caries-risk children

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European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aims

To evaluate the advice and preventive care provided by General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) to high-caries-risk children in Jordan.

Methods

A cross-sectional study using an open-ended questionnaire. GDPs were presented with a high-caries-risk child scenario and asked regarding: (1) oral hygiene and dietary advice they would give; (2) preventive-care they would offer; (3) barriers they face in prevention delivery. Answers were compared to an evidence-based guideline. Data were input into SPSS-20 and analysed using descriptive statistics and frequencies. Chi-square test was used to compare results by age, gender, practice location and type.

Results

One-hundred and sixty GDPs were approached and 128 agreed to participate (80%), of whom 87 (69%) were female. The average age was 31 years [range 22–50]. Sixty-nine percent practiced in the capital, Amman. Sixty-five percent gave advice on tooth-brushing frequency, but only 23% suggested brushing at bed-time and 24% recommended parental supervision. None provided advice on toothpaste fluoride content. Seventy-one percent advised reducing sugary-food amounts, but only 21% focused on frequency and 2% suggested using diet diaries. Most knew about fissure-sealants (77%) and fluoride-varnish (80%). Forty-two percent reported barriers to delivering preventive-care, including parental attitudes (36%), child cooperation (30%), financial reward (19%), and training (6%). Participants practicing outside of the capital were less likely to use fluoride-varnish [P = 0.002] and more likely to report barriers [P = 0.001].

Conclusions

Advice delivered by GDPs to high-caries-risk children in Jordan does not meet the standards of an evidence-based guideline. Future initiatives for oral-health-promotion should aim to address the barriers reported, especially outside the capital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics, and Preventive Dentistry, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan

    A. Aljafari & R. ElKarmi

  2. Department of Dentistry, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, 11942, Jordan

    J. Kussad

  3. Division of Population and Patient Health, King’s College London Dental Institute, London, SE5 9RS, UK

    M. T. Hosey

Authors
  1. A. Aljafari
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  2. R. ElKarmi
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  3. J. Kussad
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  4. M. T. Hosey
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Contributions

“All authors have made substantive contribution to this study and/or manuscript, and all have reviewed the final paper prior to its submission.” AA and RE contributed to study design, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript writing; JK contributed to data collection, analysis and manuscript writing; MTH contributed to study design, data analysis and manuscript writing.

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Correspondence to A. Aljafari.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Ethical approval was obtained from Jordan University Hospital research ethics committee (Reference Number 198/2017) in accordance with institutional and national ethical standards and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Aljafari, A., ElKarmi, R., Kussad, J. et al. General dental practitioners’ approach to caries prevention in high-caries-risk children. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 22, 187–193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-020-00548-4

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