Perceptions of Private Dental Practitioners of Specialist Prosthodontic Dental Services in Gujarat: A Survey

Abstract

To identify the perceptions towards and utilization of specialist Prosthodontic services among Private Dental Practitioners (PDPs) of Gujarat state. To study the influence of presence or absence of a Prosthodontic post graduate course during the PDP’s dental education and years of experience in practice on the decisions to treat Prosthodontic cases themselves or to utilise Prosthodontic speciality services. A postal questionnaire examined by a panel of Prosthodontists, piloted on 15 PDPs, was sent to 150 randomly selected private dental practitioners of Gujarat state. The collected data were subjected to descriptive and Chi-square statistical analysis. Though 78.64 % dentists considered the treatment provided by the Prosthodontist to be effective, only 34.95 % of them availed their services. 33 % PDPs without a Prosthodontic post graduate course in their institute were significantly more likely to refer patients to a Prosthodontist. Years of experience had no influence on utilization of Prosthodontic speciality service. 18.44 % PDPs had a Prosthodontic speciality clinic in their region, 65.04 % did not have, whereas 11.65 % were not aware of such clinic. PDPs have high regards for the Prosthodontic speciality but their reported demand was less as compared to other specialities indicating a need for the Prosthodonitst to put in efforts to make the PDPs aware of their services.