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Variation in caries treatment proposals among dentists in Norway: the best interest of the child

  • Original Scientific Article
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European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 28 August 2017

This article has been updated

Abstract

Aim

To explore variation in treatment-related-decisions for severe caries in children among dentists in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in Norway. It was also to evaluate the treatment choices in relation to the best interest of children and a child’s rights to enjoy the highest standard of health care.

Methods

A pre-coded questionnaire was sent electronically to all general dental practitioners (GDPs) working in the PDS in eight counties in Norway (n = 611). The questionnaire included two case scenarios to reflect common dental conditions related to severe caries among 5-year-old children. Paediatric dentists and paediatric students were invited to validate the different treatment options. Frequency distributions and statistical analyses were carried out using Chi square statistics.

Results

The response rate was 65% (n = 391) among the GDPs. A majority of the GDPs preferred a new appointment with behaviour management techniques (BMT) to a child presenting pulpitis and pain. Dentists educated outside the Nordic region would use restraint more often as a treatment alternative when the child was in pain than Nordic-educated dentists (p < 0.05). Dentists with less than 10 years of experience preferred BMT and sedation more often when the child was in pain than their older colleagues, who, however, preferred a waiting approach and no immediate treatment if the child was not in pain (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Use of BMT and sedation is related to region of education and years of experience. Awareness of ethical principles with the child´s best interest in mind, should receive increased attention.

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Change history

  • 28 August 2017

    An erratum to this article has been published.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank dentists in the Public Dental Service in the counties of Finnmark, Nordland, Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Hordaland, Vest-Agder, Hedmark and Oslo for their contributions to the study.

Authors’ contributions

Study concept, design and methodology—AR, ABS, BH, IE. Data collection and data entry—AR. Supervision—IE, ABS. Analysis and interpretation of data—AR, ABS, IE. Writing, review, critique, comments and revision of manuscript—AR, ABS, BH, IE. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Behavioural Science, Faculty of Dentistry, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    A. Rønneberg, A. B. Skaare & I. Espelid

  2. Section for Health, Technology and Society, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Gjøvik, Norway

    B. Hofmann

  3. Centre for Medical Ethics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    B. Hofmann

Authors
  1. A. Rønneberg
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  2. A. B. Skaare
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  3. B. Hofmann
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  4. I. Espelid
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Rønneberg.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human participants

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

The original version of this article was revised to correct typesetting errors in the Results paragraph of the abstract.

An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-017-0300-1.

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Rønneberg, A., Skaare, A.B., Hofmann, B. et al. Variation in caries treatment proposals among dentists in Norway: the best interest of the child. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 18, 345–353 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-017-0298-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40368-017-0298-4

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