Erosive tooth wear: knowledge of diagnosis and treatment strategies among private dental practitioners in Kuantan, Pahang
Introduction: Awareness of erosive tooth wear (ETW) by the public is still low and most dental practitioners overlooked the very early stages dismissing minor tooth surface loss of erosive tooth wear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess knowledge of diagnosis and treatment strategies of ETW amo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia
2017
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/61785/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/61785/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/61785/1/61785_Erosive%20Tooth%20Wear.pdf |
| Summary: | Introduction: Awareness of erosive tooth wear (ETW) by the public is still low and most dental
practitioners overlooked the very early stages dismissing minor tooth surface loss of erosive tooth
wear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess knowledge of diagnosis and treatment strategies of
ETW among private dental practitioners (PDP) in Kuantan. Materials and Methods: A crosssectional
study was conducted in Kuantan private clinics involving PDP and general dental
practitioners who performed locum by using convenience sampling. A self-administered validated
questionnaire was distributed and descriptive analysis was performed. Results: Overall response
rate was 75%. Results indicated that majority of participants (79.2%) received formal education
about ETW. About half of participants further learned through continuous dental education. All
participants agreed that carbonated drink was the cause of ETW and majority of them reported
that gastro-esophageal reflux diseases and pickles also contributed to ETW. Regarding ETW
documentation, majority of participants (79%) preferred case notes. Nevertheless, 40.9% and 36.4%
record at tooth surface level and individual level respectively. In term of specific scoring in
assessing ETW, 79% of them did not know about it. Most of participants prefer giving oral hygiene
instruction and diet counseling as preventive measures; however usage of fluorides was not
prioritized. 77% of participants never referred case to dental specialist and prefer to treat patient
by themselves. Conclusion(s): Knowledge of ETW among recruited PDP is adequate however they
did not use any specific indices for ETW scoring and treatment strategies were insufficient. |
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