Dental fear is a hindrance to the effective provision of oral health care and causes patients to ... more Dental fear is a hindrance to the effective provision of oral health care and causes patients to delay, or even avoid necessary care altogether. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and level of dental fear, to identify specific fear provoking stimuli and also to explore the avoidance behaviour among the respondents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 407 antenatal mothers utilizing the Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Survey Questionnaire. The overall prevalence of dental fear was 94.1% of which 67.6% of the subjects reported low fear levels, 26.5% were moderately fearful while none were highly fearful. Only 5.9% of the subjects reported no fear. The drill and anaesthetic needle were identified as the most fear provoking objects. Subjects with moderate fear were about 6.4 times (OR=6.39; 95%CI 3.81-10.75) more likely to avoid making appointments and 6 times (OR=6.05; 95% CI 3.20-11.50) more likely to cancel appointments compared to subjects with lower levels of fear. This. study indicates that dental fear is a common problem among antenatal mothers contributing to poor dental attendance.
Background There is a lack of evidence with regards to the association between both maternal and ... more Background There is a lack of evidence with regards to the association between both maternal and child dental anxiety and the mother’s perception of her child’s oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of maternal and child dental anxiety with COHRQoL and the effect of demographic factors as moderators in this relationship. In addition, the association between child’s dental caries experience and the COHRQoL was also assessed. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1150, 5–6 year-old preschool children in Selangor, Malaysia. Mothers answered a questionnaire on socio-economic status, the Malay-Modified Dental Anxiety Scale to assess maternal dental anxiety, and the Malay-Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale to assess COHRQoL. Child's dental anxiety was assessed using the Malay-Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale via a face-to-face interview prior to oral examination to assess dental caries. Data w...
A questionnaire was mailed to 1217 dentists whose names appear in the Dentist Register of 1987 in... more A questionnaire was mailed to 1217 dentists whose names appear in the Dentist Register of 1987 in order to assess their awareness and acceptance of hepatitis B vaccine and their pattern of glove usage. Almost all the respondents (99.6%) were aware of the availability of the hepatitis B vaccine yet only 44.8% have received the vaccine. This is in spite of the fact that the majority (61.2%) of the vaccine non-acceptors have no reservations concerning the vaccine. About 71% and 63% of the vaccine-acceptors and non-acceptors respectively believed that the risk of their contracting hepatitis B was high or very high. About 22% of the vaccine non-acceptors never used gloves when treating patients as compared to 9% among vaccine acceptors. Overall, about 78% of the respondents have experienced needleprick injuries in the 3 years preceding the survey.
A survey on oral hygiene practices was conducted on 537 dentate adult patients aged 15 years and ... more A survey on oral hygiene practices was conducted on 537 dentate adult patients aged 15 years and over. The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in dental behavior with regards to socio-demographic factors, namely age, sex, ethnicity, income, education and occupational status. Patients attending nine randomly selected government dental clinics were interviewed on their daily oral hygiene practices. The majority (89.7%) of the subjects reported that they brushed their teeth, 68% used toothpaste containing fluoride, but only 8.4% flossed their teeth. Generally the younger group had better oral hygiene habits. The higher the socioeconomic status of the adults, the better their toothcleaning practices. Awareness concerning dental floss was low regardless of all the socio-demographic variables. It was concluded that there is a need to improve the dental health practices of adults in Malaysia.
This study evaluates the level of dental knowledge among 328 antenatal mothers from different eth... more This study evaluates the level of dental knowledge among 328 antenatal mothers from different ethnic groups and ascertains the importance of the various sources of dental information. The mothers were interviewed based on a structured questionnaire. Most mothers knew about the number of sets of teeth they possessed throughout their life. This was most evident among the Chinese and least among the Malays. Only 42.7% of the mothers interviewed were positive about the preservation of their teeth throughout life. This belief was highest among the Chinese followed by the Indians. However about 40% of the Chinese believed that tooth decay is hereditary. Generally the principal sources of dental information cited by most mothers were television or radio followed by dentists, school and family. This order of importance was similarly observed among the Malays and Chinese. However, among Indians, family members represent the second most important source of dental information. The implications...
Background: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child De... more Background: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDAS f ) Malay version in 5-6 and 9-12 year-old children.
The aim of this postal survey was to assess the utilization, knowledge and attitude concerning se... more The aim of this postal survey was to assess the utilization, knowledge and attitude concerning sealants among Malaysian dentists. A pretested questionnaire was sent to all dentists (1217) who were on the Dentist Register of Malaysia of 1987. A response rate of 61.1% was obtained. The results indicate that 52.6% of the respondents have used sealants, but of these only 13.6% have used them frequently. The two "knowledge" related questions receiving the most support concerned the suitability of the first permanent molars for sealants and the loss of sealants attributable to problems at the time of application. The two "attitudinal" questions receiving the most support concerned the value of sealants in preventing dental caries and the need for the profession to expand more efforts toward increasing public demand for sealants. Only about 50% of the respondents believed that sealants are cost-effective.
Patient satisfaction is critical for the growth and prosperity of any oral health service or prac... more Patient satisfaction is critical for the growth and prosperity of any oral health service or practice. The success of any oral health service can be assessed by an evaluation of the degree of satisfaction/dissatisfaction of its patients. The aim of this study is to assess satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the oral health services among Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) in the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF). A qualitative study using the Nominal Group Technique was undertaken. Eighty subjects from the Rasah Camp, Seremban were randomly selected from four lists, namely privates, male and female corporals and sergeants and were grouped into 10 discussion groups of eight participants each. Of the 10 groups, four groups comprised male corporals, three groups of privates, two groups of sergeants and one group of female corporals. Two separate discussion sessions were conducted to elicit factors/items causing dissatisfaction and satisfaction expressed by the participants. Every participant th...
Background: The urban low income has often been assumed to have the greatest dental treatment nee... more Background: The urban low income has often been assumed to have the greatest dental treatment needs compared to the general population. However, no studies have been carried out to verify these assumptions. This study was conducted to assess whether there was any difference between the treatment needs of an urban poor population as compared to the general population in order to design an intervention programme for this community.
Fluoride mouth rinsing is one of the most widely used caries preventive public health methods. In... more Fluoride mouth rinsing is one of the most widely used caries preventive public health methods. In 1965, Torrel and Ericsson (1) reported that daily use of a 0.05% sodium fluoride mouth rinse reduced the development of new caries by 50%, while fortnightly rinsing reduced the caries level by about one-third. This study became a classic model in the field of fluoride mouth rinsing. The effect of fluoride mouthrinses on the incidence of caries in children has been extensively investigated during the past four decades in a large number of clinical trials. These have demonstrated the effectiveness of fluoride mouth rinses in reducing dental caries by 15-45% over a period of 2-6 years (2-5). A Cochrane review by Marinho et al. (6) concluded that regular and supervised use of fluoride mouthrinse by children is associated with a clear reduction in caries increment. The review found that daily and weekly or fortnightly rinse programmes resulted on average in 26% fewer decayed, missing or filled permanent tooth surfaces. It is thought that the caries-preventive effect of fluoride mouth rinsing relates to its influence on the demineralization ⁄ remineralization process in enamel and dentine .
A total of 537 dentate adults from nine randomly selected government dental centers in three stat... more A total of 537 dentate adults from nine randomly selected government dental centers in three states in Malaysia were interviewed to assess their preference for either exodontia or preservation of teeth when they experience toothache, or have carious anterior or posterior teeth. The assumptions tested were i) patients prefer exodontia rather than preservation when they have toothache, and ii) patients are more willing to have posterior teeth extracted than anterior teeth for caries. Both these assumptions were rejected. Even though the majority of the subjects preferred preservation (59%) when having toothache, exodontia was the treatment of choice in a large proportion of subjects (41%). Significant differences in preference were found among the various ethnic, educational, income, and age groups. However, when ethnicity was held constant, binary regression indicated that the variations observed were determined by education, income, and age groups and not by ethnicity.
Dental fear is a hindrance to the effective provision of oral health care and causes patients to ... more Dental fear is a hindrance to the effective provision of oral health care and causes patients to delay, or even avoid necessary care altogether. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and level of dental fear, to identify specific fear provoking stimuli and also to explore the avoidance behaviour among the respondents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 407 antenatal mothers utilizing the Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Survey Questionnaire. The overall prevalence of dental fear was 94.1% of which 67.6% of the subjects reported low fear levels, 26.5% were moderately fearful while none were highly fearful. Only 5.9% of the subjects reported no fear. The drill and anaesthetic needle were identified as the most fear provoking objects. Subjects with moderate fear were about 6.4 times (OR=6.39; 95%CI 3.81-10.75) more likely to avoid making appointments and 6 times (OR=6.05; 95% CI 3.20-11.50) more likely to cancel appointments compared to subjects with lower levels of fear. This. study indicates that dental fear is a common problem among antenatal mothers contributing to poor dental attendance.
Background There is a lack of evidence with regards to the association between both maternal and ... more Background There is a lack of evidence with regards to the association between both maternal and child dental anxiety and the mother’s perception of her child’s oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of maternal and child dental anxiety with COHRQoL and the effect of demographic factors as moderators in this relationship. In addition, the association between child’s dental caries experience and the COHRQoL was also assessed. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1150, 5–6 year-old preschool children in Selangor, Malaysia. Mothers answered a questionnaire on socio-economic status, the Malay-Modified Dental Anxiety Scale to assess maternal dental anxiety, and the Malay-Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale to assess COHRQoL. Child's dental anxiety was assessed using the Malay-Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale via a face-to-face interview prior to oral examination to assess dental caries. Data w...
A questionnaire was mailed to 1217 dentists whose names appear in the Dentist Register of 1987 in... more A questionnaire was mailed to 1217 dentists whose names appear in the Dentist Register of 1987 in order to assess their awareness and acceptance of hepatitis B vaccine and their pattern of glove usage. Almost all the respondents (99.6%) were aware of the availability of the hepatitis B vaccine yet only 44.8% have received the vaccine. This is in spite of the fact that the majority (61.2%) of the vaccine non-acceptors have no reservations concerning the vaccine. About 71% and 63% of the vaccine-acceptors and non-acceptors respectively believed that the risk of their contracting hepatitis B was high or very high. About 22% of the vaccine non-acceptors never used gloves when treating patients as compared to 9% among vaccine acceptors. Overall, about 78% of the respondents have experienced needleprick injuries in the 3 years preceding the survey.
A survey on oral hygiene practices was conducted on 537 dentate adult patients aged 15 years and ... more A survey on oral hygiene practices was conducted on 537 dentate adult patients aged 15 years and over. The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in dental behavior with regards to socio-demographic factors, namely age, sex, ethnicity, income, education and occupational status. Patients attending nine randomly selected government dental clinics were interviewed on their daily oral hygiene practices. The majority (89.7%) of the subjects reported that they brushed their teeth, 68% used toothpaste containing fluoride, but only 8.4% flossed their teeth. Generally the younger group had better oral hygiene habits. The higher the socioeconomic status of the adults, the better their toothcleaning practices. Awareness concerning dental floss was low regardless of all the socio-demographic variables. It was concluded that there is a need to improve the dental health practices of adults in Malaysia.
This study evaluates the level of dental knowledge among 328 antenatal mothers from different eth... more This study evaluates the level of dental knowledge among 328 antenatal mothers from different ethnic groups and ascertains the importance of the various sources of dental information. The mothers were interviewed based on a structured questionnaire. Most mothers knew about the number of sets of teeth they possessed throughout their life. This was most evident among the Chinese and least among the Malays. Only 42.7% of the mothers interviewed were positive about the preservation of their teeth throughout life. This belief was highest among the Chinese followed by the Indians. However about 40% of the Chinese believed that tooth decay is hereditary. Generally the principal sources of dental information cited by most mothers were television or radio followed by dentists, school and family. This order of importance was similarly observed among the Malays and Chinese. However, among Indians, family members represent the second most important source of dental information. The implications...
Background: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child De... more Background: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the faces version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDAS f ) Malay version in 5-6 and 9-12 year-old children.
The aim of this postal survey was to assess the utilization, knowledge and attitude concerning se... more The aim of this postal survey was to assess the utilization, knowledge and attitude concerning sealants among Malaysian dentists. A pretested questionnaire was sent to all dentists (1217) who were on the Dentist Register of Malaysia of 1987. A response rate of 61.1% was obtained. The results indicate that 52.6% of the respondents have used sealants, but of these only 13.6% have used them frequently. The two "knowledge" related questions receiving the most support concerned the suitability of the first permanent molars for sealants and the loss of sealants attributable to problems at the time of application. The two "attitudinal" questions receiving the most support concerned the value of sealants in preventing dental caries and the need for the profession to expand more efforts toward increasing public demand for sealants. Only about 50% of the respondents believed that sealants are cost-effective.
Patient satisfaction is critical for the growth and prosperity of any oral health service or prac... more Patient satisfaction is critical for the growth and prosperity of any oral health service or practice. The success of any oral health service can be assessed by an evaluation of the degree of satisfaction/dissatisfaction of its patients. The aim of this study is to assess satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the oral health services among Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) in the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF). A qualitative study using the Nominal Group Technique was undertaken. Eighty subjects from the Rasah Camp, Seremban were randomly selected from four lists, namely privates, male and female corporals and sergeants and were grouped into 10 discussion groups of eight participants each. Of the 10 groups, four groups comprised male corporals, three groups of privates, two groups of sergeants and one group of female corporals. Two separate discussion sessions were conducted to elicit factors/items causing dissatisfaction and satisfaction expressed by the participants. Every participant th...
Background: The urban low income has often been assumed to have the greatest dental treatment nee... more Background: The urban low income has often been assumed to have the greatest dental treatment needs compared to the general population. However, no studies have been carried out to verify these assumptions. This study was conducted to assess whether there was any difference between the treatment needs of an urban poor population as compared to the general population in order to design an intervention programme for this community.
Fluoride mouth rinsing is one of the most widely used caries preventive public health methods. In... more Fluoride mouth rinsing is one of the most widely used caries preventive public health methods. In 1965, Torrel and Ericsson (1) reported that daily use of a 0.05% sodium fluoride mouth rinse reduced the development of new caries by 50%, while fortnightly rinsing reduced the caries level by about one-third. This study became a classic model in the field of fluoride mouth rinsing. The effect of fluoride mouthrinses on the incidence of caries in children has been extensively investigated during the past four decades in a large number of clinical trials. These have demonstrated the effectiveness of fluoride mouth rinses in reducing dental caries by 15-45% over a period of 2-6 years (2-5). A Cochrane review by Marinho et al. (6) concluded that regular and supervised use of fluoride mouthrinse by children is associated with a clear reduction in caries increment. The review found that daily and weekly or fortnightly rinse programmes resulted on average in 26% fewer decayed, missing or filled permanent tooth surfaces. It is thought that the caries-preventive effect of fluoride mouth rinsing relates to its influence on the demineralization ⁄ remineralization process in enamel and dentine .
A total of 537 dentate adults from nine randomly selected government dental centers in three stat... more A total of 537 dentate adults from nine randomly selected government dental centers in three states in Malaysia were interviewed to assess their preference for either exodontia or preservation of teeth when they experience toothache, or have carious anterior or posterior teeth. The assumptions tested were i) patients prefer exodontia rather than preservation when they have toothache, and ii) patients are more willing to have posterior teeth extracted than anterior teeth for caries. Both these assumptions were rejected. Even though the majority of the subjects preferred preservation (59%) when having toothache, exodontia was the treatment of choice in a large proportion of subjects (41%). Significant differences in preference were found among the various ethnic, educational, income, and age groups. However, when ethnicity was held constant, binary regression indicated that the variations observed were determined by education, income, and age groups and not by ethnicity.
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