Health Information Technology (HIT): A Hit or Miss in Private Dental Practice in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India ­ A Cross Sectional Survey

Objective: To assess the knowledge, perception and use of Health Information Technology (HIT) among private dental practitioners in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Material and Methods: The sample population consisted of private dental practitioners in Chennai District of Tamil Nadu who were individually approached to participate in the cross-sectional survey. A structured, self-reported, close-ended questionnaire, which contained queries on the knowledge, usage and concerns about HIT in their practice, was designed. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and percentages were analyzed using SPSS version 24. Results: Of the 483 dental clinics that were approached, 352 dental practitioners completed the questionnaire survey. A significant proportion of dental practitioners (65 percent) reported positive attitude towards use of HIT systems and believed that HIT systems could help make their work easier and efficient. However, it is unfortunate to note that almost half (47 percent) the dental practitioners were not interested in implementing HIT systems in their practice due to various monetary concerns such as installation and maintenance costs. Conclusion: The widespread adoption of HIT provides system connectivity and information exchange among providers of the same organisation, providers at different organisations and, ultimately, providers practising regionally and nationally.

Estimation and Comparison of Erythrocyte and Hemoglobin Levels in Subjects with Healthy Periodontium and Chronic Periodontitis

Objective: To compare and evaluate the relationship between anemia and periodontitis by estimation of peripheral blood between healthy patients and chronic periodontitis patients. Material and Methods: Of the total of 230 outpatients approached to participate in the study, 100 eligible patients were selected as per the selection criteria. After written consent, these patients were divided into two groups according to the clinical parameters as healthy and disease (chronic periodontitis) groups. Under aseptic conditions, venous blood samples were obtained by vein-puncture in the ante-cubital fossa without excessive venous stasis and the mean value of erythrocytes (EC), hemoglobin concentration (HGB), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were measured. Paired t-test was employed to find the significance of study parameters on continuous scale within the group analysis and unpaired t-test (two tailed, dependent) was used to find the significance of study parameters on continuous scale in the inter group analysis. Results: Generally, the healthy group reported higher levels of EC, HGB, MCV and MCH than the periodontitis group. The mean hemoglobin level was significantly higher (p-value<0.05) in healthy patients (12.66 ±1.41 gm/dl) whereas a slightly lower level of 11.32±1.85 gm/dl was observed in patients with chronic periodontitis. Similarly, the range of erythrocyte count of healthy patients was significantly higher (3.69-5.29 million/µl) than chronic periodontitis patients (3.33-5.97 million/µl). Whilst MCV was higher in healthy patients but non-significant, higher mean MCH of 27.75 ± 3.25 pg/cell was reported in healthy patients compared to mean of 25.73 ± 3.22 pg/cell in patients with chronic periodontitis. Conclusion: Significant hematological differences in EC, HGB, MCV and MCH between healthy periodontium and chronic periodontitis subjects were seen indicating mild anemia.