ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the factors affecting how medical graduates of Karachi choose their dental health care providers
Study Design: Observational / descriptive / cross sectional study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi from August 2014 to December 2014
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at Jinnah Medical and Dental College. A 11-item questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was collected from medical college graduates of Karachi to determine the factors affecting how medical graduates choose their dental health care providers. The questionnaire involved attributes ranging from dental practice to reputation, X-ray facility within clinics, skills/ experience, timings and availability, sterilization, location, Clinical Setup [general appearance/ambiance], qualification, Payment Plans [installments, credit cards, etc.] and Treatment charges. The study included 382 doctors. The data was stored in excel worksheet and was analyzed using SPSS
Results: 26% of the respondents selected 'skills/ experience' as the most important attribute in selecting a dentist while 20% of the respondents picked 'sterilization' and 17% of the respondents chose 'qualification' as their top reason for the selection of dentist. Reputation of the dentist was selected by 14% of the respondents whereas 10 % selected treatment charges as their reason for selecting a dentist. Clinical setup and location accounted for 9 and 4 % respectively
Conclusion: In conclusion skills/ experience, reputation of the dentist and sterilization standards of clinic are were the most important factors while selecting a dentist
ABSTRACT
This article focuses on the mixed perceptions of the dentists in treating patients on blood thinners and the awareness amongst them regarding protocol and management of such patients. Cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study. This study was conducted at Jinnah Medical and Dental College from August 2013 to December 2013. The data was collected from three dental colleges of Karachi. The study was conducted at Jinnah Medical and Dental College. A 17-item questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was collected from three dental colleges of Karachi to evaluate the dentist's perception and protocols put into practice related to patients on blood thinners. The study included 92 dentists. The data was stored in excel worksheet and was analyzed using SPSS. Amongst the 92 dental practitioners evaluated in the research 50% advised their patients to stop antiplatelet therapy prior to a dental procedure. 64.13% of the dentists where of the opinion that antiplatelet therapy be stopped before performing any treatment 94.56% of the dentists said they are aware of the reasons why patients are kept on anticoagulant drugs. Based on the data collected 67.39% of the dental practitioners delayed the treatment for patients taking blood thinners 95.65% referred the patients to their cardiologist prior to an invasive treatment. The optimal range of INR was known by 8478% of practitioners. Dental practitioners in this study population display a wide range of practice in their approach to patients on blood thinners. A trend towards overly conservative management is seen in the former. In contrast, the approach to the patients appeared to be haphazard, with about 20% of those never checking the INR pre-operatively. There is a clear need for greater awareness of an evidence-based approach to the dental management of this unique patient group to avoid unnecessary and preventable complications. There is an acute need for creating awareness and adherence to the new guidelines for safe and effective practice
ABSTRACT
A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi [JMDC] to determine the frequency of comorbidities that may affect the dental extraction in patients older than 35 years of age. A total of 3986 patients visited the oral surgery OPD of JMDC during the period of December 2010 to October 2011. The history charts of 1867 patients aged 35 years and above were included in the study. The patient's medical and drug history was recorded on a predesigned Proforma to find out the frequency of different medical problems including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hepatitis, anemia, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiac disorders, renal disorders and blood dyscrasias. From a total of 1,867 patients, 436 patients [23.4%] were having comorbidities. The age of patients ranged from 30 to 80 years with the mean age of 39.6 years. The majority of them [54%] were in the 4th to 6th decades of life. There were 898 male patients [48.1%] and 969 females [51.9%]. In this study, hypertension was the most prevalent comorbid accounting for [236/1867, 12.6%] patients, followed by diabetes mellitus [126/1867, 6.74%], peptic ulcer [48/1867, 2.57%] and ischemic heart disease [16/1867, 0.85%].It is very important for the attending clinicians to have an exact knowledge of the patient's medical condition, although the prevalence of patients having comorbidities was not very high, the dentist must bear in mind that some of these patients may have contraindications to certain surgical procedures and others may require special modifications in standard treatment protocols to provide safe and effective dental treatment in these groups of patients
ABSTRACT
A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Fatima Jinnah Dental College, Karachi to find out the factors responsible for premature loss of deciduous molars in children aged three to nine years. All children aged 3 - 9 years visiting the Dental OPD of Fatima Jinnah Dental College Karachi for extraction of deciduous molars from Feb 2011 to Feb 2012 were included in the study. 256 children format the study group. The data were collected on a predesigned Proforma filled by a single operator. Parameters taken into consideration were age, sex, tooth brushing and reasons for extraction. In this study 176 were male and 80 female. Overall 368 deciduous molars were extracted, 237 deciduous molars were extracted in males and 131 in females. Among the investigated subjects, 17% of children reported no tooth-brushing. Caries was the commonest cause of premature loss of deciduous molars accounted for 96.1% followed by tooth fracture 2.3% and malocclusion 1.6%. The frequency of only one deciduous molar loss was 67.2%. Maximum deciduous molar loss 50.7% was observed in children aged 8 years. Most commonly extracted tooth was mandibular left first deciduous molar [37.7%]. Results of this study suggested that improper tooth-brushing dental caries and no-treatment of carious deciduous molars were major risk factors in its early loss
ABSTRACT
Impaction of the 3rd molar is a high incident problem occurring in up to 73% of young adults in Europe. Appropriate follow-up routines and optimal timing for surgical removal of the 3[rd] molars can be established in patients judged to be at increased risk of impaction. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for mandibular 3[rd] molar impaction in adolescent orthodontic patients and to establish anterior arch crowding as a predictive model for mandibular 3[rd] molar impaction. Pre-treatment Orthopantomogram [OPG] of 158 orthodontic patients with the evidence of anterior arch crowding on pre-treatment study models were evaluated for mandibular third molar position. Out of 158 patients, 45 were male and 113 were female. Ninety-seven [61%] of the patients showed anterior arch crowding with a space discrepancy of 5-10 mm calculated on the pretreatment study models. Fifty-seven patients showed 107 third molar impactions. Anterior arch crowding in these patients was ranging from 7-10 mm. Out of 107 impacted third molars 73 were Mesioangular 14 were Distoangular 6 were Vertical and 14 were Horizontal. If the arch size is smaller as compared to the tooth size the evidence of lack of space would be there in anterior segment as crowding and in posterior segment as 3rd molar impaction