Dentists' perceptions of HIV/AIDS: psychometric properties of a first questionnaire for dentistry

Aim: The present study outlines the testing the first questionnaire to the field of dentistry to evaluate dentists' perceptions of HIV/AIDS, and its psychometric properties. Methods: A first questionnaire developed to evaluate dentists' perceptions of HIV/AIDS at this cross-sectional study contained 33 items in its original version. Randomly subsample of 251 Argentine dentists was invited to participate in the study. A four-factor structure (Transmission, Oral Manifestations, Dentists' practice, and Infection Controls) was tested through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well reliability was assessed. Results: The deletion of eight items from the original questionnaire improved the goodness of fit for the instrument. The retained 25 items revealed an acceptable reliability (internal consistency of 0.68), while the four factors revealed a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.53 for Transmission factor items, 0.71 for Oral Manifestations factor items, 0.59 for Dentists' Practice factor items, and 0.48 for Infection Controls factor items. Higher scores were observed on the Oral Manifestations factor items, but convergent and discriminant validity was compromised for the others factors. Conclusions: The findings presented here demonstrate the value of this first questionnaire with 25 items as a starting point for further inquiry. However, it would be desirable to add more items and a replication of the questionnaire is suggested to determine the stability of its psychometric properties

Development of questionnaire on dentists' knowledge of HIV/AIDS / Desenvolvimento de um questionário sobre HIV/AIDS para dentistas

Aim: This study aimed to construct and evaluate the cross-cultural adaptation of DK-HIV-Q in an Argentine Spanish version. Methods: A translation and back translation of the DK-HIV-Q questionnaire were completed, as the original questionnaire had been formulated in Portuguese by a Brazilian researcher. The DKHIV- Q was tested in two pilot studies conducted with Argentine dentists. Results: The committee of experts, consisting of three bilingual dentists, an epidemiology dentist, a general clinical dentist, and an oral pathology specialist, fully agreed on the conceptual relevance of the general domain and the 4-domain structure for the DK-HIV-Q, such as the declarative knowledge of the transmission of HIV/AIDS, the declarative knowledge of oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS, the procedural knowledge of proper dental practice, and the procedural knowledge of infection control measures. A final version of the DK-HIV-Q showed a satisfactory degree of semantic accuracy and semantic equivalence with the original version, and proved to be satisfactorily conceptual and useful as an initial indicator for a subsequent study of construct validity. Conclusion: This study described the specific details of the construction of the DK-HIV-Q and aspects of the content validity process, which is one of the main procedures to be considered by healthcare researchers and professionals who are interested in using reliable and appropriate measurements and instrument scales for given population groups, such as HIV/AIDS patients.

Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi construir o DK-HIV-Q na versão espanhola Argentina e avaliar sua adaptação transcultural. Materiais e Métodos: Foi realizada a tradução e a retro-tradução, porque o DK-HIV-Q foi feito em português pela pesquisadora brasileira. O DK-HIV-Q foi testado em dois estudospiloto entre dentistas argentinos. Resultados: O comitê de especialistas, composto por três cirurgiõesdentistas bilíngues, um epidemiologista, um clínico geral e um especialista em patologia oral, concordaram completamente com a relevância conceitual do domínio geral e com a estrutura de quatro domínios para o DK-HIV-Q, que foram conhecimento declarativo dos métodos de transmissão do HIV, conhecimento declarativo das manifestações orais de HIV/AIDS, conhecimento processual de práticas gerais odontológicas, e conhecimento processual de controle de infecção. A versão final do DKHIV- Q mostrou um grau satisfatório de precisão e de equivalência semânticas com a versão original e provou ser satisfatoriamente conceitual e útil como um indicador inicial para realizar um estudo posterior de validade de construto. Conclusão: Este estudo descreveu detalhes da construção do DK-HIV-Q e aspectos do processo de validade de conteúdo, um dos procedimentos a serem considerados por pesquisadores de saúde e profissionais que estão interessados em usar medidas confiáveis e adequadas e escalas de instrumentos para determinados grupos de população, tais como pacientes com HIV/AIDS.

Daily biofilm control and oral health: consensus on the epidemiological challenge - Latin American Advisory Panel

Our understanding of dental plaque biofilm has evolved since the nonspecific plaque hypothesis that considered plaque as a nonspecific mass of native microorganisms that, because of lack of oral hygiene, builds up in proportions great enough to overcome the host resistance threshold and affect the tooth structure and tooth supporting tissues. A great diversity of microorganisms-over 700 species-was detected in the oral cavity, and evidence shows that the investigation of specific microorganisms or associations of microorganisms as etiological agents for periodontal diseases and caries is not a simplistic approach. Although clinical evidence shows that oral mechanical hygiene is fundamental to prevent and control caries and periodontal disease, it is important to highlight that optimal control is not achieved by most individuals. Thus the complementary use of chemotherapeutic agents has been investigated as a way to overcome the deficiencies of mechanical oral hygiene habits, insofar as they reduce both plaque formation and gingival inflammation, and represent a valid strategy to change the biofilm and maintain dental and periodontal health. The role of the dental professional is to monitor patients and offer them the best recommendations to preserve oral health throughout their life. With this in mind, chemical control should be indicated as part of daily oral hygiene, together with mechanical procedures, for all individuals who present supragingival and/or subgingival biofilm, taking into account age, physical and/or psychological limitations, allergies, and other factors.