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Aim: To investigate dental students' self-reported confidence in learning about various domains of patient safety during their clinical training years. Methods: The Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) was distributed to the fourth- and fifth-year undergraduate students, interns and postgraduate dental students. The survey explores how the seven domains of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute Safety Competencies Framework and wider cases of patient safety issues are presented in dental education, as well as participants' self-reported comfortability regarding revealing about patient safety issues. A comparison of the patient safety domains scores were assessed through learning scenarios (classroom and clinical), gender, level of study and type of institution. Results: Out of 409 participants, 359 undergraduate dental students and 131 postgraduate dental students responded to the survey. Irrespective of the groups, all dental students were most confident regarding their learning aspects about skills pertaining to clinical safety and effective communication and least confident in learning related to managing safety risks. All the patient safety factors irrespective of the scenario, scored above 75% and thus interpreted as good competence. Statistically significant differences were reported among the genders in the classroom scenario for learning about communicating effectively with the patients regarding patient safety issues (p < 0.05). Male dental students, undergraduates and those in the private institution were significantly less confident about recognizing and reporting to immediate risks in the clinical scenario compared to their respective counterparts (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results, the dental students are quite confident with regard to the learning aspects of clinical patient safety, nevertheless, their confidence in learning certain patient safety aspects warrants further improvement. This implies a need to address the impact of regular interventions, extra motivation and repeated mentoring in both the classroom and clinical scenarios on improving dental students' confidence about patient safety.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of dental caries among groups of 6-12-year-old children with and without Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, taking into account oral health behaviour, diet, and salivary parameters. METHODS: The study was designed as a comparable study of dental caries experience between T1DM and non-diabetic groups of children. The total sample size of 209 participants consisted of 69 diabetic and 140 non-diabetic children. Oral hygiene, diet and socio-economic status were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Caries was recorded in terms of decayed and filled permanent and primary teeth (DFT/dft). Salivary microbial counts and pH levels were recorded using Caries Risk Test (CRT) kit. Student's t-test, the chi-squared test, linear regression and one-way analysis of variance were performed P-value of 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: The mean dft scores for the diabetic and non-diabetic groups were 3.32 ± 0.78 and 3.28 ± 0.71 (mean ± SD), respectively (p = 0.458). The mean DFT scores for the diabetic and non-diabetic groups were 1.62 ± 0.65 and 1.96 ± 0.65, respectively (p = 0.681). Diabetic children visited dentists more often than non-diabetic children did (p = 0.04), and had lower consumption of both sweets (p = 0.003) and flavoured milk (p = 0.002) than the non-diabetic group. Furthermore, analysis showed that the diabetic children had medium oral pH levels (pH = 4.5-5.5), whereas the non-diabetic children tended to have high (pH ≥ 6.0) oral pH; this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.01). In addition, the diabetic group had higher Lactobacillus levels than the non-diabetic group (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The difference in caries prevalence between the diabetic and non-diabetic children was not statistically significant. The CRT analysis revealed a higher frequency of "critical" pH values (pH = 4.5-5.5) and higher Lactobacillus counts in diabetic children than in non-diabetic children, which indicated a higher caries risk in the former group.
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OBJECTIVE: Access to dental care is a key factor influencing oral health outcomes. Individuals with special healthcare needs are at risk of not having access to dental care services which they need to maintain their oral health. This study assessed the magnitude of this problem and identified barriers responsible for the difficulties in accessing dental care in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, as reported by caregivers of individuals with special healthcare needs. METHODS: This cross-sectional study collected data using a self-administered survey questionnaire from caregivers of individuals with special healthcare needs across 11 centers (eight special needs centers and three schools) in Qatif, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, between February and April 2019. RESULTS: A total of 186 caregivers participated in the study, 102 (54.8%) of whom reported difficulties in getting access to dental care. The key barriers included lack of time on the part of caregivers (60.8%), unsuitable clinic environment (53.9%), difficulties with transportation (51.9%), medical/health status of the individual with special healthcare needs (51.0%), and geographically distant dental clinics (51.0%). Caregiver demographics (age, gender, and educational level) had no significant influence on the difficulties reported by caregivers in getting access to dental care for individuals with special healthcare needs (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: A large proportion of caregivers in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, experience difficulties with access to dental care services for individuals with special healthcare needs. The most common barriers are physical accessibility of dental facilities (for individuals with special healthcare needs), affordability, and lack of skills and knowledge of dental care providers.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of oral health intervention on the improvement in knowledge and self-reported oral health behavior among 6-8â¯year old female primary school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 1661 girls in primary schools who are 6 to 8-year-olds (first, second and third graders). The children's level of knowledge was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire that was formulated for this specific age and divided into two parts; oral health knowledge and self-reported oral health behavior. There were seven multiple choice questions and one true/false question with five underlying parts in the questionnaire which contained basic information about oral health knowledge, oral hygiene practices and certain habits that affect teeth. The questionnaires were distributed before and six weeks after implementation of the oral health educational program to measure the level improvement of knowledge regarding oral health among these children. RESULTS: All the questions showed statistically significant improvement in knowledge and self-reported behavior in the post intervention group. There was a significant increase in the level of knowledge by 11.24% and level of self-reported behavior by 25% after intervention (Pâ¯<â¯0.001). The highest net change in the knowledge due to intervention was noted among third graders (13.3%), whereas for self-reported oral health behavior, it was noted among first graders (28.3%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that an easy-to-organize and inexpensive school-based intervention can, on a short-term basis, be effective in improving the knowledge and self-reported oral health behavior of children.
