Productivity in Minnesota dental practices with increased visits by older patients.

There is little scientific information on the economic impact of treating increased numbers of older adults, despite the current growth in this population. To assess the impact of patient age on dental practice productivity, we evaluated an economic production function that included the proportions of patient visits in two older age groups (61-69 years, 70+ years) as factors that might affect the dental service production process. We used data from 12,818 patient visits to 31 Minnesota dental practices enrolled in the Minnesota Dental Practice Analysis System (DPAS) between 1980 and 1984. Ordinary least squares multiple linear regression was used to detect potential associations between practice productivity, measured in standardized time and monetary outputs, and the proportions of visits by older patients. We found that increases in the proportion of visits by patients aged 70 years and older were associated with decreases in productivity when we controlled for differences in the mix of services used. Our results support the notion that dental practices may be less productive when providing services to older patients compared to younger patients. These findings may have implications for personnel and policy planning. Further investigation of this issue is warranted because of the limited number of practices included in the study.

Are dental practices less productive with older patients? Comparison of alternative output measures.

This study assessed the effects of increased visits by older dental patients on alternative measures of time- and dollar-based practice productivity. The Minnesota Dental Practice Analysis System was used for analysis of data from 31 practices (12,818 patients visits) reporting increased visits by older adults between June, 1980, and December, 1984. Results suggested that the productivity effects associated with older patient visits were highly dependent on the practice output measure selected. While increased visits by patients aged 70 and over were associated with increased monetary productivity per patient visit, time and monetary productivity per practice day were found to decline. An association between increased proportions of older patients visits and increased dentist minutes per visit appeared to account for this. This econometric analysis tends to support the notion that dental practices are less productive with older patients.

Teaching of color in predoctoral and postdoctoral dental education in 1988.

This is a report of a 1988 survey of faculty involved in undergraduate and graduate programs concerning the teaching of color science. This survey indicates that the dental profession is making progress in color theory, application, and research in the dental curriculum. Manufacturers have been slow to respond to the needs of the profession. The majority of dentists surveyed indicated a need for the development of a new and systematic shade guide.

Impact of an NIDR educational program on the teaching of caries prevention in dental hygiene.

An evaluation is reported of selected educational and promotional activities of the National Institute of Dental Research related to caries prevention. Data were collected from U.S. dental hygiene program directors (n = 183) and faculty (n = 718) by mail questionnaire between November 1984 and May 1985. The impact of NIDR activities on the caries prevention curricula in dental hygiene education programs was investigated. Results show that the educational activities of the NIDR, as well as selected state and program characteristics, are associated with differences in the caries prevention curricula of dental hygiene programs and the caries prevention teaching of the faculty. The more frequent and the more personal the contact with NIDR activities, the greater the emphasis given to caries prevention in the curriculum structure and in the teaching practices of the faculty.

Masculine and feminine personality attributes of dental students and their attitudes toward women's roles in society.

Egalitarian attitudes and the personality traits of instrumentality (masculinity) and expressiveness (femininity) were examined for 314 male and 71 female dental students. Women dental students hold far more egalitarian views toward women's roles than a norm group of women college students, who are somewhat more liberal than male dental students. Female dental students are also more instrumental than college women, though somewhat less instrumental than male dental students. Male and female dental students did not differ on expressiveness, though both were less expressive than college women. A comparison of dental students with academic psychologists suggests that successful professionals have similar personality traits regardless of gender.

Knowledge and attitudes of schoolteachers toward oral health programs and preventive dentistry.

Because teachers often take on major roles in school dental health programs, three surveys were completed between 1973 and 1981 to measure teachers' attitudes and knowledge about oral health and their own participation in school programs. The questionnaires were sent to teachers whose schools were included in major dental caries preventive programs and teachers whose schools were not included in such programs. Results showed that: Teachers were quite willing to teach oral health topics and were willing to take on a wide range of teaching, but not administrative, responsibilities. Teachers' acceptance of these responsibilities appeared to decrease during the surveys, possibly as a function of school budget difficulties, indicating a need for incentives and positive rein-forcement. However, their acceptance of responsibilities was not affected by their participation in preventive programs. Schoolteachers had basic misinformation about the purposes of personal oral hygiene, and about the relative effectiveness of measures such as oral hygiene and consumption of fluoridated water in preventing dental caries. The preventive knowledge of teachers was unaffected by either the passage of time or participation in school preventive programs. A series of recommendations is given for the inservice education of school-teachers.

Professional satisfaction in dentistry.

The profile of the most satisfied dentist seems to be one of a contented, nonthreatened, positive person, who is active in the profession and community, has confidence in his management skills, and is positive about the direction of dentistry. He knows what he wants and has values that are likely to help him attain his goals. Certainly, many of the behaviors shown by highly satisfied dentists read like a prescription for avoiding professional burnout. By counseling the dissatisfied dentist to become more active professionally, to improve his or her practice management skills, to develop a positive attitude toward change in the dental profession, it should be possible to help these dentists gain more positive feelings about themselves and their profession. Although it is not certain that any change can be effected in the value structure of a currently dissatisfied dentist, it is possible to encourage the benevolent leader type to enter the profession whenever he or she can be identified.

Primary care practice patterns.

An interview survey of the primary care practices of a class of dental school graduates was conducted in 1977 as a part of a longitudinal study that was begun 11 years earlier, when these individuals entered dental school. Primary care was defined by the variety of dental treatment procedures used by the dentist and by his or her participation in interdisciplinary aspects of health care. The study showed that: (1) the urban or rural location of the practice was not associated with primary care; (2) the dentists' position in the practice (sole practitioner, group owner, and so forth) was associated with the variety of treatment procedures used; (3) predental school values, dental aptitudes, and dental school achievement were significant predictors of primary care practices; and (4) the two measures of primary care were uncorrelated, and there were several patterns of primary care being practiced.

Changes in the values of dental students and dentists over a ten-year period.

This paper investigates value changes in dental students and dentists over a ten-year period through a cross-sectional study of all dental students at the University of Minnesota in 1966 and 1976, and a ten-year longitudinal study of a class of dental students who entered in 1967. Findings in both studies showed significant differences in values over the ten-year period, but they could not be attributed to the dental school experience. Findings also showed that the values of the dentists in the longitudinal study changed significantly over the ten years from 1967 to 1977, to resemble those of dental school freshmen in 1976. Comparisons of the two studies indicated that changes in social values and the social pressures of professional role development could have accounted for the findings.