Subject(s)
Dentists/trends , General Practice, Dental/trends , Specialties, Dental/trends , Humans , SwitzerlandSubject(s)
Dental Care/standards , Dentistry/standards , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Humans , SwitzerlandSubject(s)
Dental Care/standards , Dentistry/standards , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Humans , SwitzerlandSubject(s)
Dental Care/standards , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Private Practice/standards , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Quality Control , SwitzerlandABSTRACT
Epidemiological studies to assess the prevalence and course of functional disturbances of the masticatory system should be based on a valid and reliable measure of the functional status of the masticatory system. NIELSEN et al. (2, 3) proposed a classification method that included three different classes of dysfunction. This classification was used to compare the results of a sample of 447 11-16-year-old Swiss adolescents with those of the Danish study and to test the validity of this classification method. The two studies showed similar prevalences in two of the three dysfunction classes and a similar pattern of dysfunction categories. Concurrent and construct validity analyses showed significant correlations between the assessment from clinical examination and the subjective judgments of the adolescents. The results demonstrated cross- and concurrent validation of the "Nielsen index" but also stressed the necessity of a careful re-evaluation of the "severe" class criterion. The limitations of the Nielsen index led to the construction of a "Zurich-MAP index". The potential applications of both indices are discussed.
Subject(s)
Masticatory Muscles/physiopathology , Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome/classification , Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome/diagnosis , Adolescent , Chi-Square Distribution , Child , Denmark/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Neck Muscles/physiopathology , Prevalence , Range of Motion, Articular , Reference Standards , Reproducibility of Results , Severity of Illness Index , Statistics, Nonparametric , Surveys and Questionnaires , Switzerland/epidemiology , Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome/epidemiologySubject(s)
Communication , Computer Communication Networks , Dentists , Societies, Dental , Databases, Factual , Humans , SwitzerlandSubject(s)
Dental Prophylaxis , Health Education, Dental/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Audiovisual Aids , Female , Health Education, Dental/statistics & numerical data , Health Promotion/methods , Health Promotion/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Male , Motivation , Program Evaluation , SwitzerlandSubject(s)
Pediatric Dentistry/trends , Adolescent , Health Education, Dental/trends , Humans , SwitzerlandSubject(s)
Dental Prophylaxis , Societies, Dental , Health Education, Dental , Humans , Mass Media , SwitzerlandABSTRACT
The evolution of the number of therapeutic services rendered within the School Dental Service in the Canton of Ticino over a period of 15 years is presented. A 45% decrease in the number of conservative treatments took place from the school year 1977/78 to 1984/85. New amalgam fillings per year on permanent teeth decreased by 34%, those on deciduous teeth by 46% and composite fillings by 43%. The possible reasons for the decline of tooth decay are discussed. Decrease in treatments rendered is shown to be feasible in a short period of time when institutionalized dental care delivery is put into practice by motivated practitioners.
