Self-reported oral health perceptions of Somali adults in Minnesota: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess self-reported oral health perceptions and associated factors in an adult Somali population living in Minnesota, USA. METHODS: We analysed data from a cross-sectional study of Somali adults aged 18 to 65+ years attending a dental school clinic for care. A comprehensive oral examination was performed by the dental school outreach team on all patients who attended a 2-week designated Somali dental clinic. Adults who consented were given an oral health questionnaire to collect information on sociodemographics, marital status, language preference and self-rated oral and general health. We performed summary statistics and differences between proportions using Fisher's exact test and a comparison of means using one-way anova or a two-sample t-test. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 53 adults, 75% of whom were females. About 49% of subjects reported poor/fair oral health and 38% reported poor/fair general health. Seventy-four percent rated their access to dental care as poor/fair and 83% reported that they did not have a regular source of dental care. Self-rated oral health was significantly associated with marital status (P < 0.05) and self-rated general health (P < 0.01) using Fisher's exact test. CONCLUSION: A substantial proportion of Somali adults rated their oral health and access to dental care as poor/fair. These findings suggest that this population would benefit from improved access to oral health care and culturally appropriate oral health education and promotion programs.

Employment of dental hygienists and registered dental assistants: highlights of the 1996 survey.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine various employment characteristics of Minnesota's allied dental health workforce, specifically dental hygienists and registered dental assistants. METHODS: In 1995 and 1996, two questionnaires one-year period apart were mailed to all licensed dentists in the state, accompanied with a request that only one survey form per practice be returned. An estimated 73 percent and 65 percent of all practices reported in the two years respectively. RESULTS: Results suggest few changes over the two-year period. Information is reported on a wide variety of conditions, including practice configurations, workload distributions, turnover, salaries, and relative demand for hygienists and registered assistants. CONCLUSIONS: These studies provide a good baseline for future reports and suggest that, at present, patient demand is stable or strong, and that while an adequate supply of allied dental health workers is available statewide, some local supply problems exist.

The development of a professional role orientation inventory.

This paper describes the development and testing of the Professional Role Orientation Inventory, a 40-item Likert-type instrument designed to assess a dentist's perception of his or her professional role. The test includes four 10-item scales representing four attitudinal dimensions: Authority, Responsibility, Agency, and Autonomy. The study describes differences between and among groups of professionals and dental students who took the test. Responses to the various scales suggest that practitioners do have different conceptualizations of their professional role, though these conceptions vary somewhat from the various models of professionalism described in the literature.

State dental boards and mandatory HIV testing.

Public and professional debate over what, if any, action should be taken by state regulatory agencies regarding AIDS and the HIV status of dentists has increased in recent months. To determine if state boards had workable policies in place or were considering such policies, a telephone survey of all state boards was undertaken. All boards participated, although three provided only limited information. As of early 1992, only two boards required evidence of immunity to HVB for relicensure and none require evidence of seronegativity to HIV for relicensure. Twelve percent of the boards anticipate such requirements within two years. None have mandatory HIV testing, but 13 percent anticipate such requirements in the near future. The authors conclude that while few agencies have taken more than tentative steps toward rigorous HIV testing or restrictions, most are aware of much closer public scrutiny. More restrictions seem likely as these agencies attempt to balance public and professional rights and responsibilities.

Early career experiences of young periodontists.

Studies conducted in 1979 and 1984 suggested that young periodontists in the early eighties were faced with a variety of stresses and challenges not faced by their counterparts of previous generations. Among the changes observed was the fact that sharply increased numbers of younger periodontists were practicing in multiple locations. The present study focused on multiple location practice and on other early career experiences in periodontology. Multiple site practice appears to be an outgrowth of expanding group practices and the increased popularity of part-time associateship opportunities. Costs of establishing solo practice, as well as other factors, serve to encourage young specialists to seek such positions. Many specialists see this style of practice as one way to increase their market share, but stresses arising from multiple site practice include travel time and lack of continuity with patients. Thus far, younger periodontists remain satisfied with their careers, but the job market suggests that more and more periodontists will be practicing in multiple locations during the early years of their careers, thus prolonging stabilization of their economic and professional lives.

Practice styles in periodontics. II.

In 1980 the American Academy of Periodontology published the results of its first major survey of practice characteristics in the Journal of Periodontology. That first study arose from membership concerns about the lack of knowledge about career patterns of periodontists and, more specifically, about employment opportunities for graduating periodontists. Three years later, the Committee on Practice Styles and Opportunities in Periodontics was appointed to replicate the earlier study in order to provide information on recent changes in the practice of periodontics. This decision is commendable since few dental specialty organizations collect data from their membership which can be systematically compared to data from an earlier study. The Academy's Committee contacted David O. Born, PhD, a dental manpower specialist at the University of Minnesota and a technical advisor on the earlier study, for assistance in conducting a replication in 1984. Based on feedback on the first survey and on comments and suggestions from committee members, a revised questionnaire was developed. This questionnaire was, for the most part, a replication of the earlier survey instrument, although several problematic items were deleted or modified and new items, reflecting more recent concerns, were added. The revised questionnaire was distributed in the Spring of 1984 through two mailings to 2937 Active members and 798 Affiliate members. After unusable and undeliverable questionnaires were deleted from the returns, an effective response rate of 55% (N = 2082) was obtained. This report is based on the information supplied by those 2082 members. In the tables and text which follow, the figures reported at the national level refer to "Private practice" periodontists responding to the survey; Academy members who are a part of the Federal services (e.g., Military, Veterans' Administration, Indian Health Service, etc.) are tabulated separately as "District 8" data. While several members from foreign countries responded to the survey, their data have not been included since the information was too dispersed to permit conclusions to be drawn.

Male dentists at midlife: an exploration of the one life/one career imperative.

A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of male dentists (ages 35-50) in a single midwestern state. All dentists surveyed held similar views on the role that their careers played in shaping their identity, and 84 percent agreed with an hypothesis which suggests that most Americans believe they have the opportunity to pursue but one career during their lifetimes and that professionals, in particular, are likely to feel "trapped" in their careers as they age. A "crisis index" sought to isolate men undergoing the so-called midlife crisis, and both high and low crisis groups were identified. High-crisis dentists were markedly more concerned about health problems than were low-crisis dentists. High-crisis dentists were less satisfied with their careers, were far more likely to feel "trapped" in their positions, and experienced a greater entanglement of their domestic and professional lives.

Issues in forecasting graduate dental education manpower supply and requirements.

This paper explores the history of forecasting in dentistry and then focuses on several major forecasting techniques, briefly examining the basic assumptions, data requirements, and strengths and weaknesses of each. In discussing the issues involved in forecasting, the paper isolates three perspectives held by forecasters; health status, social need, and economic. Each approach defines the critical concept of "adequate supply" in a different way. Other issues addressed include: who should engage in forecasting; what methods should be employed; is it worth the effort to forecast requirements for dental specialists; should forecasting be done for small areas; and what is the "political" reality of forecasting.

Practice styles and opportunities in periodontics.

A survey of the 3,048 Active and Affiliate members of the American Academy of Periodontology was conducted by the Task Force on Manpower of the Academy to elicit information concerning practice styles and perceived opportunities for practice. Responses from 1,580 periodontists are presented in tables which include data on general demographics of periodontists, expected age at which partial and full retirement will take place, forms of practice, weeks per year and hours per week spent in practice, number of patient visits per year, number of practice locations, years in present community, population of present community, average distance traveled by patients in the periodontal practice, numbers of dentists referring to the practice, weeks waiting time to examine new patients and to begin new treatment series, patient load, preferences regarding weeks of advance booking, perceptions regarding the supply of periodontal services in the respondent's local area as well as in other areas known to the respondent, and factors which influence selection of a practice location. Data presented were collected between November of 1978 and April, 1979.