Dental professional's role in diagnosing Sjögren's syndrome.

In this investigation, a written questionnaire was used to assess patient's perceptions of health care professionals' knowledge about Sjögren's syndrome. Results show that dental and other health care professionals need to be better informed about the nature of Sjögren's and its symptoms so they can diagnose patients. Early diagnosis may help mollify symptoms and reduce anxiety or other perceived harmful consequences.

Exploratory factor analysis of a sixty-item questionnaire concerned with fear of dental treatment.

701 dental-school outpatients rated the degree of fear occasioned by each of 60 events that occur routinely during dental treatment. The 4,206 ratings then were subjected to principal components factor analysis with oblique rotation. Four meaningful factors were deduced: fear of pain and its antecedents, anticipatory fear, fear of negative evaluation, and fear due to perceived absence of control over the dentist. This outcome is compared and contrasted with results of other attempts to delineate the components of dental fear.

Comparison of dark-field microscopy and a flagella stain for monitoring the effect of a Water Pik on bacterial motility.

The purpose of this examiner-blind study was threefold: to compare the microbial counts obtained by two different techniques for assessing bacterial motility, to assess the inter-rater reliability of these two techniques and to evaluate the effect of a water irrigating device (Water Pik) on bacterial motility at 3- and 6-mm probing depths. Subgingival plaque samples were taken from 10 healthy patients having at least two sites that probed greater than 6 mm, (one control, one experimental). Half of the patients were sampled at 3 mm, the other half at 6 mm, both at baseline (Day 0) and at Day 21. Two slides were prepared from each plaque sample, one for dark-field evaluation and one stained with a simplified silver-plating technique for flagella. All slides were read simultaneously by 3 observers, and the per cent motility calculated for spirochetes, motiles and all others. Strong positive inter-rater reliability correlations ranging from r = 0.95 to r = 0.99 were found for both the dark-field and flagella staining techniques. Spirochete counts obtained by both techniques were highly correlated (r = 0.91), whereas counts for motiles resulted in negative correlations between the techniques. Dark-field counts were consistently higher than the flagella stain counts for motile rods. Spirochetes were reduced, but not significantly, after irrigation of both 3-mm and 6-mm sites. Bacterial motility can be evaluated by both dark-field and flagella-staining techniques with a high degree of inter-rater reliability.

The inquiry approach in dental hygiene education.

A study was done to assess the impact of an inquiry-oriented curriculum in a dental hygiene program. Two instruments, designed to measure student perception of personal and faculty inquiry and disinquiry behavior, were administered to four consecutive classes twice a year between 1978 and 1981. Junior and senior students perceived a significant increase in faculty inquiry behavior and, initially, a decrease in disinquiry behavior. Time in the program affected student disinquiry behavior at a significant level, though no significant change was seen in inquiry behavior. National Board mean scores improved, and several categories of clinical productivity increased significantly during this period. The implications of these findings are discussed.

HCMR interviews physician administrator leaders. Interview by Michael J. Enright.

This interview departs from HCMR's usual format, interviewing several leaders in health care administration for their ideas on current economic pressures, the impact of competition and joint ventures, attitudes toward equity and capital formation, and competition between the interest of clinical medicine and the cost of care. The physician administrators interviewed hold senior administrative positions: Charles Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation; Robert A. Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Swedish-American Corporation; William S. Kiser, Chairman of the Board of Governors at Cleveland Clinic Foundation; W. Eugene Mayberry, Chairman of the Board of Governors at Mayo Clinic; and Ronald P. Kaufman, Vice-President for Medical Affairs of George Washington University Hospital. All are members of the Board of Regents or Fellows of the American College of Physician Executives.