Flink Håkan, Tegelberg Åke, Arnetz Judith E, Birkhed Dowen
Centre for Clinical Research, Uppsala University, Västmanland County, Västerås, Sweden.
Public Dental Clinic, Public Dental Health Västmanland, Sala, Sweden.
BMC Oral Health. 2017 Jun 5;17(1):95. doi: 10.1186/s12903-017-0384-3.
It has been suggested that dental caries should be regarded as a chronic disease as many individuals repeatedly develop new caries lesions. How this is perceived by caries active patients is unclear. The aim of this study was to measure patient-reported attitudes and negative experiences related to caries and dental treatment.
A questionnaire was mailed to 134 caries active (CA) and 40 caries inactive (CI) adult patients treated at a Swedish public dental service clinic. The questionnaire included items regarding patient-reported oral health; attitudes towards caries and efforts to prevent them; and negative experiences related to caries and dental treatment. Questionnaire data were supplemented with data on caries and caries prophylaxis from patients' dental records. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on items related to patients' perceptions of problems to see whether scales could be created. Experiences, perceptions and dental records of CA and CI patients were compared.
The overall response rate was 69%. Dental records confirmed that CA patients had significantly more decayed teeth per year and a longer period of caries-active time than CI patients. Factor analysis resulted in 3 distinct scales measuring problems related to caries; 1) caries-related information; 2) negative experiences; and 3) negative treatment/staff attitudes. A fourth scale measuring perceived problems related to caries was also created. The CA group reported significantly more problems related to caries and dental treatment, received significantly more caries-related information, and reported significantly more negative treatment experiences compared to CI patients.
Caries prophylaxis methods need to be improved in order to better meet the needs of caries active patients and to create a more positive experience with dental care.
有人提出，由于许多人反复出现新的龋损，龋齿应被视为一种慢性疾病。目前尚不清楚龋齿活跃患者对此是如何看待的。本研究的目的是衡量患者报告的与龋齿及牙科治疗相关的态度和负面经历。
向瑞典一家公共牙科服务诊所治疗的134名龋齿活跃（CA）成年患者和40名龋齿不活跃（CI）成年患者邮寄了一份问卷。问卷包括有关患者报告的口腔健康的项目；对龋齿的态度以及预防龋齿的努力；以及与龋齿和牙科治疗相关的负面经历。问卷数据辅以患者牙科记录中的龋齿和龋齿预防数据。对与患者问题认知相关的项目进行探索性因素分析，以确定是否可以创建量表。比较了CA和CI患者的经历、认知和牙科记录。
总体回复率为69%。牙科记录证实，CA患者每年的龋齿数量明显多于CI患者，且龋齿活跃时间更长。因素分析产生了3个不同的量表，用于衡量与龋齿相关的问题；1）与龋齿相关的信息；2）负面经历；3）负面治疗/工作人员态度。还创建了第四个量表，用于衡量与龋齿相关的感知问题。与CI患者相比，CA组报告的与龋齿和牙科治疗相关的问题明显更多，收到的与龋齿相关的信息明显更多，且报告的负面治疗经历明显更多。
需要改进龋齿预防方法，以更好地满足龋齿活跃患者的需求，并创造更积极的牙科护理体验。
