Knowledge, experiences and attitudes of dental and health care personnel in Sweden towards infant dental enucleation.

PURPOSE

To examine self-rated knowledge of clinical experiences and attitudes towards the practice of infant dental enucleation among dental and health care personnel in Sweden.

METHODS

A questionnaire survey was performed among 776 licensed dental and health care personnel working in emergency departments, midwifery, child health centres, school health services and public dental health services in 10 Swedish cities. The response rate was 56.2% (n = 436).

RESULTS

Fewer than a fifth of the respondents reported self-rated knowledge of the practice. Approximately 13% of personnel encountering children professionally believed they had seen subjected patients in their clinical practice. Personnel with self-rated knowledge and clinical experience worked mostly in dental care. Additionally, the personnel had diverging attitudes regarding agreement and disagreement concerning professional responsibility for patients subjected to or at risk of infant dental enucleation.

CONCLUSIONS

The study indicated there is need for increased knowledge about the practice and for clarification of obligatory responsibilities among dental and health care personnel regarding management and prevention of cases of infant dental enucleation.