Abdelmagid Sara M E, Abass Shaza K
Department of Orthodontics, University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan.
Department of Orthodontics, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
J Orthod. 2023 Mar;50(1):39-44. doi: 10.1177/14653125221105905. Epub 2022 Jun 11.
To assess the knowledge, practice and challenges faced by general dental practitioners (GDPs), paediatric dentists (PDs) and postgraduate paediatric dentistry students (PGPDSs) in diagnosing and managing early orthodontic problems.
Cross-sectional study.
A total of 159 dentists were enrolled in this study (121 GDPs, 21 PDs and 17 PGPDSs). Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire involving two sections. Section A included questions regarding demographic features and orthodontic practice. Section B included photos of 12 orthodontic cases that needed early intervention. Knowledge and practice were assessed using six questions for each case that was then rated using predefined scores of poor (score <50%), average (score 50%-75%) and good (score >75%).
The knowledge scores regarding the identification of early orthodontic problems were average among the three groups with GDPs having the lowest score ( = 0.0001). The knowledge scores regarding the selection of optimal treatment time were average among the PDs and PGPDSs, and poor among GDPs. GDPs tended to refer most of their cases to an orthodontist except for cases of thumb sucking. PDs and PGPDSs were more confident in treating anterior crossbite, thumb sucking habits and delayed eruption of incisors. All participants scored 'poor' regarding the selection of an appropriate orthodontic appliance. There was no significant correlation between knowledge and practice ( > 0.05).
PDs and PGPDSs showed higher knowledge and practice scores when compared to GDPs. For all three groups included in this study, lack of clinical skills was the main reason for not treating early orthodontic problems.
评估普通牙科医生（GDPs）、儿童牙医（PDs）和儿童牙科研究生（PGPDSs）在诊断和处理早期正畸问题时所具备的知识、实践情况及面临的挑战。
横断面研究。
本研究共纳入159名牙医（121名普通牙科医生、21名儿童牙医和17名儿童牙科研究生）。通过一份包含两个部分的自填式问卷收集数据。A部分包括有关人口统计学特征和正畸实践的问题。B部分包括12例需要早期干预的正畸病例的照片。针对每个病例使用6个问题评估知识和实践情况，然后根据预先定义的差（得分<50%）、一般（得分50%-75%）和好（得分>75%）的分数进行评分。
三组在早期正畸问题识别方面的知识得分处于中等水平，普通牙科医生得分最低（P = 0.0001）。儿童牙医和儿童牙科研究生在选择最佳治疗时间方面的知识得分处于中等水平，普通牙科医生得分较差。普通牙科医生除了吮拇指病例外，倾向于将大多数病例转诊给正畸医生。儿童牙医和儿童牙科研究生在治疗前牙反合、吮拇指习惯和切牙萌出延迟方面更有信心。在选择合适的正畸矫治器方面，所有参与者得分均为“差”。知识与实践之间无显著相关性（P>0.05）。
与普通牙科医生相比，儿童牙医和儿童牙科研究生的知识和实践得分更高。对于本研究纳入的所有三组人员，缺乏临床技能是不处理早期正畸问题的主要原因。
