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STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Although medical screening in dental settings has been shown to be cost-effective and beneficial for patients’ health outcomes, there have been no widespread implementation attempts in dental practice so far. Various studies have found that both patients and dental professionals regard such screening positively; however, the position of health authorities and organisations in this regard has not been established. Swedish researchers have thus conducted a study to elicit their views on the topic.
As associations between periodontal and cardiovascular disease and diabetes have become evident in the past, research indicates that medical screening in dentistry could be an effective component of disease prevention and enhance cross-border cooperation between dental and medical care. In order to investigate the attitudes of health authorities and organisations regarding medical screening in dental settings, Swedish researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Karlstad University interviewed 234 representatives of 13 institutions. All of the respondents received a standardised questionnaire of 18 questions concerning medical screening in dental settings and took part in subsequent personal interviews.
The results showed 46 per cent (108) positive responses to medical screening in dental settings, 41 per cent (95) negative responses and 13 per cent (31) non-responses. Although health care officials generally had a positive view of medical screening in dentistry, they reported a lack of facts concerning the scientific communities’ position, guidelines and procedures on the topic.
According to the researchers, most participants believed that the dental workforce has the relevant professionals to implement medical screening. Dental hygienists or dental nurses were considered to be the most suitable group of professionals for the performance of medical screening in dental settings, as medical questions could form a natural part of hygienists’ health conversations with their patients.
However, the majority of participants expressed their concern that there was insufficient expertise among dental professionals to perform medical screening. Overall, the results showed that further knowledge and guidelines, as well as additional research on implementation strategies and long-term follow-up of medical screening, are needed before medical screening can be widely introduced in dental settings, the researchers concluded.
The research article, titled “Medical screening in dental settings: A qualitative study of the views of authorities and organizations”, was published online on 19 October in the BMC Research Notes journal.
From http://www.dental-tribune.com
