Factors that influence the preventive care offered to adolescents accessing Public Oral Health Services, NSW, Australia.

Background: Many adolescents are at risk of dental caries and periodontal disease, which may be controlled through health education and clinical preventive interventions provided by oral health and dental therapists (therapists). Senior clinicians (SCs) can influence the focus of dental care in the New South Wales (NSW) Public Oral Health Services as their role is to provide clinical support and advice to therapists, advocate for their communities, and inform Local Health District (LHD) managers of areas for clinical quality improvement. The objective of this study was to record facilitating factors and strategies that are used by SCs to encourage therapists to provide preventive care and advice to adolescent patients.

An assessment of preventive care offered to orthodontic patients by oral health therapists in NSW Australia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to record preventive oral health care planned by dental therapists and oral health therapists (therapists) for patients with poor oral hygiene undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional survey, using a clinical vignette of a patient with poor oral hygiene undergoing therapy with a fixed appliance, was undertaken to record the preventive care offered to this individual by therapists working across 15 Local Health Districts (LHDs). This orthodontic vignette was inserted between two dental caries-related vignettes.

Reliability study of clinical electronic records with paper records in the NSW Public Oral Health Service.

Aim: Electronic health record (EHR) data have great potential for reuse in research and patient care quality improvement initiatives. However, in dual systems, where both electronic and paper health records are used, inconsistencies and errors may occur. The objective of this study was to determine the degree of agreement between EHR clinical data and paper records for reuse in clinical oral health research and quality improvement initiatives.

Assessment of the management factors that influence the development of preventive care in the New South Wales public dental service.

Background: Oral diseases, particularly dental caries, remain one of the most common chronic health problems for adolescents, and are a major public health concern. Public dental services in New South Wales, Australia offer free clinical care and preventive advice to all adolescents under 18 years of age, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This care is provided by dental therapists and oral health therapists (therapists).

Preventive and clinical care provided to adolescents attending public oral health services New South Wales, Australia: a retrospective study.

Background: Dental Therapists and Oral Health Therapists (Therapists) working in the New South Wales (NSW) Public Oral Health Service are charged with providing clinical dental treatment including preventive care for all children under 18 years of age. Adolescents in particular are at risk of dental caries and periodontal disease which may be controlled through health education and clinical preventive interventions. However, there is a dearth of evidence about the type or the proportion of clinical time allocated to preventive care.

Dental hygiene students' views on a service-learning residential aged care placement program.

Purpose: To record the views of final year dental hygiene students from the University of Newcastle, Australia about a placement in 17 residential aged care facilities, on the NSW Central Coast.

Methods: Final year dental hygiene students undertook a 12 week placement, 1 day per week, in 1 of 17 residential aged care facilities. They were asked to participate in focus group discussions after the placement to determine their ability to transition from the classroom to the real-life experience of the residential aged care facility placement.

Service quality implications of dental undergraduate outreach teaching for Primary Care Trusts in England, UK.

Objective: Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) assumed new responsibilities for dentistry in 2005. In dental education it has been suggested that more emphasis is made of primary care outreach schemes. The paper considers the service quality implications of dental outreach teaching for PCTs with particular reference to access and acceptability.

Evaluation of an undergraduate community-based course in Family Dentistry.

This study aimed to determine dental students' expectations of attending a community clinic to provide family dental care and to assess how well the course met their expectations. Prior to the start of the course, 30 final year students were asked about the type and number of patients they expected to treat, the types of treatment they thought they would provide and additional skills, if any, they might gain and also about any worries they had about the course. The responses were used to compile a questionnaire, completed by the students after finishing the course.