Evidence-practice gap for in-office fluoride application in a dental practice-based research network

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine dentists' recommendations for in-office fluoride to patients and identify dentists' characteristics associated with these recommendations.

Study design and setting: The study was conducted using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey in Japan. The survey queried dentists (n = 282) in outpatient dental practices affiliated with the Dental Practice-based Research Network Japan (JDPBRN). This network aims to assist dentists in investigating research questions and sharing their experience and expertise.

Results: The responses were obtained by 189 dentists (67 percent). Among valid response, 54 percent of dentists (n = 98) recommend in-office fluoride to more than 50 percent of their patients aged 6-18 years and 15 percent (n = 29) recommended this care to more than 50 percent of their patients aged over 18 years. Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested that factors associated with the percentage of patients who are recommended in-office fluoride included patient's interest in caries prevention and dentist's belief in the effectiveness of caries risk assessment.

Conclusions: Dentist practice patterns for recommending in-office fluoride vary widely. Recommendation was significantly related to having a higher percentage of patients interested in caries prevention and to the dentist's belief about the effectiveness of caries risk assessment. (Clinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT01680848).

Keywords: clinical epidemiology; dental caries; dentist's practice patterns; evidence-based dentistry; preventive dentistry.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests

Two authors are dentists employed by a dental clinic (Dr. Futoshi Sumida: Mikami Dental & Orthodontics Clinic and Dr. Yuki Matsumoto: Matsumoto Dental Clinic). This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the International Journal of Public Health policies on sharing data and materials.

© 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.