Frequency of Four-dimensional Oral Health Problems across Dental Fields - a Comparative Survey of Slovenian and International Dentists

Stella Sekulić; Mike T John; Katrin Bekes; Mohammad H Al-Harthy; Ambra Michelotti; Daniel R Reissmann; Julijana Nikolovska; Sahityaveera Sanivarapu; Folake B Lawal; Thomas List; Asja Čelebić; Ljiljana Strajnić; Rodrigo Casassus; Kazuyoshi Baba; Martin Schimmel; Ama Amuasi; Ruwan D Jayasinghe; Sanela Strujić-Porović; Christopher C Peck; Han Xie; Karina Haugaard Bendixen; Miguel Angel Simancas-Pallares; Eka Perez-Franco; Mohammad Mehdi Naghibi Sistan; Patricia Valerio; Natalia Letunova; Nazik M Nurelhuda; David W Bartlett; Ikeoluwa A Oluwafemi; Saloua Dghoughi; Joao N Ferreira; Pathamas Chantaracherd; Ksenija Rener-Sitar

doi:10.2478/sjph-2021-0029

Frequency of Four-dimensional Oral Health Problems across Dental Fields - a Comparative Survey of Slovenian and International Dentists

Zdr Varst. 2021 Oct 20;60(4):210-220. doi: 10.2478/sjph-2021-0029. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Stella Sekulić^{1

2}, Mike T John², Katrin Bekes³, Mohammad H Al-Harthy⁴, Ambra Michelotti⁵, Daniel R Reissmann⁶, Julijana Nikolovska⁷, Sahityaveera Sanivarapu⁸, Folake B Lawal⁹, Thomas List¹⁰, Asja Čelebić¹¹, Ljiljana Strajnić¹², Rodrigo Casassus¹³, Kazuyoshi Baba¹⁴, Martin Schimmel^{15

16}, Ama Amuasi¹⁷, Ruwan D Jayasinghe¹⁸, Sanela Strujić-Porović¹⁹, Christopher C Peck²⁰, Han Xie²¹, Karina Haugaard Bendixen²², Miguel Angel Simancas-Pallares²³, Eka Perez-Franco²⁴, Mohammad Mehdi Naghibi Sistan²⁵, Patricia Valerio²⁶, Natalia Letunova²⁷, Nazik M Nurelhuda²⁸, David W Bartlett²⁹, Ikeoluwa A Oluwafemi³⁰, Saloua Dghoughi³¹, Joao N Ferreira³², Pathamas Chantaracherd³³, Ksenija Rener-Sitar^{34

35}

Affiliations

¹ Dental Division, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
² Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
³ Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
⁴ Department of Oral Basic & Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Section of Orthodontics, Department of Neurosciences, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.
⁶ Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, University Medical Center Hamburg - Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
⁷ Department for Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Macedonia.
⁸ Department of Periodontics, Care Dental College, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
⁹ Department of Periodontology and Community Dentistry, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
¹⁰ Department of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
¹¹ Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine and Clinical Hospital Centre, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
¹² Clinic for Dentistry of Vojvodina, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
¹³ Department of Orofacial Pain, Faculty of Medicine, University of Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.
¹⁴ Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁵ Department of Reconstructive Dentistry and Gerodontology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁶ Division of Gerodontology and Removable Prosthodontics, University Clinics of Dental Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁷ Department of Child Health and Orthodontics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
¹⁸ Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
¹⁹ Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry with Clinics, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
²⁰ Dental School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
²¹ Department of Stomatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
²² Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
²³ Division of Pediatrics and Public Health, Division of Oral & Craniofacial Health Sciences, Adams School of Dentistry, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
²⁴ Center for Headaches, Facial Pain and TMD, Punta Pacifica Medical Center, Panama City, Panama.
²⁵ Oral Health Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, IR Iran.
²⁶ Instituto Patricia Valério, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
²⁷ Department of Anesthesia in Dentistry, Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russia.
²⁸ Faculty of Dentistry, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
²⁹ King's College London Dental Institute, Guy's Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
³⁰ Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
³¹ Oral Surgery Department, Faculty of Dentistry of Rabat, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.
³² Department of Research Affairs, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
³³ Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Western University, Bangkok, Thailand.
³⁴ Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
³⁵ Department of Prosthodontics, University Dental Clinics, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Abstract
in English, Slovenian

Objectives: To compare the frequency of patients' oral health problems and prevention needs among Slovenian and international dentists with the aim to validate the four oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) dimensions across six clinical dental fields in all World Health Organization (WHO) regions.

Methods: An anonymous electronic survey in the English language was designed using Qualtrics software. A probability sampling for Slovenia and a convenience sampling strategy for dentist recruitment was applied for 31 countries. Dentists engaged in six dental fields were asked to categorize their patients' oral health problems and prevention needs into the four OHRQoL dimensions (Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact). Proportions of patients' problems and prevention needs were calculated together with the significance of Slovenian and international dentists' differences based on dental fields and WHO regions.

Results: Dentists (n=1,580) from 32 countries completed the survey. There were 223 Slovenian dentists (females: 68%) with a mean age (SD) of 41 (10.6) years and 1,358 international dentists (females: 51%) with a mean age (SD) of 38 (10.4). Pain-related problems and prevention needs were the most prevalent among all six dental fields reported by dentists; Slovenian (37%) and 31 countries (45%). According to Cohen, differences between Slovenia, the broader European Region, and 31 countries were considered non-significant (<0.1).

Conclusion: According to the dentists' responses, the frequency of patients' oral health problems and prevention needs are proportionate between Slovenia and 31 countries, regionally and globally. The four OHRQoL dimensions can be considered universal across all dental fields.

Namen: V raziskavi smo želeli primerjati pogostost ustno-obraznih težav in potreb po preventivnem zdravju zobozdravstvenih pacientov med slovenskimi in mednarodnimi zobozdravniki s pomočjo spletne ankete, ki bi potrdila veljavnost štirih dimenzij oralnega zdravja v šestih kliničnih zobozdravstvenih specialnostih iz vseh svetovnih regij, kot jih določa Svetovna zdravstvena organizacija.

Metode: V programski opremi Qualtrics smo v angleškem jeziku izdelali anonimno spletno anketo z namenom kategorizirati ustno-obrazne težave in preventivne ukrepe zobozdravstvenih pacientov v štiri dimenzije oralnega zdravja (funkcionalna, bolečinska, estetska in psihosocialna) na osnovi šestih stomatoloških specialnosti. Naključno vzorčenje smo uporabili za slovenske zobozdravnike, medtem ko smo za zobozdravnike iz 31 držav uporabili priložnostno vzorčenje. Za preverjanje pacientovih ustno-obraznih težav ter njihove potrebe po zdravljenju na osnovi zobozdravnikove ocene smo uporabili razmerja v odstotkih. Velikost učinka smo računali za preverjanje razlik med slovenskimi in tujimi zobozdravniki iz vseh regij po razdelitvi Svetovne zdravstvene organizacije in na osnovi šestih zobozdravstvenih specialnosti.

Rezultati: Tisoč petsto osemdeset zobozdravnikov iz 32 držav je izpolnilo spletno anketo. Od tega je bilo 223 slovenskih (68 % žensk) s povprečno starostjo (SD) 41 (10,6) let in 1.358 tujih zobozdravnikov (51 % žensk) s povprečno starostjo (SD) 38 (10,4) let. Slovenski (37 %) in tuji (45 %) zobozdravniki so izbrali ustnoobrazno bolečino kot najpogostejšo težavo in preventivni ukrep pri zobozdravstvenih pacientih v vseh šestih zobozdravstvenih specialnostih. Po Cohenu so bile razlike med slovenskimi in pacienti iz drugih držav z ustnoobraznimi težavami in pri preventivnih ukrepih zelo majhne (< 0,1).

Zaključek: Ustno-obrazne težave zobozdravstvenih pacientov in njihove potrebe po zdravljenju znotraj vseh šestih zobozdravstvenih specialnosti so v Sloveniji in drugih 31 državah, regionalno in globalno, primerljive. Vse štiri dimenzije podpirajo zobozdravnikov celostni pogled na oralno zdravje in preventivne ukrepe zobozdravstvenih pacientov po svetu in zobozdravstvenih specialnostih.

Keywords: Slovenia; World Health Organization; dental specialties; dentistry; dentists; oral health; oral health models; patients; questionnaires; surveys.

Abstract in English, Slovenian

Grants and funding

Abstract
in English, Slovenian