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Objective: The present study aims to gain knowledge about the dentist's use and choice of digital extraoral imaging methods, panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).Materials and Methods: A questionnaire sent to 2481 dentists within the Swedish Dental Society contained questions about the panoramic technique and CBCT technique used, education, clinic size and type of service. The response rate was 53%.Results: The study showed that 61% of the Swedish dentists had access to panoramic techniques and that 84% used a direct digital sensor, while 6% used storage phosphor plate techniques. Around 8% of the Swedish dentists had access to CBCT. It was also observed that group practices had two times higher odds of having panoramic equipment compared with solo practices. Approximately 40% of the dentists had undergone postgraduate education in oral radiology during the last 5 years. Dental nurses and dental hygienists exposed 92% of the panoramic radiographs and 75% of the CBCTs. Thirty per cent of those clinics with access to a panoramic unit exposed >30 panoramic radiographs per month and 56% of the clinics having access to CBCT did more than 75 examinations per year.Conclusions: Today 61% of Swedish dentists have access to panoramic radiography and 8% have access to CBCT. There is a greater likelihood of having access if the dentist works in the public dental health service or in a group practice and if the dentist has undergone any postgraduate course in oral radiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: By 2023, fewer dentists are expected in Sweden, at the same time as the demand for dental care is expected to increase. Older people, in particular, are expected to require more dental health than previous generations. To meet this demand, the public sector dentistry in Sweden is moving towards changes in division of labour among dental professionals, including dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses. However, the impact of this reallocation on the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of employees is unknown. The aim of this study was to compare workplaces with an equal or larger proportion of dental hygienists than dentists (HDH) with workplaces with a larger proportion of dentists than dental hygienists (HD) on the physical and psychosocial work load, musculoskeletal and psychosomatic disorders and sickness presence.Material: A total of 298 persons employed in the Public Dental Service in a Swedish County Council participated in this study.Conclusion: The medium large clinics HDH reported 85% of employee's with considerably more high psychosocial demands compared to employees in medium HD (53%) and large HD (57%). Employees in medium large clinics HDH also reported sleep problems due to work (25%) compared with employees in medium large clinics HD (6%), large clinics HD (11%) and small clinics HDH (3%). Clinic size does not seem to influence the outcome of the HD and HD clinics to any great extent. Of all employees, about 94-100% reported high precision demands and 78-91% poor work postures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the self-perceived level of knowledge, attitudes and clinical experience in treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) among general practising dentists (GPDs).Material and Methods: A web-based questionnaire was sent to all GPDs in the public dental health service in the County of Uppsala in 2010 (n = 128) and 2014 (n = 113). The GPDs were asked to answer questions in the following categories: Demographic information, Quality assurance, Clinical experience and treatment, Need for specialist resources in the field of TMD and Attitudes. Between the two questionnaires, the GPDs were offered TMD education and an examination template including three TMD questions was introduced in the computer case files. The results were also compared with a previous questionnaire from 2001.Results: The response rate was 71% (2010) and 73% (2014). The majority of the GPDs were women (70% in 2010 and 72% in 2014). The reported frequency of taking a case history of facial pain and headache increased between 2010 and 2014. In 2014, the GPDs were more secure and reported higher frequency of good clinical routines in treatment with jaw exercises and pharmacological intervention compared to 2001. Interocclusal appliance was the treatment with which most dentists felt confident and reported good clinical routines.Conclusions: The GPDs felt more insecure concerning TMD diagnostics, therapy decisions and treatment in children/adolescents compared to adults. There is a high need for orofacial pain/TMD specialists and a majority of the GPDs wants the specialists to offer continuing education in TMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]