An Investigation Between Dentists’ Attitudes Towards Preventive Dental Care and Their Implementation of Preventive Strategies

Abstract

Background: this study investigates the association between dentists’ attitudes towards preventive dental care and their implementation of preventive strategies in their clinical practice. However important preventive care is to dentists, it is still difficult to provide in a daily routine since there are many factors that influence the implementation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dentists from different EU countries, recording their attitudes towards preventive dental care and the frequency of implementing preventive strategies. The study conducted regression analysis and chi-square tests to explore the relationship between attitudes towards preventive care, implementation of preventive strategies, and the predictors of prevention. Results: The findings suggests that while dentists in general acknowledge the importance of prevention, a few of them only try to integrate preventive strategies in their clinical practices as much as they can. The regression analysis revealed that factors like gender and date of qualification influenced the importance of prevention to dentists. Dentists from Germany and female dentists were more likely to implement preventive strategies. However, time constraints and the structure of the healthcare system regarding preventive care were one of the reasons that prevented the implementation of preventive strategies. Conclusion: The study reveals that while dentist value prevention they still cannot implement preventive strategies consistently since there are other factors that influence them such as time and financial constraints.