Special care dentistry: how prepared are we?

AIM

To assess and evaluate the confidence of the undergraduate dental team in Irish dental schools regarding their training in the field of special care dentistry (SCD).

METHOD

A questionnaire was distributed amongst the undergraduate dental teams within Cork University Dental School and Hospital (CUDSH) and Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH). The data were analysed to assess for differences between the median responses of the various groups.

RESULTS

A total of 139 students participated in the study; 82 from DDUH (59 dental science students, seven dental hygiene students and 16 dental nursing students) and 57 from CUDSH (43 dental science students and 14 dental hygiene students). Twenty-two per cent (n = 30) of respondents agreed that their training had been sufficient in providing treatment or assistance for patients requiring SCD. Seventy-five per cent agreed that more emphasis should be placed on clinical training in SCD (n = 76). Thirty-one per cent of students anticipated a high level of confidence in treating patients requiring SCD upon graduation (n = 43), with dental science students feeling the least prepared amongst the dental team.

CONCLUSION

Confidence levels of the undergraduate dental team were low with regard to SCD. The existing hands-on clinical training in SCD was deemed insufficient by the respondents. Students believed more emphasis should be placed on SCD training in the undergraduate curriculum.

Acceptability of epidural analgesia for pain relief during labour among Kelantanese women

Three hundred and five primigravid women were interviewed at term to assess the acceptability of epidural during labour, and reasons for the decisions. Data was collected on a prestructured proforma which consisted of background information, socio-economic status, knowledge about epidural analgesia, source of information and reasons for choice. Of the 305 patients only 17.3% were willing to receive epidural analgesia. This group consisted of 56.6% non-Malay women. Those employed in professional or skilled jobs (56.6%) also readily consented for epidural. Nearly half the women willing for epidural had received college (tertiary) education (43.3%) and more than a quarter (26.4%) were over 30 years of age. The majority of those who were unwilling had no prior knowledge about the procedure, and refused either out of fear, ignorance, resistance from husbands, on religious grounds or following poor feedback from friends. In order to advocate epidural analgesia, knowledge has to be targeted to the relatively less educated, unemployed women, mainly through the media or personally in the antenatal clinic by doctors and nurses. Services have to be improved as substandard analgesia may send out wrong messages and actually do more harm than good.