Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Orthodontic treatment being provided by pediatric dentists and
general practitioners in Indiana was investigated. A two page questionnaire
constructed by the investigator was used to gather the data.
The study sample consisted of 571 dentists. All 71 Indiana
pediatric dentists primarily in private practice were surveyed. General
practitioners (500) were chosen on the basis of age, year of graduation
from dental school, geographic location and size of community in
which they practiced.
Seventy-eight percent of the questionnaires were returned; of
this total, 93 percent of the pediatric dentists and 77 percent of
the general practitioners responded.
The study showed that currently in Indiana 62 percent of the
pediatric dentists and 17.9 percent of the general practitioners surveyed
provided comprehensive orthodontic treatment. These results are much
higher than results of previous surveys of pediatric dentists and
general practitioners.
The study also found that pediatric dentists provide significantly
more comprehensive orthodontic treatment and spend significantly more
time providing orthodontic treatment than do general practitioners.
Age of practitioner was found not to significantly affect the
percentage of time spent providing orthodontic treatment, the orthodontic
conditions treated or the type of appliances and techniques used.
Population of the community in which the practice was located
did have a significant effect. Practitioners in communities of over
100,000 provided significantly less comprehensive orthodontic treatment.
Practitioners who practiced in communities of 5,000-25,000 spent significantly
more time providing orthodontic services.
Sixty-three percent of the practitioners surveyed had taken some
type of continuing education course in orthodontics.
An overwhelming majority of practitioners (over 90 percent) stated
that their undergraduate orthodontic training in dental school inadequately
prepared them for private practice. The majority of pediatric
dentists (78 percent) also stated that their postgraduate education
instruction in orthodontics was inadequate.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/3674 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | Koroluk, Lorne D. |
| Contributors | Avery, David R., Hennon, David Kent, 1933-, Jones, James E. (James Earl), 1950-, Barton, Paul, Kasle, Myron J. |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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