Objectives: To quantify dentist's use of common caries preventive agents across different geographic regions and practice models in Dental Practice-Based Research Network (DPBRN; www.DPBRN.org). DPBRN is a group of outpatient dental practices that have affiliated to investigate research questions and that comprises 5 regions: AL/MS: Alabama/Mississippi, FL/GA: Florida/Georgia, HP/MN: dentists employed by HealthPartners and in private practice from the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, PDA: Permanente Dental Associates in cooperation with Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, and SK: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Methods: A survey was sent to all DPBRN member dentists who reported doing at least some restorative dentistry in their practices (n=915). The survey asked about the percentage of pediatric patients to whom dentists administer or recommend specific caries prevention agents (sealants, fluoride, chlorhexidine, sugarless gum). Differences were tested between geographic regions and practice model. Treatment regimen may differ by geographic location or according to type of practice, such as private, HMO, or publicly-funded care. Differences by geographic region may be due to training differences or cultural preferences. Differences by practice type may be due to the desire to keep treatment costs to a minimum by a HMO or publicly-funded oral health care system.
Results: Sealants were used mainly by dentists in the PDA region and least by those in the SK region. In-office fluoride was used by 81% of the dentists and more often by dentists from AL/MS, FL/GA and PDA. Prescription fluoride, non-prescription Fluoride, and chlorhexidine rinse were seldom recommended by any of the dentists. Dentists from HP/MN and PDA groups were the least likely to recommend sugarless gum for their children patients.
Conclusion: The use of caries prevention treatment varies by geographic region, with US groups using more office-based treatments than SK, and HMO groups recommending more out-of-office treatments than other groups. Support: DE-16746, DE-16747.