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A questionnaire‐based study evaluating differences between dental students in Paris (F) and Malmö ( SE ) regarding diagnosis and treatment decisions of patients with different severity levels of periodontal diseases
Author(s) -
Milosavljevic A.,
Stavropoulos A.,
Descroix V.,
Götrick B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1600-0579
pISSN - 1396-5883
DOI - 10.1111/eje.12317
Subject(s) - medicine , periodontitis , gingivitis , periodontology , dental alveolus , dentistry , gingival inflammation , clinical judgement , intensive care medicine
Abstract Aim To evaluate differences between last‐year dental students in Paris (F) and Malmö ( SE ) Dental Schools, in regard to their judgement and decision‐making within periodontology. Materials and Methods Ninety‐six last‐year dental students from Paris and 45 from Malmö participated in a questionnaire study based on four patient cases: (i) Patient case with generalised alveolar bone loss but no signs of inflammation ( Well‐maintained) , (ii) Patient case with generalised alveolar bone loss and signs of inflammation ( Periodontitis ), (iii) Patient case with no alveolar bone loss and no signs of inflammation ( Healthy ) and (iv) Patient case with no alveolar bone loss but with signs of inflammation ( Gingivitis ). Through multiple‐choice questions, the students judged each case as healthy or diseased proposed a diagnosis and treatment measures and estimated the treatment time for each patient. Furthermore, they assessed the prognosis of each patient in case of no treatment. Results Based on a response rate of 83%, the majority in both groups judged all the patients as diseased. More Paris students diagnosed the healthy and the gingivitis case as having periodontitis ( P < .05). Furthermore, a larger number of students from Paris recommended several treatment measures and estimated longer treatment times for all the cases ( P < .05) and estimated a higher risk for disease progression for the healthy and the gingivitis case ( P < .05). Conclusions Significant variation between students from Paris and Malmö Dental Schools in regard to judgement and decision‐making was observed; this may in turn imply that there is still need of improving consistency amongst undergraduate educations in periodontology in Europe.