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Appropriate responses by elders to oral symptoms: dentists' recommendations
Author(s) -
Holtzrnan Joseph M.,
Guttman Yvonne,
Berkey Douglas B.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1990.tb00774.x
Subject(s) - medicine , oral health , family medicine , medline , action (physics) , political science , law , physics , quantum mechanics
This paper reports the results of a study of dentists' recommendations regarding the appropriate health action of elders in response to certain oral common symp toms and problems. Previous studies have found that elders most commonly respond to oral symptoms by using nonprofessional means. This study found that, without exception, the recommendation to consult a dentist was the primary mode of response favored by dentists, even in response to symptoms and problems that are most often trivial and rarely indicative of serious health problems. The results of this pilot study suggest that the need exists for dentists to reach a more realistic consensus regarding alternatives to professional consultation in response to some symptoms and problems.