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Patient age and general dentists' treatment decisions
Author(s) -
Dolan Teresa A.,
McNaughton Clifford A.,
Davidson Suzanne N.,
Mitchell Gail S.
Publication year - 1992
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.1754-4505.1992.tb00400.x
Subject(s) - medicine , vignette , life expectancy , radiation treatment planning , limiting , test (biology) , family medicine , dentistry , surgery , population , psychology , social psychology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , environmental health , engineering , biology , radiation therapy
To test whether a patient's age plays a role in dentists' treatment planning decisions, a convenience sample of 159 general dentists attending a state dental society annual meeting was presented a vignette including intraoral photographs, a brief case history and clinical diagnosis of a patient. The patient was partially dentate, and was described as having irreversible pulpitis of tooth #19. Three versions of the vignette were developed, with identical materials and information except for the patient's age (either 44, 65, or 84 years), and were randomly assigned to the participating dentists who were asked to develop a treatment plan for the patient's mandibular arch. The dentists planned limited therapy for the 84 year old because of their assumptions about the patient's brief life expectancy, cost, concern about the inability of the patient to tolerate extensive treatment, and a low cost/benefit ratio. These findings suggest that a patient's age influences general dentists' treatment planning decisions, perhaps limiting the treatment options offered to older adults. Additional research is necessary to further test these associations.