Contemporary Oral and Dental Health Care: Issues and Challenges

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 1287

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270901, Brazil
Interests: oral health epidemiology; quantitative methodology; dental public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 50% of the world’s population suffers from oral diseases. Beyond being prevalent issues, oral diseases profoundly impact individuals’ lives and society as a whole. Consequently, many countries have integrated dental health services into their public health systems, employing various strategies in order to do so. With the WHO aiming for universal health coverage for oral health by 2030, the assessment of dental health services has garnered increasing attention within the scientific community. Observational, interventional, and qualitative studies serve as valuable methods for evaluating the quality and impact of these services. Such studies can pinpoint areas of concern, signal warnings, reinforce positive aspects, and refine unsuccessful strategies. We are therefore delighted to extend an invitation for you to submit your research to this Special Issue. This Special Issue seeks to include contributions from researchers worldwide to share their scientific findings and the challenges encountered in the development and evaluation of dental health services. Our goal is to describe and address some of these challenges, supporting the improvement and coordination of dental health care services in so doing. I eagerly anticipate receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães de Abreu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • dental health care
  • oral health
  • epidemiology
  • dental public health
  • oral hygiene

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 1386 KiB  
Article
Patients’ Satisfaction Regarding Oral Healthcare Services in the North-East Region of Romania: A Preliminary Questionnaire Survey
by Silviu Catalin Tibeica, Dragoș Ioan Virvescu, Iulian Costin Lupu, Dana Gabriela Budala, Ionut Luchian, Andreea Tibeica, Zinovia Surlari and Elena Mihaela Carausu
Healthcare 2024, 12(12), 1195; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12121195 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 185
Abstract
This research addresses a gap in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of patients’ level of satisfaction with dental care. Methods: By combining quantitative and qualitative survey methods with a PSQ, this study aims to augment ongoing initiatives to enhance dental patients’ [...] Read more.
This research addresses a gap in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of patients’ level of satisfaction with dental care. Methods: By combining quantitative and qualitative survey methods with a PSQ, this study aims to augment ongoing initiatives to enhance dental patients’ experiences by painting a more comprehensive depiction of patients’ level of satisfaction. Results: When asked about their overall level of satisfaction 77.1% of the patients said that they received excellent services from office personnel and 72.2% said they trust their doctors. Conclusions: Assessing patient satisfaction in the realm of dental service quality is crucial for enhancing service quality and accuracy, which would benefit both patients and dentists and, ultimately, improve public health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Oral and Dental Health Care: Issues and Challenges)
12 pages, 3300 KiB  
Article
Management of SARS-CoV-2 Prevention Methods in Dental Offices—A Cross-Sectional Study in Bucharest, Romania
by Mihnea Ioan Nicolescu, Oana Irina Lupu, Raluca Ștefania Georgescu, Mihai Săndulescu and Cristian Funieru
Healthcare 2024, 12(12), 1169; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12121169 - 10 Jun 2024
Viewed by 356
Abstract
We compared the managing of prevention methods for SARS-CoV-2 infections in dental offices before and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to find out the varieties of infection prevention methods used by dentists before and during the pandemic [...] Read more.
We compared the managing of prevention methods for SARS-CoV-2 infections in dental offices before and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to find out the varieties of infection prevention methods used by dentists before and during the pandemic and compare them. We designed a digital transversal questionnaire with 15 closed questions that was sent to 150 dentists in Bucharest, Romania. We received n = 112 valid answers during July-August 2021 from dentists of all age groups (25–60 years), with a sex ratio of 0.36, which agreed to anonymously participate in this study. The results showed an increase in types and amount of personal protection equipment (i.e., ocular/facial protection, supplemental gown, and upgrading the FFP1 masks to FFP2 or FFP3). Ocular protection showed statistical significance by gender but not by age group. Vaccination rate against SARS-CoV-2 was at 80% of the participant dentists at the time of the survey and had statistical significance. However, vaccination status of the patients did not alter dentists’ protection protocol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Oral and Dental Health Care: Issues and Challenges)
Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 270 KiB  
Article
Dental Profile of Brazilian Patients with Rare Skeletal Genetic Disorders: Clinical Features and Associated Factors
by Ivanete Cláudia de Oliveira Vilar, Jennifer Reis-Oliveira, Gabriela Lopes Ângelo Dornas, Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães de Abreu, Natália Cristina Ruy Carneiro and Ana Cristina Borges-Oliveira
Healthcare 2024, 12(10), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12101046 - 19 May 2024
Viewed by 499
Abstract
The aim of this study is to compare the dental profiles of Brazilian patients with rare genetic skeletal disorders and normotypical patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 210 individuals aged between 2 and 54 years old [105 with rare diseases (Mucopolysaccharidosis/MPS [...] Read more.
The aim of this study is to compare the dental profiles of Brazilian patients with rare genetic skeletal disorders and normotypical patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 210 individuals aged between 2 and 54 years old [105 with rare diseases (Mucopolysaccharidosis/MPS n = 27 and Osteogenesis Imperfecta/OI n = 78) and 105 without rare diseases] and their parents/caregivers. The parents/caregivers answered a questionnaire about individual aspects of their child and the dental profile was identified from questions related to dental history and the presence/absence of dental problems. The patients’ oral cavity was also examined by three examiners for dental caries, malocclusion, gingivitis, and dental anomalies. The average age of individuals with a rare disease was 14.1 years (±12.2) and the median was 9.5 years. Participants who had already used the public health system (SUS) dental care services had a 2.24 times higher chance of belonging to the group with a rare disease (OR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.07–4.89). Patients with rare diseases are 14.86 times more likely to have difficulty receiving dental treatment (OR = 14.86; 95% CI: 5.96–27.03) and 10.38 times more likely to have one or more dental problems (OR = 10.38; 95% CI: 1.95–35.17). Individuals with rare disorders have a greater history of difficulty in accessing dental treatment, using the SUS, and were diagnosed with more dental problems compared to normotypical individuals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Oral and Dental Health Care: Issues and Challenges)
Back to TopTop