Background: The present study aimed to assess dental professionals’ attitudes and experiences related to the dental treatment of drug users and to interprofessional collaboration with the rehabilitation institutions (RIs).Methods: The study population comprised 141 dentists and dental hygienists (response rate 73%) working in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in three counties in Norway. All of the participants completed an electronically distributed questionnaire on existing practices and experiences regarding dental treatment for drug users and interprofessional collaboration with RIs. The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) approved the study.Results: Thirty-five percent of the dentists and 10% of the dental hygienists had treated five or more drug users per month (p < 0.05). The majority of dentists and dental hygienists used more time for examination and treatment of drug users compared to other patient groups. Over 70% of dental clinicians considered drug users as demanding patients due to fear, missing appointments, and poor compliance with oral hygiene advice. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that attitudes and experiences with dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of professionals. The overall perception was that drug users often had higher expectations of dental treatment than what could be defined as necessary care and provided by the PDS. One-third of dental professionals reported that they were satisfied with the collaboration they had with RIs . Most of the respondents agreed that personnel from RIs could positively influence interprofessional collaboration by having sufficient knowledge of drug users statutory rights to free of charge dental treatment, as well as by close follow-up and motivation of patients before dental treatment.Conclusions: Dental professionals perceived the management of drug users as demanding due to dental fear, difficulties in coping with appointments, poor compliance to preventive measures, and disagreement between dental treatment defined as necessary and drug users’ expectations. Attitudes and experiences related to dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of clinicians. Organizational barriers regarding leadership, accessibility, and collaborative routines, as well as lack of interprofessional communication, suggest current models of health care delivery to drug users need reviewing.
Background The present study aimed to assess dental professionals’ attitudes and experiences related to the dental treatment of drug users and to interprofessional collaboration with the rehabilitation institutions (RIs). Methods The study population comprised 141 dentists and dental hygienists (response rate 73%) working in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in three counties in Norway. All of the participants completed an electronically distributed questionnaire on existing practices and experiences regarding dental treatment for drug users and interprofessional collaboration with RIs. The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) approved the study. Results Thirty-five percent of the dentists and 10% of the dental hygienists had treated five or more drug users per month (p < 0.05). The majority of dentists and dental hygienists used more time for examination and treatment of drug users compared to other patient groups. Over 70% of dental clinicians considered drug users as demanding patients due to fear, missing appointments, and poor compliance with oral hygiene advice. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that attitudes and experiences with dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of professionals. The overall perception was that drug users often had higher expectations of dental treatment than what could be defined as necessary care and provided by the PDS. One-third of dental professionals reported that they were satisfied with the collaboration they had with RIs. Most of the respondents agreed that personnel from RIs could positively influence interprofessional collaboration by having sufficient knowledge of drug users statutory rights to free of charge dental treatment, as well as by close follow-up and motivation of patients before dental treatment. Conclusions Dental professionals perceived the management of drug users as demanding due to dental fear, difficulties in coping with appointments, poor compliance to preventive measures, and disagreement between dental treatment defined as necessary and drug users’ expectations. Attitudes and experiences related to dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of clinicians. Organizational barriers regarding leadership, accessibility, and collaborative routines, as well as lack of interprofessional communication, suggest current models of health care delivery to drug users need reviewing.
Objective: The present study aimed to assess dental professionals’ attitudes and experiences related to the dental treatment of drug users and experiences with interprofessional collaboration with the rehabilitation institutions. Materials and methods: The study population comprised 141 dentists and dental hygienists (response rate 73%) working in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in three counties in Norway. All of the participants completed an electronically distributed questionnaire on existing practices and experiences regarding dental treatment for drug users and interprofessional collaboration with rehabilitation institutions (RIs). The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) approved the study. Results: The majority of dentists and dental hygienists in the present study used more time for examination and treatment of drug users compared to other patient groups. Over 70% of dental clinicians considered drug users as demanding patients due to fear, missing appointments, and poor compliance with oral hygiene advice. The overall perception was that drug users often had higher expectations of dental treatment than what could be defined as necessary care and provided by the PDS. One-third of dental professionals reported that they were satisfied with the collaboration they had with RIs . Most of the respondents agreed that personnel from rehabilitation institutions could positively influence interprofessional collaboration by having sufficient knowledge of drug users statutory rights to free of charge dental treatment, as well as by close follow-up and motivation of patients before dental treatment. Conclusions: Dental professionals perceived the management of drug users as demanding due to dental fear, difficulties in coping with appointments, poor compliance to preventive measures, and disagreement between dental treatment defined as necessary and drug users’ expectations. Organizational barriers regarding leadership, accessibility, and collaborative routines, as well as lack of interprofessional communication, suggest current models of health care delivery to drug users need reviewing.
Background: The present study aimed to assess dental professionals’ attitudes and experiences related to the dental treatment of drug users and to interprofessional collaboration with the rehabilitation institutions (RIs). Methods: The study population comprised 141 dentists and dental hygienists (response rate 73%) working in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in three counties in Norway. All of the participants completed an electronically distributed questionnaire on existing practices and experiences regarding dental treatment for drug users and interprofessional collaboration with RIs. The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) approved the study.Results: Thirty-five percent of the dentists and 10% of the dental hygienists had treated five or more drug users per month (p < 0.05). The majority of dentists and dental hygienists used more time for examination and treatment of drug users compared to other patient groups. Over 70% of dental clinicians considered drug users as demanding patients due to fear, missing appointments, and poor compliance with oral hygiene advice. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that attitudes and experiences with dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of professionals. The overall perception was that drug users often had higher expectations of dental treatment than what could be defined as necessary care and provided by the PDS. One-third of dental professionals reported that they were satisfied with the collaboration they had with RIs . Most of the respondents agreed that personnel from RIs could positively influence interprofessional collaboration by having sufficient knowledge of drug users statutory rights to free of charge dental treatment, as well as by close follow-up and motivation of patients before dental treatment.Conclusions: Dental professionals perceived the management of drug users as demanding due to dental fear, difficulties in coping with appointments, poor compliance to preventive measures, and disagreement between dental treatment defined as necessary and drug users’ expectations. Attitudes and experiences related to dental treatment of drug users were significantly associated with background characteristics of clinicians. Organizational barriers regarding leadership, accessibility, and collaborative routines, as well as lack of interprofessional communication, suggest current models of health care delivery to drug users need reviewing.
Objective: The present study aimed to assess dental professionals’ attitudes and experiences related to the dental treatment of drug users and experiences with interprofessional collaboration with the rehabilitation institutions. Materials and methods: The study population comprised 141 dentists and dental hygienists (response rate 73%) working in the Public Dental Service (PDS) in three counties in Norway. All of the participants completed an electronically distributed questionnaire on existing practices and experiences regarding dental treatment for drug users and interprofessional collaboration with rehabilitation institutions (RIs). The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) approved the study. Results: The majority of dentists and dental hygienists in the present study used more time for examination and treatment of drug users compared to other patient groups. Over 70% of dental clinicians considered drug users as demanding patients due to fear, missing appointments, and poor compliance with oral hygiene advice. The overall perception was that drug users often had higher expectations of dental treatment than what could be defined as necessary care and provided by the PDS. One-third of dental professionals reported that they were satisfied with the collaboration they had with RIs . Most of the respondents agreed that personnel from rehabilitation institutions could positively influence interprofessional collaboration by having sufficient knowledge of drug users statutory rights to free of charge dental treatment, as well as by close follow-up and motivation of patients before dental treatment. Conclusions: Dental professionals perceived the management of drug users as demanding due to dental fear, difficulties in coping with appointments, poor compliance to preventive measures, and disagreement between dental treatment defined as necessary and drug users’ expectations. Organizational barriers regarding leadership, accessibility, and collaborative routines, as well as lack of interprofessional communication, suggest current models of health care delivery to drug users need reviewing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.