Factors influencing the assessment of treatment needs

Abstract

Epidemiologic surveys have provided data for health planning by estimating prevalence and incidence of diseases in populations. New ways of presenting epidemiologic data on periodontal diseases have changed our understanding of their extent and severity, and conversion of prevalence data into treatment need estimates has proved difficult. Furthermore, new concepts of the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases have questioned the validity of epidemiologic methods currently used. Treatment need assessments vary considerably between studies even when prevalence data from the same populations are similar. This may be due to lack of described goals for periodontal health. Various aspects of the concept of need for treatment are discussed. It is suggested that periodontal treatment need on a population level is defined as the intervention needed in order to change the existing periodontal condition to the described goal. Thus, treatment need assessments will have to include descriptive epidemiologic data as well as defined periodontal health goals. It is recommended that goals are described in terms compatible with the indicators used in the epidemiologic description of the disease status.

Self-reported and clinically diagnosed dental needs among institutionalized adults in Vijayawada: A cross-sectional study

“…Epidemiological studies show that persons of low social class or income and individuals with little or no education are more likely to be edentulous than persons of high social class and high levels of income and education. [13141516] Results from the present study showed that there is a big discrepancy between self-ratings of satisfaction with oral health and clinically diagnosed treatment needs. These results are in accordance with the previous studies conducted by Gilbert et al ., Jokovic and Locker, Heft et al ., Kaplan and Baron-Epel, Ekanayke and Perera, and underlines the limits of only clinical estimation of need.…”

“…Paying for dental care, transportation difficulties, and poor health were the most frequently identified barriers that limited access to oral health care. [213]…”

An analysis of primary and contributing reasons for extraction of permanent teeth given by the dentist

“…The possible effect of the dentists' characteristics is of interest when discussing reasons given by the dentist, since dentists will be influenced by their concept of health and disease, their values and norms, and their knowledge of dental diseases and their possibilities for improving the existing condition (14). Thus, in a study of 156 general dental practitioners in the state of Washington, Grembowski et al (15) found that patient factors may be of lesser importance than technical factors in a sample consisting of dentists with several years of practice experience.…”

Fatores relacionados à autopercepção da necessidade de tratamento odontológico entre idosos

“…14 Subjective need expresses the self-perceived need for treatment and varies from one individual to another, according to the sociocultural and historical context applicable. 10 Objective need, also known as normative need, comes from the dentist's assessment, through identifying the signs of disease at an early stage, at a time when no symptoms of oral disease have yet been noticed. 8 Subjective needs are commonly not considered in assessing needs and in professionals' interventions.…”

“…Even objective needs are not immune to subjective infl uences, since dentists are also guided by their own norms, values and beliefs. 10 The discrepancy between self-perceived need and normative needs, even in situations in which access to services is assured, has instigated a search for what leads individuals to perceive a need for treatment. 8,18 Several studies have investigated the objective and subjective factors associated with self-perceived need for treatment, but none of these were grounded in a prior theoretical model.…”