AbstractsMedical & Health Science

The Shortened Dental Arch (SDA) concept and Swedish general dental practitioners : attitudes and prosthodontic decision-making

by Eva-Karin Korduner




Institution: Malmö University
Department:
Year: 2016
Keywords: Shortened dental arch; Decision-making; qualitatative research; compromised molars; dentistry; prosthodontic decision-making; Attitudes
Posted: 02/05/2017
Record ID: 2095917
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/2043/20895


Abstract

10 ABSTRACT A Shortened Dental Arch (SDA) is defined as a dentition where most posterior teeth are missing. The SDA concept, described by Käyser and co-workers in the 1980s, was developed mainly for elderly and high risk-patients, those with poor general health and those with accumulation of dental problems. It was however, proposed as a treatment option based on individual preferences. The SDA concept suggested that a dentition comprising teeth in the anterior and premolar region might meet the requirements of a functional dentition. The aim of this thesis was to study attitudes towards the Shortened Dental Arch (SDA) concept and to explore the factors affecting prosthodontic decision-making, with a focus on the SDA concept, among Swedish General Dental Practitioners (GDPs). Two different research approaches (quantitative and qualitative) were used: a questionnaire study (Study I and II) and an interview study (Study III and IV). The base in the questionnaire study was made up of 102 responses from a random sample of 189 Swedish GDPs. The sample was taken from the membership register of the Swedish Dental Association. Besides questions about gender, age, years in profession and place of dental education, the questionnaire contained questions about factors to be considered when planning for a prosthetic treatment in an SDA. There were also questions related to risks and benefits of an SDA and various statements concerning the SDA concept. For all items the dentists were asked to mark on a Visual Analogue Scale ranging from 0 to 10 with different anchors for each section. The data was described and analyzed in contingency and frequency tables. The treatment planning statements were subjected to principal component analysis. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to study explanatory patterns regarding the assessment of importance for the variables influencing dentists’ choice of treatment in an SDA. Eleven Swedish GDPs were strategically selected for the interview study, the necessary inclusion criterion being that the participant had to have at least one year of practice to ensure experience of treating dentitions without molar support. The in-depth, semi-structured interviews dealt with treatment considerations relating to two patient cases and the participants’ opinions on pre-formulated statements about the SDA concept. Two authentic patient cases were discussed; initially with complete dental arches, and later a final treatment plan based on an SDA. The cases involved patients with compromised teeth situated mainly in the molar regions. One patient suffered from extensive caries and the other from severe periodontal disease. Qualitative Content Analysis was used to analyze the data. The participants of the questionnaire study received a short description of the SDA as an introduction and the participants of the interview study were…