Table of means and
standard deviations of characteristics of dental practice(s) attended by participants
|
Dental
practice characteristic |
Mean
(S.D.) |
Statistical
significance of association between the characteristic and tooth loss |
|
Practice
setting |
|
|
|
Number of
general dental practices attended |
1.2 (0.6) |
ns |
|
Number of
specialty practices attended |
0.2 (0.4) |
ns |
|
Practice
busyness rating |
2.3 (1.0) |
p = 0.049 |
|
Typical
time a patient has to wait … for a new
patient exam appointment (in days) for a
restorative dentistry appointment (in days) in waiting
room (in minutes) |
19.8 (25.9) 17.1 (21.1) 12.6 (9.3) |
ns p = 0.047 ns |
|
Percent of
visits in practice due to unscheduled care |
9.2 (9.9) |
ns |
|
Number of
patient visits each week done by dentist |
56.8 (28.8) |
ns |
|
Number of hours each week in
direct patient care |
31.9 (7.5) |
ns |
|
Number of
dental chairs regularly used |
4.6 (2.9) |
ns |
|
Patient
population |
|
|
|
Percent
of patients who are … covered by
a private insurance program covered by
a public program not
covered by any third party and pay own bills not
covered and receive free or reduced-fee care |
51.5 (22.5) 10.5 (13.0) 34.9 (21.2) 2.4 (5.7) |
ns ns ns ns |
|
Percent of practice charges derived from … dental insurance self-pay unpaid bills other |
51.3 (20.3) 41.3 (20.2) 4.7 (5.8) 1.7 (6.2) |
ns ns ns ns |
|
Percent of
patients on extended payment schedules |
14.7 (22.3) |
ns |
|
Percent
of patients who … seek care
soon enough fear
dentists visit
dentists more often than necessary complain
about waiting pay their
bills follow
advice about dental hygiene show for
appointments as scheduled take
responsibility for their oral health treat me
with the respect that I deserve want to
know details about condition of their mouths want to
know details about their treatment options use credit
cards to pay for their treatment |
59.3 (21.9) 37.1 (28.4) 3.7 (4.7) 5.7 (12.0) 84.8 (26.1) 54.1 (23.3) 85.3 (10.0) 66.9 (22.4) 85.4 (26.2) 68.8 (28.1) 73.3 (24.5) 19.2 (14.1) |
ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns |
|
Percent
of patients who are … 1-18 years
old 19-44
years old 45-64
years old 65 years
old or older |
14.7 (7.4) 29.9 (9.7) 35.6 (10.3) 19.2 (9.6) |
ns ns ns ns |
|
Percent
of patients who are … non-Hispanic
White non-Hispanic
Black Hispanic of Asian
descent of other
ethnicity |
64.2 (18.5) 29.2 (17.5) 3.6 (4.2) 2.1 (2.9) 0.3 (1.2) |
p = 0.035 p < 0.001 ns ns ns |
|
Dental procedure characteristics |
|
|
|
For
dental extractions ... what percent are replaced eventually by … Fixed
bridge Removable
partial or full denture Dental
implant Not
replaced Other |
30.6 (23.9) 30.6 (17.5) 3.8 (8.0) 34.1 (22.1) 0.1 (0.5) |
p = 0.015 ns ns p = 0.040 ns |
|
Number
dental extraction patients each month |
24.6 (21.2) |
p = 0.003 |
|
Percent patient contact time dentist spends
doing… non-implant restorative dentistry dental implants (surgery or prosthetic time) removable prosthetics dental extractions periodontal therapy (surgical and non-surgical) endodontic (surgical and non-surgical) other (preventive and diagnostic) |
56.3 (22.7) 1.5 (4.4) 12.0 (16.2) 9.4 (7.6) 3.6 (5.1) 7.4 (7.4) 9.0 (8.5) |
ns ns ns p = 0.036 ns ns ns |
|
Typical
fee in dollars for a … 2-surface
amalgam 3-canal
molar root canal Single
uncomplicated extraction Cast
partial denture Full
denture Porcelain-to-metal
crown |
65.5 (24.3) 401.6 (184.7) 63.7 (20.9) 687.3 (288.6) 704.6 (321.9) 512.9 (154.7) |
ns ns ns ns ns ns |
|
Percent
of procedures you refer to other dentists… Periodontal
surgery Prosthetic
crowns and bridges (other than implants) Implant
surgery Implant
restorations Full
dentures Removable
partial dentures Anterior
tooth root canals Molar
tooth root canals Endodontic
surgery Non-surgical
extractions Surgical
extractions Orthodontics |
75.3 (40.0) 2.1 (11.5) 87.4 (32.9) 32.1 (44.0) 14.1 (31.7) 1.5 (6.9) 25.4 (38.1) 61.6 (41.0) 85.6 (30.3) 22.0 (35.1) 61.0 (39.2) 94.5 (20.6) |
ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns |
|
Percent
of patients who receive the service at some time
while in your practice… Dental
x-rays Diet
counseling Blood
pressure screening Oral
cancer screening examination Oral
hygiene instruction In-office
fluoride application Fluoride
gel/rinse prescribed/recommended for home Patient
education from written pamphlets Patient
education from videos or slides Intraoral
photographs taken Intraoral
video images taken |
97.9 (6.8) 19.6 (25.7) 29.8 (34.7) 94.1 (14.0) 88.1 (18.6) 46.0 (29.6) 26.3 (23.9) 33.8 (29.4) 10.9 (26.7) 6.1 (13.3) 10.1 (22.9) |
ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns |
|
Dentist
individual characteristics |
|
|
|
Last two
figures of dentist’s graduation year |
73.5 (9.5) |
ns |
|
Dentist’s
current age |
51.2 (9.1) |
ns |
|
Race/ethnicity
of dentist |
92% male |
ns |
|
Sex of
dentist |
90% NHW, 4% AA, 6% Other |
ns |
|
Amount
of agreement with these statements… Patients
should seek second opinions … Patients
are better off not knowing all the facts … Dentists
should present all treatment options to patients. … the
dentist should try to convince the patient to accept it. … the patient
should be dismissed from the practice. |
4.1 (0.8) 1.8 (1.2) 5.3 (1.1) 3.4 (1.3) 2.3 (1.0) |
ns ns ns ns ns |
Statistical significance between a given practice
characteristic and tooth loss incidence was done using a multivariable logistic
regression. The outcome of interest (loss
of a specific tooth) was coded 1 if the tooth was lost, and 0 if not. Although the tooth is the unit of analysis,
clustering of teeth within persons is accounted for in the correlation structure,
allowing for both tooth-specific and person-level characteristics to be
tested. Other than the practice
characteristics variables, these tooth-specific and person-level variables were
included in each regression above: (a) tooth-specific variables determined by
direct clinical examination (periodontal (gum) attachment level, upper/lower
jaw location, tooth type, tooth severely loose, tooth had a fractured filling,
root fragment, tooth surfaces with fillings), and (b) person-level variables
(6-monthly symptoms reported during the interval by interview: toothache and
loose tooth), race, household income, and response at baseline to a clinical
scenario that queried whether the person would get a dental extraction or a
root canal and cap.
Table of
correlations between dental practice characteristics that were significantly
associated with incident tooth loss
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
|
1 |
1.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
0.55 |
1.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
0.65 |
0.62 |
1.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
0.37 |
0.37 |
0.41 |
1.00 |
|
|
|
|
5 |
0.44 |
0.33 |
0.60 |
0.40 |
1.00 |
|
|
|
6 |
0.40 |
0.30 |
0.36 |
0.71 |
0.38 |
1.00 |
|
|
7 |
0.38 |
0.41 |
0.32 |
0.29 |
0.20 |
0.25 |
1.00 |
Correlations shown are Spearman’s correlation
coefficients. Before coefficients were
calculated, each practice characteristics variable was converted to a quartile
score (1 = first quartile in that variable’s distribution; 2 = second quartile,
etc.).
All
correlation coefficients are statistically significant (p < 0.001).
1:
Racial/ethnic distribution
2:
Number patients receiving/referred for dental extractions
3:
Percent of extracted teeth that are replaced by a fixed bridge
4:
Waiting time for a restorative dentistry appointment
5:
Percent of extracted teeth that are not replaced
6:
Practice busyness
7:
Percent of time each day spent doing dental extractions