Bouskandar, SY, Al Muraikhi, L, Hodge, TM et al. (1 more author) (2023) UK dental students' ability and confidence in applying the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need and determining appropriate orthodontic referral. European Journal of Dental Education, 27 (3). pp. 489-496. ISSN 1396-5883
Abstract
Introduction
The aim was to assess the ability and confidence of UK undergraduate dental students in applying the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) and determining appropriate orthodontic referral.
Materials and Methods
This was a cross-sectional survey using a case-based online questionnaire. Fourth and fifth year undergraduate dental students were recruited from UK dental schools through their university and social media. Six cases were presented and participants were asked to provide an IOTN score and judgement about referral. Participants were asked about their confidence, experience and orthodontic teaching.
Results
Sixty-nine responses were returned. A quarter of participants reported having used IOTN before in a clinical setting. Clinical experience with IOTN influenced confidence. Familiarity with making orthodontic referrals was low and only one participant reported having made an orthodontic referral. Correct IOTN scores were given by 68% of participants for a large 14 mm overjet (5a) case, 43% of participants for an impacted canine (5i) case and 26% of participants for an impacted premolar (5i) case. Incorrect IOTN was most common in hypodontia cases with only 19% correctly identifying mild hypodontia (4h) and 28% identifying severe hypodontia (5h). For the majority of cases, incorrect answers about referral were due to confusion between specialist practitioner and orthodontic consultant pathways.
Conclusions
Dental students' ability and confidence in correctly applying the IOTN Dental Health Component and selecting the appropriate referral pathway was inadequate. Responses suggest a lack of clinical experience in assessing patients, applying the IOTN and making referrals. The low response rate is disappointing and limits the scope for making recommendations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Dental Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
Keywords: | ability; confidence; Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need; orthodontic referral; undergraduate |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Dentistry (Leeds) > Orthodontics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jun 2022 10:51 |
Last Modified: | 22 Aug 2024 13:20 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/eje.12832 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187645 |