The need and reasons for referrals to specialists among Lithuanian general dentists

Abstract

Objective. To analyze the need for referral to a specialist and to identify the reasons of referrals among Lithuanian general dental practitioners. Material and methods. Questionnaires were sent to all 2879 Lithuanian dental practitioners registered on the Lithuanian Dental Chamber license registry. The questionnaire was made with multiple-choice answers. Respondents were asked to choose only one category of answer that best fitted their clinical attitude. Questions included in the questionnaire concerned general and specific information regarding the need and main reasons for endodontic referral. Results. Of the 2879 questionnaires mailed, 1532 questionnaires containing useful information were returned. The response rate was 53.2%. Of the 1532 respondents, 1431 were general dental practitioners. Majority (72.1%) of the respondents performed complicated root canal treatment by themselves. Almost half (49.6%) of them would like to refer patients to an endodontist. Two of the reasons, which restricted their decision, were the shortage of endodontists and high cost of the procedures in the specialized clinics. Approximately 19% of the respondents referred patients to an endodontist. The main reasons for referral were fractured instruments (86.6%), dental trauma (83.6%), difficulties in diagnostics (79%) followed by persistent symptoms (78.1%). Conclusion. The findings of the present study suggest that the need for referral of patients to an endodontist among Lithuanian dental practitioners exists. The main reasons for referrals were complications of endodontic treatment, traumatic injuries, difficulties in diagnostic procedures, and persistent symptoms.

Culture-dependent approaches to explore the prevalence of root canal pathogens from endodontic infections

“…Cultivation was used as the most accurate method to disclose a wider spectrum of microorganisms in the root canal system and was able to measure viable bacterial cells as CFUs. 21 Alternatively, this conventional test method is not only easily adaptable, practical, and inexpensive but also has been previously shown to be highly effective. 14 In this study, Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 60.3% and 16.6% of the total species isolated for primary and secondary infected root canals, respectively.…”

Survey of Materials, Methods Employed, and Attitudes Towards International Endodontic Treatment Protocol Standards by General Dental Practitioners in Lithuania. Does Age Matter?

“…Furthermore, it was determined that the main two reasons for referrals were difficult clinical cases and retreatment cases. Comparable results were acquired from another, alike study where 79% of respondents referred patients when there were difficult diagnostics, and 86.6% mentioned referring due to complication like fractured instrument [13]. Only 31.7% of GDP's did complex endodontic treatment while 50.9% would undertake endodontic retreatment, determined the treatment procedures and referral patterns of general dentists in Lithuania clinical study [18].…”

“…Therefore this treatment modality is not recommended as a standard endodontic treatment [13,16]. With paste-type root fillings, the risk of underfilling or overfilling of the root canal is obvious.…”

“…The use of surveys to collect data for analysis among populations is a prevalent instrument among the scientific community [6,12,13,14]. Among disadvantages such as false answers and human error, the most considerable one in collection of information from questionnaire is the lack of responses among populations in question.…”

Endodontic performance by Flemish dentists: have they evolved?

“…Hence, the present findings seem to indicate an increase in the referral to endodontic specialists. Specific reasons for endodontic referral have been investigated in different studies (Hommez et al 2003b, Ree et al 2003, Peciuliene et al 2010, Barnes et al 2011, Wolcott & Terlap 2014. In this study, the presence of an obstruction was the most important reason to refer (rated by 84.6% of respondents as (very) important).…”