General Dentists Practices and Attitude Towards the Infant Oral Exam

Objective: To assess the agreement of general dentists with the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) policy of an age-one dental visit, the involvement of general dentists in private practice in treating infants, the barriers to performing infant oral health care, and the comfort level of the practitioner in treating infants.

Methods: General dentists attending the Chicago Dental Society 2007 Midwinter meeting were asked by the registrar to respond to a one page survey about their practice, comfort level and attitude towards the age-one dental visit.

Results: A total of 365 usable surveys were returned. 66% of the responding general dentists agreed with the AAPD recommendation of the age-one visit; however, only fifty three percent encouraged the age-one visit to parents. 42% perform prenatal counseling. The most common reason for not performing infant oral exams was being too busy with older patients (92%). Recent graduates were more likely to agree with the AAPD recommendation of age-one visit (p<.000) and to encourage it amongst parents (p<.000). They were also more likely to report confidence treating infants (p=.001), enjoyment from treating them (p=.007), and that dental school prepared them well to treat infants (p=.04). Older graduates were more likely to believe that infant screenings are not needed on a routine basis (p=.003). Female general dentists were more likely to encourage the age-one visit to parents (p<.04), and to not refer out patients aged <5 years(p=.04).

Conclusion: Recent training and gender influence general dentists' acceptance of early infant visits. This supports policies to promote training of general dentists in providing the infant oral exam, to increase their awareness and to increase their comfort level with providing infant exams.