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Biomedical subjects

A R Pack

Publications and source records attributed to A R Pack.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

A comparison of patients' perception of dental care offered by male or female dentists in New Zealand.

Recent increases in women dentists in New Zealand follow similar trends in other Western countries. The career patterns of female dentists, and male dentists' attitudes towards women dentists in New Zealand have been previously studied. The aim of this study was to compare the attitudes and preferences of patients towards dental care offered by either male or female dentists, to determine what influences these preferences, and to discover whether or not these opinions differed between regular or irregular attenders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Hygienists and operating auxiliaries: the opinions of New Zealand dental practitioners.

A postal survey was sent to the 1,122 members of the New Zealand Dental Association holding practising certificates in 1989. Replies were received from 53 percent, of whom 80 percent were general dental practitioners, and 45 percent had previously experienced working overseas with hygienists. Only 1 percent of respondents were opposed to any type of auxiliary working in New Zealand. At the time of the survey, 16 percent were already employing auxiliaries under Section 11 of the 1988 Dental Act. Six percent were employing hygienists and 10 percent were employing NZDA operating auxiliaries. A further 16 percent wanted to employ hygienists in the near future and 10 percent would consider employing NZDA operating auxiliaries. Altogether, 42 percent were employing or wished to employ auxiliaries (22 percent hygienist and 19 percent NZDA operating auxiliary). Dentists responding in this survey spent little time pursuing important hygienist-type duties themselves, but indicated that these were the tasks most likely to be delegated to auxiliaries. Most respondents thought that hygienists should be trained in New Zealand, and 60 percent felt the training should be at the School of Dentistry. The majority were of the opinion that the course should last 18-24 months. Eighty-one percent of respondents thought that former school dental nurses required additional training before being allowed to become auxiliaries, and 42 percent thought such additional training should be up to 3 months long and comprise a block course. Eighty-five percent thought there should be an examination at its completion. Approximately one-third of respondents were not prepared to be involved in training a person to perform auxiliary clinical duties.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The prevalence of overhanging margins in posterior amalgam restorations and periodontal consequences.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of overhanging margins and associated periodontal status in 100 patients who had received completed treatment by final year dental students. Pockets, bleeding on probing and clinically detectable overhanging margins were recorded on all posterior teeth. Overhanging margins on approximal restorations were detected by use of bitewing radiographs. 1319 teeth were examined in which 2117 restored surfaces were evaluated. Of these, 1186 (56%) had overhanging margins. 62% of all approximal restorations had overhanging margins while 35% of buccal and 40% of lingual restorations had overhanging margins. 59% of new approximal restorations placed in previously unrestored surfaces had overhanging margins, and 595 overhanging margins identified on pre-treatment radiographs were still present on post-treatment radiographs. 64.3% of pockets adjacent to overhanging margins were greater than 3 mm, compared with 23.1% of pockets adjacent to unrestored surfaces and 49.2% of pockets adjacent to restorations without overhanging margins. A similar association existed between restorative status and bleeding. 32% of pockets adjacent to overhanging margins bled on probing compared with 10.5% of pockets adjacent to unrestored surfaces and 21.6% of pockets adjacent to restorations without overhanging margins. Periodontal disease was more severe when overhangs were present. However, when approximal overhanging margins were adjacent to an edentulous space, the periodontal effects were lessened. When adjacent to neighbouring teeth, overhanging margins also significantly affected the periodontal status of those teeth.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Concepts determining statistical analysis of dental data.

This paper reviews some approaches to statistical analysis of dental data. Often dental data consist of more than one observation per patient which may not be independent, and consequently some standard statistical methods based on independence of all observations are inappropriate. This paper seeks to make the dental researcher and the consulting statistician aware of some of the efficient approaches that can be used to analyse the data successfully. No specialist statistical knowledge is assumed. Rather the goal is to increase awareness of what can be done. The statistical layman is introduced to some basic concepts, while references are given for the mathematically-minded reader. The data of Pack, Coxhead and McDonald is used as a springboard for this discussion.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMed1989

The amalgam overhang dilemma: a review of causes and effects, prevention, and removal.

Overhanging margins of restorations are common, and much iatrogenic periodontal disease is caused by plaque stagnation associated with overhangs. Greater awareness of the causes of overhangs--the clinical skills and judgment of the operator, the properties of the restorative materials, and the morphological features of the dentition--may help to reduce the number of overhangs placed and subsequently ignored. Thorough examination for overhangs, using both clinical and radiographic assessments, is the most reliable way of diagnosing overhanging margins. Neither clinical assessment nor radiographic examination alone is accurate. Failure to recognise and eliminate overhanging margins of restorations occur frequently and may constitute professional negligence. Once overhangs are recognised, they should not be ignored as they predispose to, and increase the severity of periodontal disease. Small overhangs are more easily removed than large ones, and the latter may necessitate replacement of the restoration. A variety of instruments may be used to remove overhanging margins, but such instruments need to be used carefully to avoid damaging adjacent dental tissues. Consequently, appropriate skills should be gained during the undergraduate course so that future generations of dentists are better able to cope with overhanging margins. The dental profession has an ethical obligation to recognise the need for improvement.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1986

Effects of folate mouthwash on experimental gingivitis in man.

Although the experimental gingivitis model has been used extensively since 1965, some doubts exist concerning the nature of the tissue response in this model. Accordingly, the present study was designed to determine whether or not experimental gingivitis responded to 0.1% folate mouthwash (MW) in a similar manner to that already reported for established gingivitis. 20 male dental students took part in a double blind cross-over study which involved two 3-week experimental periods with random allocation to folate or placebo MW. The experimental site was the lower anterior area and 24 points of gingival examination were made at baseline and weeks 1, 2 and 3. Inflammation was assessed by presence or absence of colour change, and bleeding being slight, profuse or absent when gingivae were stroked with a blunt probe. A plaque sample was evaluated using dark field microscopy, and dry weight of accumulated plaque was measured at the end of each experimental period. Folate MW did not appear to have any statistically significant effects on accumulated plaque, or clinical signs of experimental gingivitis in this study. The different response of experimental gingivitis to folate MW, compared with the response of established gingivitis already reported, further suggests that experimental gingivitis may not represent an authentic replica of the cellular and immunological responses occurring in established gingivitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Folate mouthwash: effects on established gingivitis in periodontal patients.

A double blind study was designed to determine the effects of folate mouthwash (MW) on established gingivitis in non-pregnant adults. 60 subjects who had greater than 20 teeth, visible gingival inflammation around greater than 6 teeth, no complicated medical history, currently not receiving periodontal treatment or medication, and not wearing dentures, were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups. Full mouth assessment included plaque scores, gingival colour changes, bleeding tendency around every tooth and experience of disease and local factors. Subjects used 5 ml of MW twice daily for 4 weeks, rinsing for 1 min before expectorating. Experimental MW contained 5 mg folate per 5 ml. The control group used a placebo MW. A detailed 3-day diet record was kept by each subject. The oral examination was repeated after 4 weeks. Initially, groups were similar except that the experimental group exhibited more bleeding sites at the outset, but after 4 weeks, the experimental group showed a significant decrease in mean number of colour change sites (from 70.17 +/- 12.89 to 56.62 +/- 17.42) and in bleeding sites (from 48.59 +/- 24.28 to 29.28 +/- 19.64) compared with control group (colour: from 66.93 +/- 15.27 to 66.20 +/- 18.83; bleeding: from 36.93 +/- 16.96 to 39.47 +/- 16.67) p less than 0.001. Dietary analysis showed that few subjects ate greater than 200 micrograms folate daily. However, the level of dietary folate did not correlate with changes in inflammation in experimental subjects, r = 0.097. Folate MW appears to have an influence on gingival health through local rather than systemic influence.

Adult↗