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Biomedical subjects

Paul S Casamassimo

Publications and source records attributed to Paul S Casamassimo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Principal dental admissions officers: Who are dentistry's gatekeepers?

Little is known about principal dental admissions officers (PDAO) in U.S. dental schools who may be viewed as the gatekeepers to our schools. To address this gap, this study examined the characteristics of PDAOs in U.S. dental schools. A web-based, fifty-five-question survey on the personal and professional characteristics, roles, areas of responsibilities, and areas considered of importance to PDAOs was sent to fifty-six principal dental admissions officers at U.S. dental schools, followed by telephone calls to encourage participation. Thirty-eight PDAOs responded. The typical PDAO was Caucasian, fifty-two years of age, and had been in the position about eight years, earning dollar 80,000 annually. Most supervised one or more employees and spent time working for the school outside the admissions process. Student contact activity considered most important was counseling prospective students, while maintaining health and financial records was considered unimportant. Minority recruitment efforts were considered highly important by a majority of PDAOs. The PDAOs have varied educational backgrounds and positions, but perform functions primarily dedicated to admissions.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMed2006

A snapshot of cultural competency education in US dental schools.

During the last decade, cultural competency has received a great deal of attention in health care and the literature of many fields, including education, social services, law, and health care. The dental education literature provides little information regarding status, strategies, or guiding principles of cultural competency education in U.S. dental schools. This study was an attempt to describe the status of cultural competency education in U.S. dental schools. A web-based thirty-question survey regarding cultural competency education coursework, teaching, course materials, and content was sent in 2005 to the assistant/associate deans for academic affairs at fifty-six U.S. dental schools, followed up by subsequent email messages. Thirty-four (61 percent) dental school officials responded to the survey. The majority of respondents (twenty-eight; 82 percent) did not have a specific stand-alone cultural competency course, but indicated it was integrated into the curriculum. Recognition of local and national community diversity needs prompted course creation in most schools. Respondents at almost two-thirds of schools indicated that their impression of students' acceptance was positive. Teachers of cultural competency were primarily white female dentists. Few schools required faculty to have similar cultural competency or diversity training. Thirty-three of the thirty-four U.S. dental schools responding to this survey offer some form of coursework in cultural competency with little standardization and a variety of methods and strategies to teach dental students.

Attitude↗
PubMed2004

General dentists' perceptions of educational and treatment issues affecting access to care for children with special health care needs.

This study analyzed a data subset of a national survey of general dentists conducted in 2001 to determine their overall care of children with special health care needs (CSHCN). In the survey, dentists were asked to respond to questions in the following areas: did they provide care for CSHCN (children with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and those who are medically compromised); what were their perceptions of the training they received in dental school related to CSHCN; what was their interest in additional training for CSHCN; and what factors influenced their willingness to provide care for CSHCN? Only about 10 percent see CSHCN often or very often, and only one in four respondents had hands-on experience with these patients in dental school. Postgraduate education in general practice or advanced general dentistry residency had no effect on willingness to care for CSHCN. Older dentists, those accepting Medicaid for all children, and those practicing in small communities were more likely to see CSHCN. Dentists willing to see CSHCN also were more likely to perform procedures associated with special needs and underserved child populations including pharmacologic management and stainless steel crowns. Dentists with hands-on educational experiences in dental schools with CSHCN were less likely to consider such factors as level of disability and patient behavior as obstacles to care and were more likely to desire additional education in care of CSHCN.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

A snapshot of the U.S. postdoctoral pediatric dentistry faculty workforce, 2002.

This study characterizes the faculty shortage in U.S. postdoctoral pediatric dentistry (PD) education. The objectives of the study were to determine: 1) the changes in PD faculty numbers and teaching loads between 1995 and 2002 for postdoctoral PD education, 2) current faculty age and training, and 3) distribution of faculty by age. A questionnaire was sent in 2002 to fifty-four programs, of which forty-six responded (85 percent). Dental school and residency mean class sizes increased in the seven-year study period from 82.8 to 91.8 and from 6.0 to 8.5, respectively. Full- and part-time mean faculty positions increased as did vacancies, the latter growing from 15 to 38.9 and changing during the period from 5 to 10.8 percent of available positions. About one-third of programs used general dentists to teach PD, while programs using foreign-trained educators grew from 4 to 13 percent. Twenty-nine percent of full-time and 27 percent of part-time faculty are fifty-five years or older, and young entry-level faculty, age twenty-five to twenty-nine, represent only 2 percent and 5 percent of full- and part-time faculty respectively. Faculty vacancies have increased along with numbers of students and residents, and the largest segment of PD faculty is within a decade of retirement age.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Access to dental care for children in the United States: a survey of general practitioners.

BACKGROUND: In response to concern that inadequate dental school training may create a barrier to access to care for children, the authors conducted a survey concerning general practitioners' practice patterns involving child patients. METHODS: The authors requested a list of 4,970 randomly chosen general practitioners from the American Dental Association Survey Center. They then sent those dentists a written survey asking whether and in what numbers they treat children; the ages and caries levels of any children they do treat; their perceptions of their educational experiences in pediatric dentistry, and their perceived needs for continuing education in pediatric dentistry. They analyzed data using chi2. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of the general dentists surveyed treated children, but those younger than 4 years of age, with high levels of caries, and whose care is funded by Medicaid were represented in very low numbers. The types of patients treated and procedures performed by the respondents were significantly (P < or = .05) associated with the intensity of the respondents' educational experiences, except for the number and types of Medicaid patients they treated. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that the vast majority of general practitioners treat children in their practices, but there still are groups of children for whom access to dental care is a problem. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Very young children, children with high levels of caries and Medicaid-covered children have difficulty finding dental care in the general practice community.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2003

U.S. predoctoral education in pediatric dentistry: its impact on access to dental care.

This study sought to identify faculty, organization, patient pool, and procedures taught in predoctoral pediatric dentistry programs using a questionnaire sent to all fifty-five U.S. dental schools in 2001. Forty-eight (87 percent) programs reported an average of 3.9 full-time and 2.1 part-time FTE faculty, resulting in a mean faculty to student ratio of 1:6.4. One-third employ general dentists to teach pediatric dentistry, and 36 percent report fewer faculty than five years ago. Two-thirds were stand-alone departments. Over half (55 percent) reported increases in patient pools, but also a lack of patients with restorative needs. Half of the programs supplemented school-based pools with special populations, and two-thirds sent students on external rotations, most often to treat high-caries children. Those not using external rotations cited lack of faculty. Accepted patients averaged about four years, with only 6 percent of the pool under three years. Low-income or Medicaid-covered children accounted for 88 percent of school patient pools. Half of the schools felt the pool inadequate to meet competencies, attributable to lack of patients' restorative needs or inadequate intake numbers. Fewer than half of the programs (48 percent) provided hands-on experience with disabled patients, and one-third afforded every student with this experience. Pediatric dentistry was mentioned in fewer than half of the competency documents. Results suggest that U.S. pediatric dentistry predoctoral programs have faculty and patient pool limitations that affect competency achievement and adversely affect training and practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The dental home: a primary care oral health concept.

BACKGROUND: The pediatrics community has promoted the concept of a medical home to improve families' care utilization. The authors describe the medical home and propose a dental home concept to improve families' access to dental care. DESCRIPTION: The dental home is a locus for preventive oral health supervision and emergency care. It can be a repository for records and the focus for making specialty referrals. When culture and ethnicity are barriers to care, the dental home offers a site adapted to care delivery and is sensitive to family values. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The dental home can provide access to preventive and emergency services for children. Establishment of the home early in the child's life can expose a child to prevention and early intervention before problems occur, reduce anxiety and facilitate referral.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between sports drinks and dental erosion in 304 university athletes in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Acidic soft drinks, including sports drinks, have been implicated in dental erosion with limited supporting data in scarce erosion studies worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental erosion in a sample of athletes at a large Midwestern state university in the USA, and to evaluate whether regular consumption of sports drinks was associated with dental erosion. A cross-sectional, observational study was done using a convenience sample of 304 athletes, selected irrespective of sports drinks usage. The Lussi Index was used in a blinded clinical examination to grade the frequency and severity of erosion of all tooth surfaces excluding third molars and incisal surfaces of anterior teeth. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather details on sports drink usage, lifestyle, health problems, dietary and oral health habits. Intraoral color slides were taken of all teeth with erosion. Sports drinks usage was found in 91.8% athletes and the total prevalence of erosion was 36.5%. Nonparametric tests and stepwise regression analysis using history variables showed no association between dental erosion and the use of sports drinks, quantity and frequency of consumption, years of usage and nonsport usage of sports drinks. The most significant predictor of erosion was found to be not belonging to the African race (p < 0.0001). The results of this study reveal no relationship between consumption of sports drinks and dental erosion.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of changing U.S. parenting styles on dental practice: perceptions of diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry presented to the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry 16th Annual Session, Atlanta, Ga, Saturday, May 26, 2001.

PURPOSE: This study surveyed board-certified pediatric dentists on their opinions about changes in U.S. parenting styles and the effects on the practice of pediatric dentistry. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed, piloted, and mailed to 1,129 members of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry during the summer of 2000. RESULTS: A total of 577 respondents (51%) returned questionnaires, equally distributed across AAPD districts, with male:female ratio of 4:1 and 90% married. A majority perceived parenting styles had changed during their practice lifetime (88% "absolutely or probably changed"), with older practitioners significantly more likely to say so. Ninety-two percent felt changes were "probably or definitely bad" and 85% felt that these changes had resulted in "somewhat or much worse" patient behavior. Practitioners report performing less assertive behavior management techniques than in the past due to these changes. CONCLUSIONS: Diplomates report that parenting changes have occurred and they believe these are negative (bad) and have adversely influenced behavior and caused changes in pediatric dentists' behavior management.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Association between bispectral analysis and level of conscious sedation of pediatric dental patients.

PURPOSE: This preliminary investigation evaluated the associations among multiple factors designed to measure depth of sedation, such as changes in the patient's electroencephalogram (EEG) via a bispectral analysis (BIS), other physiological variables, observed behaviors and clinical assessment of sedation levels consistent with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) sedation guidelines. METHODS: Thirty-four healthy pediatric patients between three to six years of age were enrolled in this institutionally approved study. All children required dental restorations and were uncooperative. The children received a routine oral sedation regimen used in our clinic consisting of chloral hydrate, meperidine, and hydroxyzine that varied in dose for each child. Intraoperatively, nitrous oxide/oxygen was also administered. Physiological variables including oxygen saturation, blood pressure and heart rate were recorded in compliance with AAPD sedation guidelines. The behavior and levels of sedation consistent with AAPD guidelines were also recorded. The BIS monitor was used to obtain EEG information. RESULTS: Useful data were recorded from 21 patients. The mean age and weight of the children were 46.1 +/- 10 months and 16.1 +/- 5 kgs, respectively. The results show a significant association between observed patient behavior and the AAPD levels of sedation (chi2 = 105.1, df = 6, P< 0.0001), between levels of sedation and behavior as a function of 12 time-oriented periods during treatment, (chi2=41.90, df=22, P<0.005 and chi2=48.0, df=33, P=0.04, respectively) and between BIS readings as a function of both level of sedation and behavior (chi2=105.1, df=6, P<0.001 and chi2=28.5, df = 18, P< 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a significant association between observed patient behaviors during sedation and levels of sedation as measured by BIS and AAPD sedation guidelines. The study also showed that, under treatment conditions used in this study, BIS does not appear to be a more valid means of monitoring sedation depth than the current commonly accepted methods.

Analysis of Variance↗