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A study of the prescription of radiographs for children by a group of general dental practitioners in the South West of England.

Patel BR, Jones A, Crawford PJ

Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental School, Bristol, UK. brlj@breathe.com

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the familiarity of general dental practitioners (GDPs) in the South West of England with the guidelines in the first edition of the then Faculty of General Dental Practitioners (UK) "good practice guidelines" publication Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography (henceforth referred to as "the guidelines") by studying the prescription of radiographs for children in two case scenarios. METHOD: A single mailshot of questionnaires containing questions relating to the guidelines and the two case scenarios was sent to 136 GDPs in the South West of England. Their recommendations for the prescription of radiographs for the children in the two scenarios were then compared with the guidelines. RESULTS: There was a 60% response rate. Of the respondents, 48% reported that they had access to the guidelines. Of those who responded to the question, 66% said that they found the guidelines easy to use. Seventy per cent of respondents reported that they preferred the concept of guidelines to that of protocols. The results from the case scenarios revealed an under-prescription of radiographs for patients presenting with developmental problems or trauma when compared to the recommendations in the guidelines. There was good correlation for the prescription of radiographs for caries but little consensus on radiographic review times. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlighted (a) areas within the guidelines that require further clarification and research and (b) that in the group studied half did not have access to the guidelines.

Published 5 January 2006 in Prim Dent Care, 13(1): 20-30.
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