title: Dutch dentists' decisions to take bitewing radiographs.
abstract: A postal questionnaire was sent to a 10% (n = 444) national random sample of Dutch dental practitioners. The response was 77% (n = 344). The practitioners prescribed bitewings on average for 57% of "new" 25-yr-old patients. Five significant (P less than 0.05) variables explained 24% of the variation in bitewing prescribing for these "new" patients. These were, in declining level of importance: the initial dental condition of the patient, the proportion of restorative treatment decisions based solely on radiographs, the level of urbanization of the practice location, the technical level of the practice equipment and the importance attached by dentists to the diagnostic use of dental floss for interproximal caries diagnosis. The low power of the regression model in explaining variation in the decision to take bitewings indicates an idiosyncratic use of bitewing radiographs for caries diagnosis. A weak tendency to adopt different diagnostic sets of procedures was demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Radiology, Combined Universities Dental School, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mileman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Weele
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van de Poel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Purdell-Lewis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003815:Dentists; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D009909:Oral Health; D011364:Professional Practice; D011861:Radiography, Dental; D013997:Time Factors