title: Dentists' perceptions of selected characteristics of their child patients.
abstract: The purpose of this project was to examine the perceptions of both general and pediatric dentists regarding selected characteristics of the children they treat. A survey including questions on patients' ages, caries activity estimates, and types of patients treated was mailed once to a national random sample of 2,000 general and 1,000 pediatric dentists. The respondents provided a reasonable distribution by age and location, with the majority (69%) in practice more than 10 years. The pediatric dentists who responded perceive that they treat a younger population of child patients with more caries activity (P < 0.001), except in those patients older than 12 years. They also perceive that their patients pools include a larger percentage of patients with handicapping conditions (P < 0.01), behavior problems (P < 0.001) and patients who require treatment with general anesthesia (P < 0.001) than do the general dentists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hanes
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D010361:Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology