title: Dental practitioners' views on the need to treat developmental defects of enamel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess dental practitioners' views on the need to treat developmental defects of enamel (DDE). In addition, to identify factors associated with practitioners' treatment decision (tooth factors and dentist-related).
  
  
  METHODS
  A random sample of 300 Hong Kong dentists were sent a booklet containing computer-generated images of various forms of DDE and asked to rate the treatment need. In addition, some dentist-related information was collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 79% (237/300). The majority of the dental practitioners considered that aesthetic treatment was indicated for people with DDE subtypes of brown demarcated opacities (51.0%), confluent/patchy plus staining and/or loss of enamel (80.2%), missing enamel (67.1%) and the combination of discolouration and diffuse opacities (83.1%); their decisions were in relation to the type (P < 0.001), size (P = 0.001) and colour (P < 0.001) of the enamel defects. Dental professionals who were older, self-employed, graduated from institutions overseas, or had postgraduate qualifications, tended to consider aesthetic treatment for the teeth that exhibited the milder forms of enamel defects (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dentists frequently perceive that DDE constitutes a 'great need' for dental treatment. Dentists' perceptions of the need to treat DDE is influenced by type, size and colour of DDE and associated with dentist-related factors, principally the age of the dentist.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. gloriawhm@gmail.com
authors.forename: Hai Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Colman
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: Nigel M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000002:abnormalities*; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D023861:Photography, Dental / Q000379:methods