title: Use of the 'Hall technique' for management of carious primary molars among Scottish general dental practitioners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the current awareness, usage and opinion of the Hall technique as a restorative option for primary molars in Scottish general dental practice; and to identify preferences for methods of further training, if desired, for those not currently using the technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  A postal questionnaire was sent to a random sample of Scottish general dental practitioners (GDPs) (n= 1207). Half of all GDPs within each health board were mailed. All analyses have been carried out in Minitab (version 15). The study is primarily descriptive and uses frequency distributions and cross-tabulations. Percentages are reported with p5% confidence intervals. Characteristics of the whole sample were reported. However when reporting the use of the Hall technique, only those GDP's reporting to treat children, at least sometimes are considered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following two mail-shots, the overall response rate was 59% (715/1207). Eighty-six percent (616/715) of respondents were aware of the Hall technique as a method of restoring primary molars and 48 % (n=318) were currently using the Hall technique. Of those GDPs who never used the Hall technique (51% of total respondents; n=340), 46% (n=157) indicated they were either 'very interested' or 'interested' in adopting the Hall technique into their clinical practice. The preferred source for further training was via a section 63 continuing professional development (CPD) course, incorporating a practical element.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Of those GDPs in Scotland who responded to the questionnaire, an unexpectedly high number were already using the Hall technique in their practice, and among those not currently using it, there is a demand for training.
authors.affiliation: Dept Paediatric Dentistry, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. 378 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JZ.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Bark
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sherriff
authors.forename: L M D
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Macpherson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cairns
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003442:Crowns; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000379:methods*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000379:methods*; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008963:Molar; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012606:Scotland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous