title: Root caries: a survey of Queensland dentists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Root caries stands to be a significant burden for Australia's ageing population. The objective of this study was to describe Queensland dental practitioners' perceptions of root caries prevalence, presentation and predisposing factors as well as diagnosis and recording practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the Queensland Dental Board register, all 2,515 dentists and dental specialists practising in Queensland were invited to participate in a questionnaire-based postal survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 660 responses received, 638 were included for final analysis. Use of diagnostic measures such as surface elasticity and contour were reported frequently. A majority of respondents (77%) reported not recording root caries in a way that could be distinguished from coronal caries. Dietary analysis was the most commonly reported adjunctive aid for risk assessment. Recommendations for use of remineralizing agents were frequently reported (home use 90%; in office use 71%). Salivary impairment was reported to be an important risk factor for root caries by 93% of respondents, but only 18% reported performing salivary analysis. A large proportion of respondents (32%) considered patients with diabetes to be of low or no risk of root caries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the Queensland dental practitioners who participated in this survey demonstrated an awareness of root caries and its predisposing factors, clinical risk assessment particularly for patients with diabetes should be further examined.
authors: The University of Queensland, School of Dentistry, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors: B J
authors: BJ
authors: Garton
authors: P J
authors: PJ
authors: Ford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D003792:Dental Records; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011793:Queensland / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017213:Root Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Queensland; dental practitioners; professional practice; root caries; survey