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Lookup NU author(s): Greig Taylor, Oliver Sumner, Dr Richard HolmesORCiD, Professor Paula WaterhouseORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2024 The Authors. Dental Traumatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Background/Aim: Specialist paediatric dentists are integral to dental trauma care pathways. General dentists rely on specialist input, more so in complex cases. Little is known about specialists' role in these pathways or the perceived barriers they face. The aim is to explore specialists' role in managing traumatic dental injuries in the permanent dentition in children. Material/Methods: Face-to-face (remote video) online semi-structured interviews were undertaken. All UK specialists were invited by email. Purposeful sampling aimed to investigate representation from the devolved nations, presence/absence of working within a managed-clinical network and level of care provision. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were thematically analysed. Results: Data saturation was reached after nine interviews. Three main themes established were: inconsistent access to care; the need to formalise traumatic dental injuries care pathways; educationally upskilling general dentists. Geographical variation in provision of specialist and out-of-hours/emergency department care meant patients risked not receiving care by the most appropriate individual. Formalizing care pathways by clearly defining the role of each stakeholder (specialist, dentist, medical professionals and parents) and developing a method to assess complexity was perceived to be essential to improving treatment outcomes. Upskilling general dentists in trauma management appeared essential. A potential lack of engagement was raised, with a suggestion that trauma management education should become core continuing-professional development. Conclusions: Specialist input should be available in the management of traumatic dental injuries. Current access to specialist care is inequitable across the UK. Formalizing care pathways and upskilling general dentists could ease inconsistencies.
Author(s): Taylor GD, Gallichan N, Haq T, Sumner O, Albadri S, Holmes RD, Waterhouse PJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Dental Traumatology
Year: 2024
Pages: ePub ahead of Print
Online publication date: 21/05/2024
Acceptance date: 02/04/2024
Date deposited: 03/06/2024
ISSN (print): 1600-4469
ISSN (electronic): 1600-9657
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/edt.12960
DOI: 10.1111/edt.12960
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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