Article
An Investigation into the Bitewing Radiographic Prescribing Patterns of West Kent General Dental Practitioners Mauth PW and Eaton KA. Primary Dental Care 2011; 18: 107-114.
The disturbing results presented in this paper pose two questions for clinicians. First are you aware of the current guidelines regarding the use of bitewing radiographs for the detection of caries in children, and second do you adhere to them? The guidelines are available from the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners and it is a legal requirement that, not only are these guidelines followed, but also that their use is subject to clinical audit. The authors investigated; 1) whether established guidelines concerning the use of bitewing radiographs were being followed; 2) whether GDPs were carrying out a caries risk assessment for patients; 3) whether NHS and private GDPs differed in their use of oral radiography; 4) whether there were other factors that might influence the use of bitewing radiography by GDPs.
A postal questionnaire was sent to all (223) GDPs in the West Kent area and, following up to three telephone or postal reminders, a 75% (168) response rate was achieved. Those GDPs with a high NHS commitment were found to be significantly less likely to follow the guidelines than were mainly private GDPs. Furthermore, only 71% of respondents had carried out a radiographic audit in the previous three years.
The authors conclude that further efforts by both the dental profession and its regulators are needed to disseminate information on radiographic guidelines and to educate practitioners so that this behaviour is modified. This abstract may perhaps be part of that process.