METHODS: An online survey in English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish was disseminated between May and November 2016 via 27 international professional bodies to >30 clinical professions chosen a priori to represent occupations involved in the management of neonatal ankyloglossia.
RESULTS: A total of 1721 responses came from nursing (51%), medical (40%), dental (6%) and allied health (4%) clinicians. Nurses (40%) and allied health (34%) professionals were more likely than doctors (8%) to consider ankyloglossia as important for lactation problems, as were western (83%) compared to Asian (52%) clinicians. Referrals to clinicians for ankyloglossia management originated mainly from parents (38%). Interprofessional referrals were not clearly defined. Frenectomies were most likely to be performed by surgeons (65%) and dentists (35%), who were also less likely to be involved in lactation support. Clinicians performing frenectomies were more likely to consider analgesia as important compared to those not performing frenectomies.
CONCLUSION: The diagnosis and treatment of ankyloglossia vary considerably around the world and between professions. Efforts to standardise management are required.
METHODS: A total of 208 dentists from DSC nationwide completed an online questionnaire in June 2022. Demographic data and information on dentists' expanded roles were retrieved. Responses on dentists' satisfaction and perceived barriers were collected using a 5-point ordinal scale. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the mean rank differences for CS. Factors influencing CS were analysed using multiple logistic regression (MLR) (P < .05).
RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 32.68 ± 2.48 years. Almost half (49.0%) of the respondents were attached to a non-hospital-based clinic. The majority (72.0%) of them were permanently attached to the DSC. About half of the dentists (51.0%) strongly agreed that they received no financial incentives for their expanded role at the MOH DSC. Dentists attached at a non-hospital-based clinic (P = .046), working with more than 15 years of experience (P = .013), and having 12 to 18 months' duration of attachment (P = .014) were more satisfied. MLR analysis revealed that non-Malay respondents (odds ratio [OR], 1.54; P = .035) and those who applied for scholarships more than 3 times (OR, 1.85; P = .050) were more satisfied. In contrast, more than 19 months at the DSC decreased CS (OR, 0.44; P = .029).
CONCLUSIONS: Despite having a similar organisational structure, DSC dentists had different satisfaction levels. Dentists' ethnicity, duration of attachment, and frequency of applying for scholarships influenced their CS. Future career advancement plans in the MOH should consider these important influencing factors to ensure the delivery of quality health care from their personnel.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised 2,200 dentists from 21 countries. Three scales - Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Affect Balance Scale (ABS) - were used to measure the subjective responses. Data related to demographic and social characteristics were recorded. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used as appropriate. Scales were correlated, and multiple linear regression analyses were employed to identify the independent determinants of SHS, SWLS and ABS. Data were analysed using the SPSS software program; a value of P <0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: The overall mean scores of SHS, SWLS and ABS were 18.53 ± 5.06, 23.06 ± 6.25 and 1.26 ± 2.40, respectively, with significant differences found across countries: dentists working in Croatia, Peru and Serbia recorded the highest scores, unlike dentists practicing in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, who recorded the lowest scores. There were significant, moderately positive correlations between the various scales: SHS and SWLS: r = 0.535, P