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Background: A complaint from a patient can have a serious impact on the well-being of dentists. Little is known, however, about the nature and the extent of this impact. Methods: Therefore in 2013 an anonymous survey was conducted among 955 dentists and dental specialists who were involved in a complaints procedure dealt with by the Complaints Committee of the Royal Dutch Dental Association (KNMT) in the period of mid-2008 to mid-2013. Results: In total 413 (43 %) of these dentists participated in the study. As a result of a formal complaint 71 % of the respondents experienced a considerable impact in their professional practising, while 52 % stated that it had (also) seriously influenced their attitude towards colleagues and patients. Furthermore, 60 % (also) mentioned effects of a complaints procedure regarding their mental and/or physical well-being. Conclusions: Being confronted with a formal complaint from a patient leads to a considerable impact on dentists' professional practice and personal well-being. It is remarkable this did not only pertain to a 'negative' impact, but also to a 'positive' impact. Despite unpleasant feelings, several dentists regarded the complaint as a 'wake-up call'. Furthermore, given the relatively high number of successful mediation attempts it can be concluded that this form of complaint handling appears to be a successful way of solving problems that have arisen between patients and dentists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate (1) the degree of digital technology adoption among general dental practitioners, and to assess (2) which personal and practice factors are associated with technology use. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed among a stratified sample of 1000 general dental practitioners in the Netherlands, to measure the use of fifteen administrative, communicative, clinical and diagnostic technologies, as well as personal factors and dental practice characteristics. Results: The response rate was 31.3%; 65.1% replied to the questionnaire on paper and 34.9% online. Each specific digital technology was used by between 93.2% and 6.8% of the dentists. Administrative technologies were generally used by more dentists than clinical technologies. Dentists had adopted an average number of 6.3±2.3 technologies. 22.5% were low technology users (0 to 4 technologies), 46.2% were intermediate technology users (5 to 7 technologies) and 31.3% were high technology users (8 to12 technologies). High technology users more frequently had a specialization (p<0.001), were younger on average (p=0.024), and worked more hours per week (p=0.003) than low technology users, and invested more hours per year in professional activities (p=0.026) than intermediate technology users. High technology use was also more common for dentists working in practices with a higher average number of patients per year (p<0.001), with more dentists working in the practice (p<0.001) and with more staff (p<0.001). Conclusion: With few exceptions, all dentists use some or a substantial number of digital technologies. Technology use is associated with various patterns of person-specific factors, and is higher when working in larger dental practices. The findings provide insight into the current state of digital technology adoption in dental practices. Further exploration why some dentists are more reluctant to adopt technologies than others is valuable for the dental profession’s agility in adjusting to technological developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate whether the yield of population-based diabetes screening is influenced by characteristics of the general practitioner (GP) and the practice. Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Seventy-nine general practices in the south-western region of the Netherlands. Subjects. From 2002 to 2004, 56 978 people were screened for diabetes. GPs completed a questionnaire containing items on the GP (age, gender, employment, special interest in diabetes, providing insulin therapy) and the practice (setting, location, number of patients from ethnic minority groups, specific diabetes clinic, involvement of practice assistant, practice nurse or diabetes nurse in diabetes care). Main outcome measures. The ratio screen-detected diabetic patients/known diabetic patients per practice (SDM/KDM) and the number of detected diabetic patients per practice adjusted for practice size and age distribution (SDM per standardized practice). Results. The yield of screening per practice varied widely. Higher age of the GP (regression coefficient 0.20; 95% confidence interval, CI 0.07-0.34), urban location (-4.60; 95% CI -6.41 to -2.78) and involvement of the practice assistant (2.27; 95% CI 0.49-4.06) were independently associated with SDM/KDM. Using the other outcome variable, results were similar. Additionally, cooperation with a diabetes nurse was associated with a lower yield. Conclusion. A lower yield of screening, reflecting a lower prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes, was found in practices of younger GPs and in urban practices. A lower yield was not associated with an appropriate practice organization regarding diabetes care nor with a specialty of the GP in diabetes. The wide variation in the yield of screening stresses the importance of a screening programme in each general practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the Public Dental Surgeons (PDS) Annual Seminar held in Wexford, Ireland from October 7 to 9, 2009. The event included lectures, workshops and the annual general meeting (AGM). Topics tackled are mentioned, including proper oral care for older people. Among those who made presentations during a parallel session were Doctor Ronald Gorter and Doctor Carmel Parnell.