Awareness and Incorporation of the Dental Home Concept Among General Dentists and Dental Therapists in Malaysia

TL;DR

This study examines how aware Malaysian dentists and dental therapists are of the dental home concept and whether they use it in their practice.

Contribution

The study provides evidence that DHC characteristics are already being used in practice despite low awareness of the term.

Findings

Most dentists and dental therapists in Malaysia were unaware of the dental home concept.

Despite low awareness, most participants reported incorporating DHC characteristics into their practice.

Awareness of the DHC was not linked to age, sex, or years of service.

Abstract

Background

The dental home concept (DHC) refers to an approach in oral healthcare that emphasizes establishing a long-term, comprehensive, and family-centered relationship between a patient and their primary dental care. This study determined the awareness and incorporation of the DHC among general dentists and dental therapists in Malaysia.

Methodology

A total of 154 general dentists and 137 dental therapists providing oral healthcare services at the Ministry of Health (MOH) primary care facilities throughout Malaysia participated in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the respondents’ awareness of the DHC and incorporation of the DHC characteristics into their practice.

Results

Most dentists and dental therapists (61.7% and 67.2%, respectively) had not heard of the term DHC and were unaware of the concept. The respondents’ awareness was not associated with their age, sex, years of service, facility location, and percentage of treatment given to children aged five years and below. However, most dentists and dental therapists responded positively about incorporating most DHC characteristics into their current practice.

Conclusions

Most dentists and dental therapists serving the MOH primary oral healthcare facilities were unaware of the DHC, although most DHC characteristics have already been incorporated into their practice. This study provides evidence of the incorporation of the DHC into the MOH primary oral healthcare services and suggests an effort to increase the awareness of the workforce regarding the concept and its implementation.