The Participation of Pediatric Dentists in Oral Health Promotion and Education in Serbia

Dentists’ participation in oral health education and promotion activities (excluding individual counselling during the oral health interventions), Serbia, 2019_

Participation in oral health promotion activities in the community		Total sample N = 445 %	General dentists	Specialist in paediatric dentistry
National Week of Oral Health	No	4.9%	5.0%	4.0%
	Yes	95.1%	95.0%	96.0%
Educations in schools	No	4.6%	3.7%	5.6%
	Yes	95.4%	96.3%	94.4%
Education in preschool institutions	No	6.8%	7.6%	4.8%
	Yes	93.2%	92.4%	95.2%
Public events aimed to raise oral health awareness	No	41.6%	44.1%	37.0%
	Yes	58.4%	55.9%	63.0%
Cooperation with media (preparation of media statements, giving interviews, etc.)	No	56.7%	63.8%	44.4%
	Yes	43.3%	36.2%	55.6%*
Cooperation with local self-government, civil society organizations, or other partners	No	68.2%	71.2%	62.5%
	Yes	31.8%	28.8%	37.5%

The average number of patients, working hours allocated to preventive services, and years of working experience, Serbia, 2019_

Independent variables	Dentist (n=445)
	(mean±sd)*	Median (min-max)
Number of patients per week	80.0±33.9	75 (12–364)
Number of patients to whom dental treatment services were provided per week	43.8±26.9	40 (0–263)
Number of patients to whom preventive services were provided per week	47.9±37.7	40 (0–305)
Percentage of working hours dedicated to preventive services per week	42.7±19.0	40 (0–100)
Years of experience working in paediatric dentistry	15.2±9.2	15.0 (0.2–38.0)

Dentists’ estimation of the level of cooperation with different services within primary healthcare centres_

Cooperation with services/institutions in a healthcare centre and the community		Total sample N=445		Not applicable	General Dentist	Specialist in paediatric dentistry
		(x¯±sd) \left( {{\bf{\bar x \pm sd}}} \right)	med	(%)	(x¯±sd) \left( {{\bf{\bar x \pm sd}}} \right)	(x¯±sd) \left( {{\bf{\bar x \pm sd}}} \right)
Primary healthcare centre	Counselling centre for children with developmental disabilities	3.7±1.2	4.0	12.5%	3.8±1.2	3.6±1.2
	Healthcare service for preschool children	4.0±1.0	4.0	1.7%	4.1±1.0	3.97±1.1
	Healthcare of schoolchildren	4.0±1.0	4.0	1.9%	4.1±0.9	3.9±1.1
	Women’s health service	3.5±1.2	3.5	7.0%	3.6±1.2	3.4±1.2
	Adult healthcare	3.6±1.2	4.0	12.7%	3.6±1.2	3.5±1.1
	Team for children suffering from violence and neglect	3.4±1.3	3.0	49.2%	3.4±1.3	3.6±1.4
	Roma health mediators	3.1±1.3	3.0	51.8%	3.2±1.3	3.0±1.4
Institutions at the community level	Preschool Institution	4.4±0.7	5.0 (2–5)	3.4%	4.5±0.8	4.4±0.8
	Schools	4.4±0.8	5.0 (2–5)	1.2%	4.4±0.8	4.3±0.9
	Centres for social work	3.2±1.3	5.0 (1–5)	52.4%	3.2±1.3	3.0±1.2
	Local self-government	3.2±1.4	3.0 (1–5)	39.1%	3.4±1.4	3.1±1.4
	Non-government organizations	2.5±1.4	2.0 (1–5)	65.7%	2.5±1.4	2.4±1.3
	Media	3.1±1.2	3.0 (1–5)	36.6%	3.1±1.3	3.1±1.1

The rating of factors influencing the quality of work in paediatric dentistry, Serbia, 2019_

Factors	Total sample n=445	Specialist in paediatric dentistry			Years of experience working in paediatric dentistry
		Yes	No	P*	<=10	10–20	>20	P**
Time available for the patient	4.23±1.03	4.20±1.04	4.30±1.00	0.29	4.30±0.98	4.19±1.08	4.21±1.03	0.630
Dentists’ job satisfaction	4.43±0.90	4.41±0.94	4.49±0.81	0.4	4.45±0.90	4.34±0.99	4.56±0.76	0.151
Quality of communication with the patient/parent/guardian	4.67±0.65	4.65±0.67	4.69±0.62	0.43	4.66±0.67	4.59±0.74	4.76±0.53	0.131
Patient/parent/guardian motivation for the improvement of oral health	4.68±0.69	4.64±0.74	4.76±0.59	0.09	4.65±0.75	4.67±0.72	4.72±0.60	0.690
Availability of treatment materials	4.21±0.96	4.19±0.97	4.26±0.93	0.44	4.26±0.90	4.17±1.04	4.17±0.96	0.684
Quality of communication within the dental team	4.44±0.87	4.45±0.88	4.45±0.81	0.96	4.50±0.79	4.30±1.01	4.58±0.67	0.023b