Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Factors Influencing Dental Practitioner Performance: A Summary of a Recent Literature Review

Reena Patel1, Kenneth A. Eaton, Angela Garcia, Victoria Rincon, Louise Adams, Janine Brooks

The aims were to perform a literature review of the factors that impact upon dentist performance, to identify gaps in the literature, and to suggest areas of further research. Methods:Arange of potential factors was identified from a previous review of factors influencing poor performance in medical doctors. Search terms relevant to these factors were devised and the Medline database was searched for relevant papers. Further papers were identified from the reference lists of those identified via Medline. Directors and senior managers of organisations involved in the management of dentists with performance concerns were contacted and provided details of reports, websites and other grey literature, relevant to the review. Results: The review suggested that there are increasing numbers of factors that have the potential to influence the performance of a dental practitioner. These include the gender ratio, ethnicity, and skill-mix of the dental workforce. Most dental schools in Europe are now accepting more females than males, and there are increasing numbers of dentists from the European Union (EU) and overseas working in the United Kingdom (UK). Other factors include health, changing working patterns, workload, and the environment. The quality of many of the studies reviewed was often rather poor. A wide range of areas for further research was identified. Conclusions: The findings from this work may be applicable to the global community of dentists and could contribute to the ongoing research programmes of international organisations. It would also be extremely useful if future studies could be undertaken in partnership with all organisations that collect information and data on poorly performing dentists.