A nonclinical model for predicting scaling and root planing case difficulty

As students progress through their clinical education, the integration of patient types challenging the development of scaling and root planing skills is necessary. A clinical screening to determine case type is ideal; however, some programs do not have the time or resources for a clinical screening, and some patients do not want to take the time for the additional screening appointment. The intent of the screening process is to determine case type and/or treatment needs. In some cases, this information is used to match student educational requirements with patient needs. Even though an institution or program may have a clinical screening process, patient assignment can still be haphazard, resulting in an inequitable distribution of patient case types to students. It seems the problem is due, in part, to the absence of a mechanism for early identification and distribution of case types. The purpose of this study was to develop a model for initially predicting patient scaling and root planing case difficulty from nonclinical, patient variables obtained during a telephone interview. Dental hygiene student evaluation forms (n = 1,356) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry were gathered and categorized by patient case difficulty. A sample of charts was selected from each scaling classification. The scaling classifications were then subdivided into two samples for developing and testing the model. Variables selected from the patient charts as possible predictors were smoking status, race, age, gender, date of last prophylaxis, periodontal classification, and oral hygiene habits (brushing and flossing).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)