Periodontal practice and referral profile of general dentists in Nova Scotia, Canada

In contrast to an expected increase in demand for periodontal services with aging of the population, it appears that referrals to periodontists are declining.

To determine the extent to which general dentists in Nova Scotia, Canada, provide periodontal and surgical implant therapies and to determine the factors influencing a dentist's decision to provide treatment or refer patients to a specialist.

A cross-sectional survey study was performed. The survey questionnaire was mailed to all 443 general dentists practising in Nova Scotia in summer 2009. The questionnaire presented several clinical scenarios and asked respondents whether they would treat the patient in the office or refer to a specialist. The data were analyzed by logistic regression.

Of the 279 (63.0%) dentists responding to the survey, 272 (61.4% of the total) were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. The majority of dentists reported rendering nonsurgical periodontal therapy, including scaling (98.5%; 262/266), periodontal maintenance (95.9%; 255/266), and treatment for bruxism (95.1%; 252/265). The most common surgical procedures performed by dentists were frenectomy (29.4%; 78/265), gingivectomy (29.3%; 77/263) and crown-lengthening procedures (17.0%; 46/271). Eleven factors significantly influenced dentists' decisions to treat or refer patients. The most common criteria used in selecting a periodontist were satisfaction of previous patients, previous success with the treatment, and the personality of and good communications with the periodontist.

In this study, dentists reported rendering nonsurgical periodontal therapy on a wide scale, whereas their involvement in oral or periodontal and implant surgical therapies was limited.