Table 1.
Distribution of scores agreed using Delphi methods for each question regarding MIH knowledge and percentage distribution of the (YES) answers between practitioners
| Delphi scores | Percentage distribution of (YES) answers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge questions | Total OHCPs | Australia | Chile | ||||
| If answered No | If answered Yes | GDPs | OHTs | GDPs | |||
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||||
| 1) Have you been aware that MIH is a developmental defect that differs from fluorosis and hypoplasia? | 0 | 9 | 198 (86.5) | 40 (87.0) | 61 (92.4) | 97 (82.9) | |
| 2) How prevalent do you think MIH might be in your community? (One option chosen) | <5 % | ^ | 1 | 64 (27.8) | 9 (19.1)* | 5 (7.6)* | 50 (42.7)* |
| 5–10 % | ^ | 1 | 72 (31.3) | 16 (34.0)* | 20 (30.3)* | 36 (30.8)* | |
| 10–20 % | ^ | 6 | 57 (24.8) | 10 (21.3)* | 25 (37.9)* | 22 (18.8)* | |
| >20 % | ^ | 1 | 13 (5.7) | 3 (6.4)* | 8 (12.1)* | 2 (1.7)* | |
| Not sure | ^ | 0 | 24 (10.4) | 9 (19.1)* | 8 (12.1)* | 7 (6.0)* | |
| 3–8) Do you think they are involved in the aetiology of MIH? | 3) Genetic factors | 4 | 5 | 129 (56.6) | 27 (57.4) | 31 (47.7) | 71 (61.2) |
| 4) Environmental contaminants | 4 | 5 | 94 (41.2) | 22 (46.8) | 24 (36.9) | 48 (42.4) | |
| 5) Chronic medical conditions affecting mother or child | 3 | 6 | 136 (59.6) | 30 (63.8)** | 46 (70.8)** | 60 (51.7)** | |
| 6) Acute medical conditions affecting mother or child | 3 | 6 | 163 (71.5) | 35 (74.5) | 49 (75.4) | 79 (68.1) | |
| 7) Antibiotics or medications | 4 | 5 | 117 (51.3) | 24 (51.1) | 34 (52.3) | 59 (50.9) | |
| 8) Fluoride exposure | 1 | 8 | 22 (9.6) | 7 (14.9) | 5 (7.7) | 10 (8.6) | |
| 9) During what time/period do you think this insult occurs? (One option chosen) | During pregnancy | ^ | 1 | 41 (18.1) | 3 (6.5) | 5 (7.7) | 33 (28.4) |
| 1st year of life | ^ | 3 | 18 (7.9) | 3 (6.5) | 6 (9.2) | 9 (7.8) | |
| 3rd year of life | ^ | 0 | 21 (9.3) | 6 (13.0) | 9 (13.8) | 6 (5.2) | |
| Pregnancy to 1st year of life | ^ | 3 | 49 (21.6) | 10 (21.7) | 11 (16.9) | 28 (24.1) | |
| Pregnancy to 3rd year of life | ^ | 2 | 54 (23.8) | 13 (28.3) | 20 (30.8) | 21 (18.1) | |
| 10) Do you think the pattern of caries related to MIH is different from the classical caries pattern? | 1 (no) or 1 (not sure) | 7 | 207 (90.0) | 42 (89.4) | 58 (87.9) | 107 (91.5) | |
| Knowledge mean (s.d.) | 48.6 (5.9) | 48.2 (6.5) | 50.0 (5.3) | 47.9 (5.9) | |||
| Ranges | Min 20 | Max 60 | 29–59 | 33–59 | 37–59 | 29–59 | |
| Total sample n = | 230 | 47 | 66 | 117 | |||
| 113 | |||||||
Results may not add due to missing values
MIH molar incisor hypomineralisation, OHCPs oral health care practitioners, GDPs general dental practitioners, OHTs oral health therapists
*Significant differences by X 2(8) = 40.9, p < 0.001
**Significant differences by X 2(2) 6.46, p = 0.04
^ Answer “No” does not apply, as it was analysed as single-choice question