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PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE TOWARDS THE USE OF DENTAL THERAPISTS IN MALAYSIAN
PRIVATE SECTORS
NMRR-19-1323-48026

Noor Azhani Z, Norintan AM, Muhd-Firdaus CM, Mohammad Zabri J

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess parental acceptance and factors that
influenced their perceptions towards the use of dental therapists in providing treatment
to children in private dental practice settings. Methods: A cross-sectional study was
conducted on randomly selected parents of 11-year-old schoolchildren in Selangor using
a self-administered structured questionnaire. The survey consisted of three sections:
socio-demographic characteristics, dental service utilisation and parental acceptance
towards dental therapists in providing seven types of preventive and operative dental
procedures. Results: Overall, in the perceptions of most parents, it was acceptable for the
dental therapists to provide dental care to their children in private dental care settings,
particularly on preventive treatment, namely ‘seeking advice on oral hygiene care'
(87.8%) and ‘applying topical fluoride' (83.2%). In the multivariate analysis, parents who
were younger (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.62, 1.92), in urban (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.28, 2.45)
and have had a recent dental visit (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.10, 2.07) were more likely to
have an overall positive perception towards dental therapists in providing treatment to
children in private dental practice settings. Conclusion: Most parents regarded dental
therapists providing care to their children in private dental settings as acceptable and this
was associated with parents’ age, location of residence and past dental utilization.

Keywords: social acceptability, dental therapists, parental perceptions, schoolchildren, private
dental sectors.

Published in Mal J Med Health Sci 16(4): 13-20, Dec 2020. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences (eISSN
2636-9346)

Dr. Noor Azhani binti Zakaria Assistant Professor Dr Muhd Firdaus bin Che Musa
Kawasan Kota Kinabalu Oral Health State Office Public Health Dentistry Unit
Kota Kinabalu Sabah Kulliyyah of Dentistry
IIUM Kuantan Pahang

Associate Prof Dr Norintan binti Ab Murat Dr Mohammad Zabri bin Johari
Department of Community Oral Health & Clinical Prevention Institute for Health Behavioural Research
Faculty of Dentistry Ministry of Health Malaysia
University of Malaya

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