Browsing by Author "Yengopal, Veerasamy"

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    Attrition of dental therapists in South Africa—A 42-year review
    (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2022) Yengopal, Veerasamy; Sodo, Pumla Pamella; Jewett, Sar
    Introduction: Dental therapists are mid-level oral healthcare providers introduced in 1977 to the South African health system to improve access to oral health services. There has, however, been anecdotal evidence of their unusually high rate of attrition that is cause for concern. Aim and Objectives: This study aimed to determine the demographic profile and attrition rate among members of the South African Dental Therapy profession. Methods: A retrospective time series review of records of all dental therapists who were previously registered and who are still registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) between 1977 and 2019 was conducted. Results: A total of 1232 dental therapists were registered from 1977 to 2019. The majority (64%) were Africans. Most practicing dental therapists were based in KwaZuluNatal (44%) and Gauteng (27%), which are the provinces where dental therapists are trained. The overall attrition rate between 1977 and 2019 was 40%, with a figure of 9% for the last 10 years of the study (2010 to 2019). Conclusion: This study has provided the first evidence of the high attrition rate of dental therapists in South Africa. The high attrition warrants further investigation to address the loss of valuable human resources from an already overburdened and under-resourced public oral health sector
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    The effect of dental treatment on weight gain in children in South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 2017) Yengopal, Veerasamy; Naidoo, Sudeshni
    Background: There is an increased interest in understanding the effects of severe tooth decay on the physical, anthropometric, psychosocial, functional, and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among children. Children who have severe tooth decay are thought to have lower weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), Haemoglobin (Hb) levels and poorer OHRQoL compared to children who are caries free. Comprehensive dental treatment under general anaesthesia (GA) appears to significantly improve these variables to levels equivalent to healthy caries free children. However, there is a paucity of high quality evidence that has demonstrated these gains in the anthropometric (Height, Weight BMI), clinical and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures following extensive dental treatment under GA. This trial sought to determine the impact of the treatment of severe dental caries on weight, height, body mass index (BMI), Hb levels and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among a group of young children who had access to immediate care compared to a control group of children who waited 6 months before treatment. Methodology: This was a Community based prospective, randomized controlled intervention trial conducted in the peri-urban town of Worcester in the Western Cape Region of South Africa. The study population consisted of crèche going children, aged 2-6 years old who had severe tooth decay with a pufa score ≥ 1and attended public dental facilitates in the town. Simple random sampling using an existing lottery draw system at the clinic was used to divide the children into an immediate treatment group and a delayed treatment group (6 months later). Baseline height, weight, BMI, Hb levels were compared between treatment and no treatment groups at 6 months. OHRQol was measured from both the child and parent/caregiver perspective at baseline, 6 months later (in delayed group) and 6 months post treatment in both groups. Anthropometric variables were reported as unadjusted means and z-scores which were determined by transforming the unadjusted means against a reference group to determine the weight-for-height (WAH), weight-for-age (WAZ) and BMI-for –age (BAZ) in both groups after treatment. OHRQoL scores were dichotomized and/or categorized into high, low and no impacts. Descriptive statistics (means), correlation analyses (by age, gender) and multilevel mixed regression model analysis was undertaken to determine the effect of the treatment on the outcome variables using SPSS version 23. Results: 126 children in the immediate group (mean age 4.4 years, SD 1.2) and 125 children (mean age 3.75 years, SD 1.3) completed this trial. Comparative baseline measures significantly favoured children in the immediate group for age, height, and weight. The average number of teeth extracted under GA was 7.4 (SD 3.53) in the immediate group and 8.55 (SD 3.94) in the delayed group. Unadjusted mean scores for height, weight, BMI and Hb showed significant improvements within the groups at 6 months follow-up. When the group were compared (treatment vs. no treatment) using unadjusted or z-scores, statistically significant gains were noted for height and weight but not for BMI or Hb. Multilevel Regression modelling confirmed these findings implying that the intervention alone was not a factor in the improved Hb or BMI levels. OHRQoL significantly improved from both the child and parent/caregivers' perspective after treatment was received. In the delayed group, there was no improvement in OHRQoL scores during the 6 month waiting period but these significantly improved to comparable levels seen in the immediate group 6 months after treatment. Conclusion: This randomised controlled trial found that children with severe tooth decay who received treatment under general anaesthesia had significantly better height and weight gains than those children who has no treatment. Although gains were also noted in the BMI and Hb levels, these gains were not statically significant and their improvements could not be explained by the intervention alone (dental treatment under general anaesthesia). OHRQoL outcomes showed significant improvement from both the child and parental/caregiver perspective when comparing children who received treatment against those who did not have treatment. Children who had to wait for treatment had similar negative impacts on OHRQoL at 6 months follow-up compared to baseline. However, once they received treatment (delayed group), similar significant improvements for OHRQoL as reported in the immediate group was also found in the delayed group.
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    Prevalence of dental caries and associated risk factors among people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV uninfected adults at an HIV clinic in Kigali, Rwanda
    (Public Library of Science, 2023) Murererehe, Julienne; Malele-Kolisa, Yolanda; Yengopal, Veerasamy
    Dental caries is among the most frequent oral conditions in People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). There is a lack of baseline information on dental caries prevalence and associated risk factors among PLWHA in comparison to HIV uninfected people in Rwanda. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of dental caries and associated risk factors among PLWHA and HIV uninfected adults at an HIV clinic of Kigali Teaching Hospital (CHUK) in Kigali, Rwanda.
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    The South African dental schools’ educational environment: Final year students’ perceptions at four dental schools
    (JCDR Publishing, 2018) Bhayat, Ahmed; Barrie, Robert; Motloba, Pagollang; Yengopal, Veerasamy
    Introduction: The Educational Environment (EE) can play a major role in the success and progress of students and their studies. The EE includes the infrastructure, clinical activities, the atmosphere created by staff and students and the clinical supervision of students both at the dental hospital and at outreach sites. Aim: To determine and compare the final year dental students’ perceptions of their EE at the four dental schools in South Africa (SA). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study including all final year dental students registered in 2017 at the four dental schools in SA was undertaken. The Dundee Ready Educational and Environment Measure (DREEM) was used and this consisted of 50 items separated into five categories. All data was anonymous and information was kept strictly confidential. T-tests and ANOVA were used to compare demographics, item, domain and total scores of respondents between the dental schools. Descriptive statistics were used to report on the frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Results: Out of total 210 final year students, 141 (67%) agreed to participate. The mean age was 23.9 years (±2.4) and 72% were female. The mean overall score was 124.5 and the mean scores for the domains were 30.3 for learning, 26.2 for the perception of lecturers, 23.4 for academic self-perception, 27.9 for the perception of the atmosphere and 16.2 for social self-perception; all of these indicated that the EEs were more positive than negative. A total of seven (14%) items had a mean score of less than 50%. All institutions except one, had a mean total score above 100 out of a total of 200 (50%). Items which scored the highest included the content being relevant to dentistry and the friendships that were formed. Items with the lowest scores included lecturers being authoritarian, over-emphasis of factual learning and being too tired. Conclusion: South African dental students perceived their EE to be positive. Older students and males were more satisfied compared to their counterparts. The content of the dental curriculum seemed to be appropriate and relevant but should be constantly re-evaluated to identify areas that need to be improved.