Diffusion of Knowledge In Dentistry

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents data on the diffusion to dentists of information from the May 1981 American Dental Association conference and December 1983 National Institutes of Health (NIH) conference on pit and fissure sealants. A mail survey was sent to 521 (72.2¼ returned) randomly selected dentists in general practice and all 47 (76.6¼ returned) pedodontists in the State of Washington. Approximately 70¼ of the dentists were aware that the conferences had taken place and a little over 50¼ were aware of the conference recommendations. Awareness was related to: being a pedodontist, number of continuing education hours taken, number of refereed journals read, and being an officer in a dental organization