Dentists' preferred sources of new drug information and their attitudes toward the use of drugs by patients

This study, essentially a replication of an earlier study of physicians, reports an analysis of the relationship between dentists' new drug information source preferences and attitudes concerning the use of drugs by patients. Data, collected via questionnaire from 78 dentists in a Southeastern state, disclosed that Physician's Desk Reference was the major source used for learning about new drugs. Recommendation by colleagues was chosen as the second most preferred source. No statistical evidence was found to support either of the following hypotheses: (1) dentists preferring professional sources will be less likely to feel that medication advice from nondental sources is acceptable than dentists preferring commercial sources; and (2) dentists preferring professional sources will be more likely to express conservative attitudes about what constitutes legitimate use of drugs by patients than dentists preferring commercial sources. Evidence was found that general practitioners are less accepting of the use of mood-altering drugs than specialists. The results are compared with the previous study and possible explanations for the observed differences are presented.