Clinical practice perception in relation with DEPTh model among dental practitioners in Madurai city -A cross sectional study

Introduction : Clinical epidemiology is a science of making predictions, which aims at promoting the quality of clinical and patient oriented health care, in order to make good decision in care of patients. The study aimed to assess the perception of clinical practice in relation with Diagnosis, Etiology, Prognosis, Therapy (DEPTh) Model among dental practitioners in Madurai City. Materials and Methods : The Questionnaire based cross sectional study was conducted among Dentist in Madurai city for a period of 1 month and the sample size was about 181. The self-structured questionnaire consisted of 13 closed ended questions which was formulated based on their perception towards practice either as Diagnostic, Etiology, Prognosis or Therapy (DEPTh) Model. Results : The present study was conducted among 183 dental practitioners practicing in Madurai city. The result of the study was based on the questionnaire, which revealed that 32.92% of dental practitioners prefer to give importance to diagnosis of disease, 27.15 % of dental practitioners prefer to give importance to the etiology of disease, 19.14 % of dental practitioners preferred to give importance to prognosis of disease and 31.44 % of dental practitioners preferred to give importance to therapy overall. Conclusion : The result of the present study highlights the importance of clinical practice decision making, as dental practitioners there a need to investigate the condition in holistic way and not merely the therapy and diagnostic aspect alone. This study attempted to attune their own practice for inculcating effective contribution to overall care and patient well-being