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Survey of Drug Usage in Dental Practice, 1969: III. Dentists’ Sources of Information on Drug Products
Survey of drug usage in dental practice, 1969 III. Dentists’ sources of information on drug products Bureau of Economic Research and Statistics
respondents. However, the form er received a high er percentage of first place rankings, and the lat ter received m ore th ird place rankings. “ D etail men (distributors’)” was m ost often ranked fourth, and “ mail advertising” was m ost often ranked fifth. Table 14 sum m arizes these data by type o f p ra c tice. “ Published articles o r editorial m atte r” was rated most useful by a larger percentage o f special ists (5 5 % ) than general practitioners (4 7 % ). O rth odontists, on the other hand, showed greater in terest in “ advertising in dental publications” and in “ mail advertising” than dentists in other types of practice. Some variation from the overall pattern oc curred when the data w ere tabulated by region (Table 15). R espondents in the Southeast and Southwest regions regarded “ detail men (m anu facturers’)” as relatively m ore im portant than did dentists in other regions, and “published articles or editorial m atter” w ere regarded as less im por tant by respondents in the Southeast and South west than by those in other regions. D entists under the age of 30, those who had newly entered practice, reported som ew hat great er reliance on “ advertising in dental publications” and on “m edical reference books” as their m ost useful source of inform ation on drug products, than did respondents in other age groups (Table 16).
T o com pare the effectiveness o f various sources o f inform ation about drug products from the dentist’s point o f view, we asked respondents to rank each o f five inform ation sources according to its useful ness to them . T he m ost useful inform ation source was ranked " I , ” the second m ost useful, “ 2 ,” and so forth. T he categories listed on the questionnaire were: Published articles or editorial m atter A dvertising in dental publications D etail men (distributors’ sales representatives) Detail men (pharm aceutical m anufacturers’ re p resentatives) M ail advertising O ther (specify) W hen the results w ere tabulated three categories added from “ O th er” sources specified: R ecom m endation by physician, dentist, or p h a r m acist M edical reference books Inform ation obtained at dental meetings Table 13 shows the percentage distribution of respondents according to their ranking of the in form ation sources. “ Published articles o r editorial m atter” was ranked first (most useful) by 4 8% and it was ranked second by another 19% . "D etail men (m anufacturers’)” and “ advertising in dental p u b lications” w ere each ranked second by 2 5% o f the
Table 13 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to their ranking of sources of information about drug products. Source P ublished articles o r e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D eta il men (d is trib u to rs ’ sales representatives) D eta il men (p harm aceu tical m a n u fa ctu re rs' representatives) Mail advertising R ecom m en datio n by ph ysicia n, d e n tis t, o r pharm acist M edical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b tained at dental m eetings O th er T o ta lt
1*
2
3
4
5
6
48.1 11.8 5.5
19.0 25 .0 12.0
13.5 24.2 14.7
8.3 18.1 18.3
3.9 6.1 14.3
0.6 1.0 4.0
19.8 3.0
25.4 8.0
19.1 16.0
13.3 18.9
6.4 23.4
1.0 5.2
3.4 4.4 1.4 2.6
2.9 1.1 1.0 1.3
1.2 0.6 0.6 0.6
0.9 0.4 0.2 0.2
0.5 0.1 0.4 0.3
1.4 0.4 0.6 1.7
100.0
95.7
90.5
55.4
15.9
78.6 .
* 1 = m o st useful source o f in fo rm a tio n , 2 = second m o st useful, and so fo rth . t T o ta l in co lu m n 1 is 100% o f the respondents w h o ranked at least one ite m . The percentage o f responses decreases as the nu m b e r o f item s ranked increases.
177
Table 14 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to source of information about drug products rated most useful, by type of practice.
Source
General p ra c titio n e r
AH specialists
Oral surgeon
O rth o d o n tis t
Pedod o n tis t
O th e r specialists
A ll types o f practice
47 .0
55 .4
58.3
50.0
61 .0
57.3
48.1
12.3
9.0
0.8
16.5
6.5
7.3
11.8
5.7
4 .6
6.7
5.9
1.3
1.5
5.5
20.9 2.8
12.4 4.1
17.5 0.8
9.4 10.0
11.7 0.0
11.8 0.0
19.8 3.0
3.4 4.1
3.0 6.0
2.5 7.5
2.3 4.1
3.9 5.2
4.4 8.8
3.4 4.4
1.3 2.5
2.1 3.4
4.2 1.7
0.0 1.8
3.9 6.5
1.5 7.4
1.4 2.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
P ublished articles or e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D etail men (d is trib u to rs ' sales representatives) D etail men (pharm aceu tic a l m a n u fa ctu re rs’ representatives) Mail advertising R ecom m en datio n by p h ysicia n , d e n tis t, or pharm acist M edical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d at de ntal meetings O th e r T o ta l
Table 1 5 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to source of information about drug products rated most useful, by region. Source
N ew M id d le England East S outheast S outhw est
P ublished articles or e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D eta il men (d is trib u to rs ’ sales representatives) D eta il men (pharm aceutical 1 m a n u fa ctu re rs’ representatives) Mail advertising R ecom m en datio n by p h ysicia n, d e n tis t, or pharm acist M edical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d at dental meetings O th e r T o ta l
Central
N o rth w e s t
Far U n ite d West States
53.7
53.4
38.3
37.6
47.9
4 5 .4
51.5
48.1
13.5
15.0
11.0
8.9
12.1
12.6
8.1
11.8
4.7
3.5
6.6
7.9
6.7
6.6
4.9
5.5
15.6 4.7
14.2 3.7
28.9 2.3
29.2 2.5
20.4 3.0
24.6 2.7
16.5 2.2
19.8 3.0
3.1 2.1
3.6 2.8
3.0 6.0
5.0 5.4
2.2 4.6
2.7 2.7
4.6 5.9
3.4 4.4
1.6 1.0
1.0 2.8
1.6 2.3
1.0 2.5
1.5 1.6
2.2 0.5
1.2 5.1
1.4 2.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Table 16 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to source of information about drug products rated most useful, by age of dentist. Sou rce P ublished articles o f e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D eta il men (d is trib u to rs ’ sales representatives) D eta il men (pharm aceutical m a n u fa c tu re rs ’ representatives) M a il advertising R ecom m en datio n by ph ysicia n, d e n tis t, or pharm acist Medical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d at dental meetings O th er T o ta l
178 a JADA, Vol. 82, January 1971
-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
38.3
45 .5
47.6
52.6
56.3
64 .3
48.1
19.1
12.3
11.1
11.6
9.0
10.0
11.8
3.0
5.0
6.5
4.9
6.9
4.3
5.5
15.6 3.0
19.8 3.8
21.7 2.3
19.1 3.6
16.7 1.2
14.3 2.8
19.8 3.0
6.6 10.8
3.5 5.9
3.8 3.2
2.2 2.1
2.1 3.7
1.4 0.0
3.4 4.4
0.6 3.0
1.2 3.0
1.1 2.7
1.7 2.2
3.3 0.8
0.0 2.9
1.4 2.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
70-
A ll ages
respondents. However, the form er received a high er percentage of first place rankings, and the lat ter received m ore th ird place rankings. “ D etail men (distributors’)” was m ost often ranked fourth, and “ mail advertising” was m ost often ranked fifth. Table 14 sum m arizes these data by type o f p ra c tice. “ Published articles o r editorial m atte r” was rated most useful by a larger percentage o f special ists (5 5 % ) than general practitioners (4 7 % ). O rth odontists, on the other hand, showed greater in terest in “ advertising in dental publications” and in “ mail advertising” than dentists in other types of practice. Some variation from the overall pattern oc curred when the data w ere tabulated by region (Table 15). R espondents in the Southeast and Southwest regions regarded “ detail men (m anu facturers’)” as relatively m ore im portant than did dentists in other regions, and “published articles or editorial m atter” w ere regarded as less im por tant by respondents in the Southeast and South west than by those in other regions. D entists under the age of 30, those who had newly entered practice, reported som ew hat great er reliance on “ advertising in dental publications” and on “m edical reference books” as their m ost useful source of inform ation on drug products, than did respondents in other age groups (Table 16).
T o com pare the effectiveness o f various sources o f inform ation about drug products from the dentist’s point o f view, we asked respondents to rank each o f five inform ation sources according to its useful ness to them . T he m ost useful inform ation source was ranked " I , ” the second m ost useful, “ 2 ,” and so forth. T he categories listed on the questionnaire were: Published articles or editorial m atter A dvertising in dental publications D etail men (distributors’ sales representatives) Detail men (pharm aceutical m anufacturers’ re p resentatives) M ail advertising O ther (specify) W hen the results w ere tabulated three categories added from “ O th er” sources specified: R ecom m endation by physician, dentist, or p h a r m acist M edical reference books Inform ation obtained at dental meetings Table 13 shows the percentage distribution of respondents according to their ranking of the in form ation sources. “ Published articles o r editorial m atter” was ranked first (most useful) by 4 8% and it was ranked second by another 19% . "D etail men (m anufacturers’)” and “ advertising in dental p u b lications” w ere each ranked second by 2 5% o f the
Table 13 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to their ranking of sources of information about drug products. Source P ublished articles o r e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D eta il men (d is trib u to rs ’ sales representatives) D eta il men (p harm aceu tical m a n u fa ctu re rs' representatives) Mail advertising R ecom m en datio n by ph ysicia n, d e n tis t, o r pharm acist M edical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b tained at dental m eetings O th er T o ta lt
1*
2
3
4
5
6
48.1 11.8 5.5
19.0 25 .0 12.0
13.5 24.2 14.7
8.3 18.1 18.3
3.9 6.1 14.3
0.6 1.0 4.0
19.8 3.0
25.4 8.0
19.1 16.0
13.3 18.9
6.4 23.4
1.0 5.2
3.4 4.4 1.4 2.6
2.9 1.1 1.0 1.3
1.2 0.6 0.6 0.6
0.9 0.4 0.2 0.2
0.5 0.1 0.4 0.3
1.4 0.4 0.6 1.7
100.0
95.7
90.5
55.4
15.9
78.6 .
* 1 = m o st useful source o f in fo rm a tio n , 2 = second m o st useful, and so fo rth . t T o ta l in co lu m n 1 is 100% o f the respondents w h o ranked at least one ite m . The percentage o f responses decreases as the nu m b e r o f item s ranked increases.
177
Table 14 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to source of information about drug products rated most useful, by type of practice.
Source
General p ra c titio n e r
AH specialists
Oral surgeon
O rth o d o n tis t
Pedod o n tis t
O th e r specialists
A ll types o f practice
47 .0
55 .4
58.3
50.0
61 .0
57.3
48.1
12.3
9.0
0.8
16.5
6.5
7.3
11.8
5.7
4 .6
6.7
5.9
1.3
1.5
5.5
20.9 2.8
12.4 4.1
17.5 0.8
9.4 10.0
11.7 0.0
11.8 0.0
19.8 3.0
3.4 4.1
3.0 6.0
2.5 7.5
2.3 4.1
3.9 5.2
4.4 8.8
3.4 4.4
1.3 2.5
2.1 3.4
4.2 1.7
0.0 1.8
3.9 6.5
1.5 7.4
1.4 2.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
P ublished articles or e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D etail men (d is trib u to rs ' sales representatives) D etail men (pharm aceu tic a l m a n u fa ctu re rs’ representatives) Mail advertising R ecom m en datio n by p h ysicia n , d e n tis t, or pharm acist M edical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d at de ntal meetings O th e r T o ta l
Table 1 5 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to source of information about drug products rated most useful, by region. Source
N ew M id d le England East S outheast S outhw est
P ublished articles or e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D eta il men (d is trib u to rs ’ sales representatives) D eta il men (pharm aceutical 1 m a n u fa ctu re rs’ representatives) Mail advertising R ecom m en datio n by p h ysicia n, d e n tis t, or pharm acist M edical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d at dental meetings O th e r T o ta l
Central
N o rth w e s t
Far U n ite d West States
53.7
53.4
38.3
37.6
47.9
4 5 .4
51.5
48.1
13.5
15.0
11.0
8.9
12.1
12.6
8.1
11.8
4.7
3.5
6.6
7.9
6.7
6.6
4.9
5.5
15.6 4.7
14.2 3.7
28.9 2.3
29.2 2.5
20.4 3.0
24.6 2.7
16.5 2.2
19.8 3.0
3.1 2.1
3.6 2.8
3.0 6.0
5.0 5.4
2.2 4.6
2.7 2.7
4.6 5.9
3.4 4.4
1.6 1.0
1.0 2.8
1.6 2.3
1.0 2.5
1.5 1.6
2.2 0.5
1.2 5.1
1.4 2.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Table 16 ■ Percentage distribution of respondents according to source of information about drug products rated most useful, by age of dentist. Sou rce P ublished articles o f e d ito ria l m a tte r A d v e rtis in g in dental p u b lic a tio n s D eta il men (d is trib u to rs ’ sales representatives) D eta il men (pharm aceutical m a n u fa c tu re rs ’ representatives) M a il advertising R ecom m en datio n by ph ysicia n, d e n tis t, or pharm acist Medical reference books In fo rm a tio n o b ta in e d at dental meetings O th er T o ta l
178 a JADA, Vol. 82, January 1971
-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
38.3
45 .5
47.6
52.6
56.3
64 .3
48.1
19.1
12.3
11.1
11.6
9.0
10.0
11.8
3.0
5.0
6.5
4.9
6.9
4.3
5.5
15.6 3.0
19.8 3.8
21.7 2.3
19.1 3.6
16.7 1.2
14.3 2.8
19.8 3.0
6.6 10.8
3.5 5.9
3.8 3.2
2.2 2.1
2.1 3.7
1.4 0.0
3.4 4.4
0.6 3.0
1.2 3.0
1.1 2.7
1.7 2.2
3.3 0.8
0.0 2.9
1.4 2.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
70-
A ll ages