See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/292784556

International Journal of Dentistry and Oral Health Open Access The

Importance of Qualitative Research in Dentistry What Answers can
Qualitative Research Methods Provide?

Article · January 2016

CITATIONS READS

0 1,733

1 author:

Faaiz Y. Alhamdani
Ibn Sina University of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Baghdad
47 PUBLICATIONS   24 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Orbital trauma View project

Fine art criticism View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Faaiz Y. Alhamdani on 02 February 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 SciForschen Open HUB for Scientific Researc h
ISSN 2378-7090

International Journal of Dentistry and Oral Health

Opinion Article Volume: 2.2 Open Access

The Importance of Qualitative Research in Received date: 23 Dec 2015; Accepted date: 20 Jan
2016; Published date: 26 Jan 2016.

Dentistry Citation: Alhamdani F (2016) The Importance

of Qualitative Research in Dentistry, Int J dent
Faaiz Alhamdani* Oral Health 2(2): doi http://dx.doi.org/10.16966/2378-
7090.174
College of Dentistry, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
Copyright: © 2016 Alhamdani F. This is an
open-access article distributed under the terms
*Corresponding author: Dr. Faaiz Alhamdani, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,
of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
College of Dentistry, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq, Tel: +9647706047791,
E-mail: faaiz@faaiz.com which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.

Abstract
During the last decade, qualitative research has gained more popularity in medicine, because of its role in providing medical professionals
with better insight on patients’ experiences and perspectives in different health situations. In dentistry, this does not seem the case. Dentists did
not embrace qualitative research method the way it deserves. This opinion paper will shed some light on the importance of qualitative research
in dentistry.

Can Quantitative Research Answer all Questions?
Advents in bio-medical technology make us know more about
our bodies in health and disease. The more we know the more we ask
questions about what we don’t know. To answer these questions we assume
(hypothesise). We conduct research to test our hypotheses.
Hypothesis testing in experimental setting is the essence of quantitative
approach we adopt in bio-medical research. For decades this approach
seems to be the only suitable approach to understand facts of our
biological system.
There are, however, two problems with the quantitative approach in
medical research. The first problem is that we deal with the patients on the
basis of our assumptions about their health conditions. We seem to ignore
the patient’s assumption about their disease within the frame of the life
itself. That is why qualitative research is helpful to discover this aspect of
patient’s well-being. The aim of qualitative research is to develop a concept
that helps to understand a social phenomenon in natural setting rather
than in an experimental setting [1]. It seeks to explain and understand
rather than quantify or predict.
The second problem of quantitative research is related to hypothesis
testing. Testing hypothesis assumes some knowledge about the
phenomenon we want to study. What about phenomena we don’t know
about? Here, again, comes the value of qualitative research. Qualitative
studies seek to address questions cannot be answered by quantitative
studies and predictions cannot be made [2, 3]. Qualitative research
can provide an insight about patients’ interpretations, attitudes and
preferences toward different aspects of health care management. This
aspect of knowledge is unachievable using experimental bio-medical
research design.
Furthermore, qualitative studies can provide knowledge about both
physician’s and patient’s interpretation about the objective findings
provided by clinical and laboratory tests and the value they think in such
findings [4].
What Answers can Qualitative Research Methods Provide?
It is true that well conducted Randomised Clinical Trials and systematic
reviews lie on the top of the hierarchy of evidence in medical research
[5,6]. However, providing measurements and figures might not help
enough to guide management decisions. Numbers and statistics are not
necessarily representatives of the effects of a given health condition on
patients’ daily lives. They do not explain or help clinicians understand the
bio-psychosocial impact of the disease process on patients. Accordingly,
clinical definitions or classifications might not provide us with all the
information we need for comprehensive health management planning [7].
The goal of medical care today is to improve quality of life (QOL)
through maintaining functioning and well-being. Consequently, there
is an increasing consensus that the patient’s perspective is pivotal in
monitoring outcomes of medical care in general [8]. This is particularly
important when management decisions are not clear-cut through lack
of clinical evidence. In such cases it is imperative to study the health
problems from all possible aspects. To achieve this aim we might need
to study patients’ experiences of a particular disease process, in a hope to
optimise current management by improving the clinician’s understanding
of patients’ perceived experiences and outcome.
Can Qualitative Research Improve Dental Treatment
Outcome?
The qualitative studies can provide dental professionals with important
aspects of disease process not usually known using widely used quantitative
methods in medical research field. Most importantly, how does the patient
perceive particular oral health problem and how does this knowledge
improve oral health care.
In addition, Clinician’s knowledge about treatment as perceived by
patients and understanding the background of patient’s view of outcome
lies in the heart of dental practice. This is usually not fully comprehended
using quantitative research. There is something unique about dentistry
among other medical professions, that is aesthetic aspect of dental
treatment. Patient’s opinion about his/her appearance plays a crucial
role in treatment decision. This involves all dental specialities with no
exception.
Quantitative research cannot answer all research questions, especially
when it comes to patients perspectives and opinions about their health. In

Copyright: © 2016 Alhamdani F. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
 SciForschenOpen HUB for Scientific Researc h
dentistry, patient’s concerns, aesthetic ones in particular, have important
influence and dental treatment planning. This gives qualitative research
more roles in addressing treatment problems to improve dental health
outcome.
References
1. Pope C, Mays N (1995) Reaching the parts other methods cannot
reach: an introduction to qualitative methods in health and health
services research. BMJ 311: 42-45.
2. Hartley S, Muhit M (2003) Using qualitative research methods for
disability research in majority world countries. Asia Pacific Disability
Rehabilitation Journal 14 : 103-114.
Citation: Alhamdani F (2016) The Importance of Qualitative Research in Dentistry, Int J dent Oral Health 2(2): doi http://dx.doi.org/10.16966/2378-
7090.174
View publication stats
Open Access
3. Mays N, Pope C (1995) Rigour and qualitative research. BMJ 31: 109-
112.
4. Green J, Britten N (1998) Qualitative research and evidence based
medicine. BMJ 316: 1230-1232.
5. Hemingway P (2009) What is a systematic review?.
6. Phillips B, Ball C, Sackett D, Badenoch D, Straus S, et al. (2012)
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Levels of Evidence, University
of Oxford.
7. Geneva (2002) WHO, Towards a Common Language for Functioning,
Disability and Health.
8. Kahaly GJ, Petrak F, Hardt J, Pitz S, Egle UT (2005) Psychosocial
morbidity of Graves’ orbitopathy. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 63: 395-402.
2