Dental Health

Knowledge and practice of caries prevention in mothers from Bialystok, Poland

by IOMC Conference

Joanna Baginska¹*, Ewa Rodakowska¹
1Department of Conservative Dentistry, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland
jbaginska@wp.pl

Predictors of utilisation of dental care services in a nationally representative sample of adults

by Karen Morgan

co-authored with Helena Guiney, Noel Woods & Helen Whelton

accepted for publication in Community Dental Health

OZONE THERAPY IN DENTAL CARIES TREATMENT & DENTISTRY

by DR.ABHITOSH DEBATA

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT DENTISTS & DENTISTRY

by DR.ABHITOSH DEBATA

SMOKING AND ORAL HEALTH

by DR.ABHITOSH DEBATA

JOURNAL OF EMERGING SCIENCE,VOL.3,NOVEMBER 2011

The dental health of factory workers in Pasir Gudang, Johor (Malaysia)

by Rosnah Binti Zain

A study on the oral health status of 198 factory workers (in Antara Steel, Pasir Gudang, Johor) was carried out in... more A study on the oral health status of 198 factory workers (in Antara Steel, Pasir Gudang, Johor) was carried out in November 1986. The subjects were predominantly male (94%) and Malay (91%) with an average age of 27.4 years. The prevalence of caries was 87.4% with a mean DMFT of 7.1 ? 5.4. There were 3 subjects with full upper, lower dentures and 16 subjects with partial dentures. Two subjects examined needed dentures but were not wearing them. Thirty five (17.7%) of those examined needed urgent extractions, and 8 needed emergency treatment for fillings. Enamel opacities were found in 141 subjects (75.6%) but only 9 were aware of these defects. Dental health was very poor with 72% examined needing scaling. Seventeen (9%) had gross supra and subgingival calculus. There was a total of 107 (54%) smokers and heavy nicotine stains were found in 41 (20.7%), of the population examined. Examination of soft tissues showed 111 (56%) subjects with recurrent aphthous ulcers whilst 15 (7.6%) suffered from herpes labialis. Five subjects (2.5%) suffered from denture stomatitis whilst the prevalence of other soft tissue lesions was very low.

Effect of implant angulation upon retention of overdenture attachments

by Michael Gulizio

An AMSTAR assessment of the methodological quality of systematic reviews of oral healthcare interventions published in the Journal of Applied Oral Science (JAOS).

by Zbys Fedorowicz

Sequeira-Byron P, Fedorowicz Z, Jagannath VA, Sharif MO.
J Appl Oral Sci. 2011 Oct;19(5):440-7.

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews are not an assembly of anecdotes but a distillation of current best... more Abstract
BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews are not an assembly of anecdotes but a distillation of current best available evidence on a particular topic and as such have an important role to play in evidence-based healthcare. A substantial proportion of these systematic reviews focus on interventions, and are able to provide clinicians with the opportunity to understand and translate the best available evidence on the effects of these healthcare interventions into clinical practice. The importance of systematic reviews in summarising and identifying the gaps in evidence which might inform new research initiatives is also widely acknowledged. Their potential impact on practice and research makes their methodological quality especially important as it may directly infuence their utility for clinicians, patients and policy makers. The objectives of this study were to identify systematic reviews of oral healthcare interventions published in the Journal of Applied Oral Science (JAOS) and to evaluate their methodological quality using the evaluation tool, AMSTAR.

METHODS: Potentially eligible systematic reviews in JAOS were identifed through an electronic search of the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Details of the relevant aspects of methodology as reported in these systematic reviews were extracted from the full text publications. Methodological quality was assessed independently by two reviewers using the AMSTAR questionnaire.

RESULTS: Five systematic reviews were identifed, one of which was subsequently excluded as it was a review of a diagnostic test. Summary AMSTAR scores for the four included reviews were: 1, 5, 2 and 4 out of a maximum score of 11 (range 1-5, mean 3) with only one of the reviews scoring 5.

CONCLUSION: AMSTAR evaluation of the methodological quality of the relatively small number of systematic reviews published in JAOS illustrated that there was room for improvement. Pre-publication and editorial appraisal of future systematic reviews might beneft from the application of tools such as AMSTAR and is to be recommended.

PMID:21986647[PubMed - in process] Free full text

The international EQUATOR network: enhancing the quality and transparency of health care research.

by Zbys Fedorowicz

Pandis N, Fedorowicz Z.

Help Me Smile: Oral Health Risk Assessment Protocols, Training Modules, and Educational Materials for Use with Families of Young Children. Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Oral Health Services.

by Michele Battle-Fisher

I was a member of the State Oral Health Collaborative Systems
Advisory Committee from 2003-2004 that formulated the Help Me Smile training. This is the final product of the resulting curriculum (2007).

This collection of training materials provides non-oral-health professionals with protocols, modules, and educational... more This collection of training materials provides non-oral-health professionals with protocols, modules, and educational materials to promote proper oral health practices for families. Divided developmentally, topics include fluoride, brushing and flossing, dental decay, white spots on teeth, nutritious snacking, and "lift the lip" protocols for infants and young children. Also included are handouts, an illustrated flip chart, and assessment tools. (as described by National Maternal and Child Dental Health Resource Center, Georgetown University)

Staff-led interventions for improving oral hygiene in patients following stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (update)

by Marian Brady

Brady MC, Furlanetto D, Hunter RV, Lewis S, Milne V.

Background:
For people with limitations due to neurological conditions such as stroke, the routine practice of... more Background:
For people with limitations due to neurological conditions such as stroke, the routine practice of oral health care (OHC) may become a challenge. Evidence-based supported oral care intervention is essential for this patient group.


Objectives:
To compare the effectiveness of staff-led OHC interventions with standard care for ensuring oral hygiene for individuals after a stroke.


Search strategy:
We searched the trials registers of the Cochrane Stroke Group (last searched April 2010) and Cochrane Oral Health Group (last searched May 2010), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library May 2010), MEDLINE (1966 to May 2010), CINAHL (1982 to May 2010), Research Findings Electronic Register (February 2006), National Research Register (Issue 1, 2006), ISI Science and Technology Proceedings (July 2010), Dissertation Abstracts and Conference Papers Index (August 2005), Zetoc (2000 to July 2010) and Proquest Dissertations and Theses (2000 to July 2010). We scanned reference lists from relevant papers and contacted authors and researchers in the field.


Selection criteria:
Randomised controlled trials that evaluated one or more interventions designed to improve oral hygiene. We included trials with a mixed population provided we could extract the stroke-specific data.


Data collection and analysis:
Two review authors independently classified trials according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, assessed the trial quality and extracted data. We sought clarification from study authors when required.


Main results:
We included three studies involving 470 participants. These trials were of limited comparability evaluating an OHC education training programme, a decontamination gel and a ventilator-associated pneumonia bundle of care augmented with an OHC component by comparing them to a deferred intervention, a placebo gel or standard care respectively. The OHC educational intervention demonstrated a significant reduction in denture plaque scores up to six months (P < 0.00001) after the intervention but not dental plaque. Staff knowledge (P = 0.0008) and attitudes (P = 0.0001) towards oral care also improved. The decontamination gel reduced the incidence of pneumonia amongst the intervention group (P = 0.03).


Authors' conclusions:
Based on two trials involving a small number of stroke survivors, OHC interventions can improve staff knowledge and attitudes, the cleanliness of patients' dentures and reduce the incidence of pneumonia. Improvements in the cleanliness of patients teeth were not observed. Further evidence relating to staff-led oral care interventions is severely lacking.


This record should be cited as:


Brady MC, Furlanetto D, Hunter R, Lewis SC, Milne V. Staff-led interventions for improving oral hygiene in patients following stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD003864. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003864.pub2

A Cochrane systematic review finds tongue scrapers have short-term efficacy in controlling halitosis.

by Zbys Fedorowicz

Gen Dent. 2006 Sep-Oct;54(5):352-9; 360, 367-8; quiz 360.

Cross-border dental care: 'dental tourism' and patient mobility

by Leigh Turner

Patient mobility is increasing. 'Dental tourism' is driven by numerous factors. These factors include the high cost of... more Patient mobility is increasing. 'Dental tourism' is driven by numerous factors. These factors include the high cost of local care, delays in obtaining access to local dentists, competent care at many international clinics, inexpensive air travel, and the Internet's capacity to link 'customers' to 'sellers' of health-related services. Though dental tourism will benefit some patients, increased patient mobility comes with numerous risks. Lack of access to affordable and timely local care plays a significant role in prompting patients to cross borders and receive dental care outside their local communities.

Can dental caries be interpreted as evidence of farming? The Asian experience

by Sian Halcrow

(2009) co-authored with N. Tayles and K. Domett, In T. Koppe, G. Meyer, and K. W. Alt (eds) Interdisciplinary Dental Morphology. Basel: Karger. 162-166.