MyMedR

Displaying all 5 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Psychological impacts of dental fluorosis among malaysian school children

Mohd Nor, M., Sheiham, A., Tsakos, G.

Malaysian Dental Journal, 2008;29(1):20-24.
MyJurnal

The objectives were to assess the prevalence, severity, the psychological and social impacts of fluorosis among school children and their parents in the Kuala Pilah area, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Methods: A convenience sample of 431 students aged 16-17 years old from 3 secondary schools in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan were selected. The students were assessed for presence of dental fluorosis using Dean’s Index and to assess impacts. Questionnaires were administered to all the dental fluorosis students and selected matched students with no fluorosis. They constituted a control group for the case control study. Questionnaires were sent to the parents of dental fluorosis and control non fluorosis cases. Results: The prevalence of dental fluorosis was 27.8%; 82% of the fluorosis cases were questionable to mild and 18% moderate to severe fluorosis. 16.1% of students with dental fluorosis and 8.5% of non-fluorosis students had psychological impacts. 12.8% of the parents of children with fluorosis reported that their child had an impact. More girls with fluorosis (35.7%) had psychological impacts compared than boys (25.0%). In the 16.1% of fluorosis cases who had psychological impacts, difficulty smiling and showing teeth, affected 35.7% of girls and 25 % of boys. The percentage of students with dental fluorosis who had psychological impacts on carrying out school work was 2.7%, and 3.6% had impacts related to going out with friends. Conclusions: There were considerable psychological impacts on smiling and showing teeth among Malaysian teenagers with dental fluorosis and some of their parents were concerned about the fluorosis. But the impacts were mild and do not have a major impact on students’ lives. Dental fluorosis is not aesthetically displeasing to most subjects but does have psychological and social impacts on a small percentage with fluorosis.
Smoking status and oral health-related quality of life among adults in the United Kingdom

Bakri NN, Tsakos G, Masood M

Br Dent J, 2018 07 27;225(2):153-158.
PMID: 30050198 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2018.529

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between smoking and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among dentate people aged 16 years and above in England.
Methods: Cross-sectional study, based on the Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) 2009. ADHS 2009 involved data collection from 11,380 face-to-face interviews and 6,469 dental examinations from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This study focuses on the dentate sample from England, consisting of 5,622 individuals who underwent dental examination. OHRQoL was measured by two indices; Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) and Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP). Unadjusted and adjusted zero-inflated regression models were used. Adjustment was sequentially done for socio-demographics, clinical oral conditions and self-reported general health.
Results: Prevalence of those who had never smoked, past smokers and current smokers were 45.6%, 35.3% and 19.2% respectively. Current smokers had considerably higher mean OHIP-14 and OIDP scores than non-smokers. There was a statistically significant association between smoking and OHRQoL (both OHIP-14 and OIDP) even in the fully adjusted models. Current smokers were more likely to report worse OHRQoL compared to those who had never smoked in both OHIP-14 and OIDP score. There was no statistically significant difference between past smokers with those who had never smoked in reporting OHIP-14 and OIDP. Among those reporting OHRQoL, there was a stepwise gradient risk of reporting no oral impact, where the probability was higher among those who had never smoked, followed by past smokers and current smokers both in OHIP-14 and OIDP.
Conclusion: Smoking was independently associated with worse OHRQoL, even after adjusting for a range of socio-demographic factors, clinical oral conditions and self-reported general health.
Periodontal treatment needs and workforce requirements: comparisons between the normative and sociodental approaches using different skill mix models

Ab-Murat N, Sheiham A, Tsakos G, Watt R

Community Dent Oral Epidemiol, 2015 Apr;43(2):106-15.
PMID: 25178437 DOI: 10.1111/cdoe.12125

Assessment of dental treatment needs has predominantly been based on the normative approach, despite its numerous limitations. The sociodental approach is a more rational method of needs assessment as it incorporates broader concepts of health and needs and behavioural propensity. This study compares estimates of periodontal dental treatment needs and workforce requirements for different skill mixes using normative and sociodental approaches among a sample of adults in Malaysia.
Fulltext Treatment needs and skill mix workforce requirements for prosthodontic care: a comparison of estimates using normative and sociodental approaches

Ab-Murat N, Sheiham A, Watt R, Tsakos G

BMC Oral Health, 2015 Mar 13;15:36.
PMID: 25887142 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-015-0015-9

The traditional measure for assessing dental treatment needs and workforce requirements based solely on normative need (NN) has major shortcomings. The sociodental approach (SDA) to assess needs overcomes some of the shortcomings as it combines normative and subjective needs assessments and also incorporates behavioural propensity (Sheiham and Tsakos 2007). The objective of this study was to estimate and compare prosthodontic treatment needs and workforce requirements, using the normative and the sociodental approaches for different skill mix models.
Views and perceptions of oral health and associated care in dependent older adults: semi structured interviews with a range of stakeholders

McMullan J, Watson S, Brocklehurst P, Tsakos G, Watt RG, Wassall RR, et al.

J Dent, 2026 Oct 27.
PMID: 42946116 DOI: 10.1016/j.jdent.2026.107131

OBJECTIVES: The vast majority of those over 65 years old have increased oral health needs when compared to previous generations, particularly those dependent on others for care. This study aimed to report the views and perceptions of key stakeholders regarding the oral health of dependent older adults, the current dental care/services provided for this group and identify improvements required to services.
METHODS: Following development of a topic guide, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders, including dependent older adults. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis.
RESULTS: 36 interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders including dependent older adults, carers, family members, health care professionals, researchers and experts focused on ageing and / or oral health research. Six major themes emerged from the qualitative interviews: experiences of oral health; current oral health services for dependent older adults; consequences of poor oral health; improvements required in oral health care for dependent older adults and oral health outcomes important to dependent older adults CONCLUSIONS: Across all stakeholder groups there was agreement that oral health is not currently prioritised for dependent older adults with care assistants often reluctant to engage in oral hygiene practices. However participants did report that they understood the importance of oral care particularly as it related to quality of life and oral function. Older adults reported that they valued subjective measures of oral health status including oral comfort, oral function and the ability to socialise.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Previous research with dependent older adults has largely focused on clinical measures of oral health despite patients' themselves valuing subjective outputs such as oral comfort and function more strongly. Future oral health services research in this population should ensure that outcome measures used are actually meaningful to dependent older adults as well as clinicians and policymakers.