MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was collected using a self-administered pilot-tested questionnaire. Dentists awareness about link between oral and systemic link was assessed on five point likert scale. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS.
RESULTS: Of the 588 dentists, 500 completed the questionnaire (response rate 85.03%). About 93% of the participants (mean age 25.82 ± 4.21 years) agreed that oral health was associated with systemic health. Most dentists were aware of a connection between periodontal disease and diabetes (84.4%) and heart disease (70.2%). Similarly, 85.6% believed in the negative impact of oral disease on the quality of life of patients. More female than male dentists were aware of the relationship between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis (P < 0.001). Most dentists (97%) believed that more patients would seek oral care if they were aware of the oral-systemic link. After adjustments, private dentists were 4.65 times more likely than public dentists to believe in improving access to oral care with increased patient awareness of the oral-systemic connection (P = 0.011).
CONCLUSIONS: Most dentists were aware of the oral-systemic link. They believed that patients' access to oral care would improve if they were aware of a connection between oral and systemic health. Therefore, patients should be informed of the oral-systemic link to improve their oral health.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey including 706 six-year-old children was conducted in 2017 in Benghazi, Libya. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire assessing socioeconomic status and oral health behaviours, and the Arabic version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (A-ECOHIS) to assess the OHRQoL. Clinical examination assessed caries experience at tooth level (dmft) and the number of decayed, missing due to caries and filled teeth (dt, mt and ft). Poisson regression analysis was performed to determine the association between dmft scores and the independent predictors. Linear regression analysis was conducted for ECOHIS scores with the children's gender, SES and OHB. The statistical significance was set to ≤ 0.05.
RESULTS: Data were available for 706 children. Caries prevalence (dt) and dmft of ≥ 1 were 69.1% and 71% respectively. The mean ± SD dmft score was 3.23 ± 3.32. There was a significant and direct association between dmft scores and daily consumption of sugary snacks (B = 1.27, P = 0.011) and a significant inverse association with teethbrushing twice daily (B = 0.80, P = 0.041). There was a significant and direct association between A-ECOHIS and dmft (B = 1.14, P ≤ 0.001) and a significant and inverse association between A- ECOHIS and high and intermediate family income compared to low income (B = -3.82, P = 0.0001 and B = -2.06, P = 0.028).
CONCLUSIONS: 6-year-old Libyan children had a relatively high caries experience an untreated decay with impact on OHRQoL. Social disparities, sugar consumption patterns and oral hygiene practices were associated with high caries experience.
METHODS: Participants were 7- to 16-year-old children referred to a UK Dental Hospital for management of incisor opacities. Prior to treatment (To), participants completed validated questionnaires to assess OHRQoL and overall health status (C-OHIP-SF19), and self-concept (Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Children [SPPC]). Interventions for MIH included microabrasion, resin infiltration, tooth whitening or composite resin restoration. Children were reviewed after six months (T1) when they re-completed the C-OHIP-SF19 and SPPC questionnaires. The relationships of predictors with improvement of children's OHRQoL (T1-To) and children's overall health status at T1 were assessed using linear and ordinal logistic regression respectively, guided by the Wilson and Cleary's theoretical model.
RESULTS: Of 103 participants, 86 were reviewed at T1 (83.5 % completion rate). Their mean age was 11-years (range = 7-16) and 60 % were female. Total and domain OHRQoL scores significantly increased (improved OHRQoL) following MIH treatment. There was a significant positive change in SPPC physical appearance subscale score between To and T1. A higher number of anterior teeth requiring aesthetic treatment were associated with poor improvement of socio-emotional wellbeing at T1 (Coef =-0.43). Higher self-concept at To was associated with greater improvement of socio-emotional wellbeing at T1 (ß = 3.44). Greater orthodontic treatment need (i.e. higher IOTN-AC score) at T0 was linked to worse overall oral health at T1 (OR = 0.43).
CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial factors and dental clinical characteristics were associated with change in children's OHRQoL following minimal interventions for incisor opacities.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: MIH is a common condition and clinicians should be aware of the negative impacts some children experience, particularly those with multiple anterior opacities, poor tooth alignment and low self-concept. However, simple, minimally invasive treatments can provide good clinical and psychosocial outcomes and should be offered to children reporting negative effects.
METHODS: This intervention study was conducted in Araihazar Thana, Narayanganj district, Bangladesh during April 2012 to March 2013. The total participants were 944 students from three local schools. At baseline, students were assessed for oral health knowledge, attitude and practices using a self-administered structured questionnaire and untreated dental caries was assessed using clinical examination. Follow up study was done after 6 months from baseline. McNemar's chi-square analysis was used to evaluate the impact of OHE program on four recurrent themes of oral health between the baseline and follow-up. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the impact of the intervention group on our outcome variables.
RESULTS: Significant improvement was observed regarding school aged adolescents' self-reported higher knowledge, attitude and practices scores (p < 0.001) at follow-up compared with baseline. The prevalence of untreated dental caries of the study population after the OHE program was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced to 42.5 %. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the OHE intervention remained a significant predictor in reducing the risk of untreated dental caries (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =0.51; 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.37, 0.81). In the follow-up period participants were 2.21 times (95 % CI = 1.87, 3.45) more likely to have higher level of knowledge regarding oral health compared to baseline. Compared with baseline participants in the follow-up were 1.89 times (95 % CI = 1.44-2.87) more likely to have higher attitude towards oral health. In addition, OHE intervention was found to be significantly associated with higher level of practices toward oral health (AOR = 1.64; 95 % CI = 1.12, 3.38).
CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that OHE intervention was effective in increasing i) knowledge, ii) attitude, and iii) practices towards oral health; it also significantly reduced the prevalence of untreated dental caries among school aged adolescents from grade 6-8 in a deprived rural area of Bangladesh.
METHODS: School children aged between 13 and 16 years old were randomly selected from a secondary school in Penang. Malay version of Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaires were given to the subjects. This questionnaire has 14 questions with seven domains which are functional limitation, psychological discomfort, physical pain, physical disability, psychological and social disability, and handicap. Index of orthodontic treatment need dental health component was used to assess the orthodontic treatment need. Overjet (reversed overjet), open bite, overbite, cross bite, impeded eruption, crowding, defects of cleft lip and palate, Class II and Class III buccal occlusion, present of supernumerary and hypodontia were assessed.
RESULTS: 255 students participated in this study. Mean score and standard deviation for OHIP-14 were 8.64 (± 7.32) for males and 11.05 (± 9.41) for females respectively. There was statistically significant difference in mean score of OHIP-14 between male and female (p = 0.023). A weak positive correlation was found between malocclusion severity and OHRQoL (r = 0.186; p
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to systematically review published evidence on the effectiveness of CAL in disseminating oral health care information to patients and caregivers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A structured comprehensive search was undertaken among 7 electronic databases (PUBMED, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, SCOPUS, WEB of SCIENCE, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO) to identify relevant studies. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies were included in this review. Papers were screened by 2 independent reviewers, and studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected for further assessment.
RESULTS: A total of 2915 papers were screened, and full texts of 53 potentially relevant papers (κ = 0.885) were retrieved. A total of 5 studies that met the inclusion criteria (1 RCT, 1 quasi-experimental study, and 3 post-intervention studies) were identified. Outcome measures included knowledge, attitude, behavior, and oral health. Significant improvements in clinical oral health parameters (P oral health behaviors and confidence.
CONCLUSION: There is a limited number of studies which have examined the effectiveness of CAL interventions for oral health care among patients and caregivers. Synthesis of the data suggests that CAL has positive impacts on knowledge, attitude, behavior, and oral health. Further high- quality studies on the effectiveness of CAL in promoting oral health are warranted.
METHODS: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on a child's current and previous illnesses, oral health behaviours, dietary habits, parental smoking behaviours and parents' dental history. The intraoral examination recorded dental caries (dmfs), enamel defects, gingival health, melanin pigmentation and soft tissue health. Stimulated saliva was collected. Total sIgA levels were quantified using indirect competitive ELISA with a SalimetricsTM kit.
RESULTS: The 44 children (aged 15-69 months) recruited were divided into two groups: ETS and non-ETS (control). There were 22 children in each: 16 who were exposed to ETS during and after gestation were identified as the ETSB subgroup. Participants exposed to ETS were more likely to have had upper respiratory tract and middle ear infections during the neonatal period and had higher mean dmft, mean dmfs, mean percent of surfaces with demarcated opacities and mean GI than the non-ETS participants. The children exposed to ETS before and after birth had the highest occurrence of enamel opacities showed a higher risk for dental caries even though more children in this group used the recommended fluoride toothpaste (1000 ppm fluoride). Mothers who smoked either never breastfed their children or breastfed their children for less than the recommended period of 6 months. Children exposed to ETS were shown to have higher mean total sIgA (μg/ml) than the children in the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: Associations between ETS exposure before and after gestation and oral health, including salivary changes in young children were shown in the present study. Dental health professionals should include a question about household smoking in children's dental histories, which would allow opportunities to discuss the impact of smoking on child oral health. Longitudinal oral health studies should include a history of maternal smoking during pregnancy and afterwards.
AIM: To assess the impact of oral health conditions on poor academic performance in schoolchildren by including a range of clinical and self-reported OH measures in a modified cross-sectional study.
DESIGN: This study was carried out on schoolchildren aged 12-14 years in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, using a stratified and randomised cluster sampling method. Clinical indices from oral screening and self-reported OH conditions and behaviours and school absence from the self-administered questionnaire were recorded a month before the school examination. Results of passing or failing the examination were obtained after the examination. Statistical associations were examined using bivariate and multiple logistic regressions. The oral health measures were categorised based on the types of conditions and briefly appraised.
RESULTS: Measures of dental caries, dental pain, soft tissue problems, oral hygiene, tooth discolouration, tooth mobility and school absence due to dental pain were associated with greater odds of failing the examination (p