An assessment of dental caries among young Aboriginal children in New South Wales, Australia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Limited research has been undertaken in Australia to assess the dental status of pre-school Aboriginal children. This cross-sectional study records the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) and surfaces (dmfs) of pre-school Aboriginal children living in different locations in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Methods: A convenience sample of young children from seven Aboriginal communities in rural, remote and metropolitan areas of NSW, was recruited. One calibrated examiner recorded the dmft/s of children with written parental consent. Results: 196 children were invited to participate and 173 children aged two to five years were examined, a response rate of 88.3 %. Forty percent (n = 69) of the children were diagnosed with dental caries with a mean of 2.1 (SD = 3.6). The dmft scores were significantly higher in remote locations when compared to rural (p = \u3c0.0001) and metropolitan areas (p = 0.0155). Children 4-5 years old living in remote NSW had a mean dmft of 3.5 and mean dmfs of 8.0 compared with children living in rural areas who had a dmft and dmfs of 1.5 and 4.2 respectively. Untreated dental caries was the primary contributor to the scores, and children who had previously received dental treatment still had active carious lesions. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of untreated dental caries among the Aboriginal children, particularly for those in remote locations

Developing leaflets to give dental health advice to Aboriginal families with young children

Objectives: Dental caries (decay) is a serious problem for young Aboriginal children, causing pain and stress. Treatment often involves extraction of teeth under a general anaesthetic. However, dental caries can be prevented by reducing the frequency of sugar consumption and brushing teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Such straightforward advice could be given to families by Aboriginal Health Workers who are trusted by their communities and have an existing advisory role. This paper reports on the development of dental health advice leaflets for use in Aboriginal communities. Methods: An Aboriginal reference panel was recruited to comment on dental health advice leaflets prepared by an Aboriginal graphic designer. The panel was asked to consider the design, cultural appropriateness and practicality of the leaflets. Comments were collected through email and face-to-face discussions, which were collated and the leaflets altered accordingly. Results: The advice from the panel resulted in greater use of pictures. For example large green ticks and red crosses highlighted healthy and unhealthy behaviours, respectively. The tooth brushing leaflet was amended to emphasise the safe storage of toothpaste in order to keep it out of reach of young children. The panel stated that all leaflets should incorporate the Aboriginal flag, and proposed that fridge magnets might be beneficial as all family members would benefit from seeing the messages every day. Conclusion: The consultation process refined dental advice leaflets to reflect the views of an Aboriginal Reference Panel, in terms of design, cultural competence and practicality

Dental hygiene students' views on a service-learning residential aged care placement program

Purpose: To record the views of final year dental hygiene students from the University of Newcastle, Australia about a placement in 17 residential aged care facilities, on the NSW Central Coast. Methods: Final year dental hygiene students undertook a 12 week placement, 1 day per week, in 1 of 17 residential aged care facilities. They were asked to participate in focus group discussions after the placement to determine their ability to transition from the classroom to the real-life experience of the residential aged care facility placement. Results: Students felt ill-equipped for the aged care placement program even though they had attended a pre-placement orientation. Students expressed feelings of being overwhelmed by the residential aged care environment, particularly by the smells and unexpected sights of the aged, fragile and cognitively impaired residents, and the difficulties in providing them with oral hygiene care. Conclusion: To enable students to transition from the classroom to the aged care environment in a more effective manner, a more realistic pre-placement orientation program is necessar

User assessment of an early childhood oral health education training course for Aboriginal health workers

Introduction: Dental caries has a severe impact on young Australian Aboriginal children. With appropriate advice, dental caries is preventable; however, many Aboriginal children cannot access dental services. Aboriginal health workers (AHWs) are a valued member of Aboriginal communities and have regular contact with Aboriginal families. Once trained about dental health, AHWs have the ability to teach families with young children about preventing dental caries. This article reports on an oral health training course for AHWs. Objectives: To evaluate the training course in terms of its components, cultural appropriateness, course content and whether the participants felt competent to offer oral health advice. Methods: Sixty-one AHWs from twelve Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Services (ACCHS) participated in the training programme across New South Wales, Australia. Anonymous self-completed questionnaires were collected after the training to determine whether the participants felt prepared to offer oral health advice to Aboriginal families with young children and to evaluate the course. Results: Most AHWs thought the components of the training were very good to good including the PowerPoint presentation (59, 97%), graphics (60, 98%) and materials (60, 98%). All (59, 100%) thought the training and materials were culturally appropriate. The course was informative, the material was relevant (61, 100%), and the training increased the AHW's oral health knowledge (61, 100%). Most (59, 98%) reported increased confidence to deliver dental advice to families with young children. All believed the course appeared easy to use and would recommend it to others (61, 100%)

Evaluation of an oral health education program for young aboriginal children: feedback from parents, aboriginal health workers and managerial staff

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is an aggressive type of dental caries that affects preschool-age children. It has a high prevalence among Australia\u27s Aboriginal child population but can be prevented with appropriate advice. Trained Aboriginal Health Workers provided parents with young Aboriginal children advice about preventing dental caries as part of a health education program, \u27Smiles not Tears\u27. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the health education program in terms of its cultural appropriateness, content, accessibility, sustainability and implementation. Parents, Aboriginal Health Workers and Managers from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) were individually asked questions by an independent interviewer to gather feedback about the \u27Smiles not Tears\u27 health education program. Questions were answered as \u27yes\u27, \u27no\u27; \u27unsure\u27 or \u27not applicable\u27 and any further comments were scribed by the interviewer. The results showed that most parents (n = 96; 99.0%), Aboriginal Health Workers (n = 9; 100%) and Managers (n = 4; 100%) thought the program was culturally appropriate. All parents (n = 97; 100%) thought the advice given was easy to understand and most thought the information was easy to put into practice (n = 95; 97.9%). Aboriginal Health Workers (n = 9; 100%) and Managers (n = 4; 100%) would like to see the health education program continue in their Community Controlled Health Services. The \u27Smiles not Tears\u27 dental education program was well received by the majority of parents, Aboriginal Health Workers and managers. The program was culturally appropriate and easy to understand