Assessment of knowledge and practice of pharmacists regarding oral health in Kerman, Iran

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral health is an integral part of general health. Between the different medical professions, pharmacists are one of the groups who encounter patients seeking consultation in the oral health field a lot. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of pharmacists in Kerman, Iran, toward oral health. METHODS: All pharmacists were invited to participate in the study after being informed about the aims of the study. A validated questionnaire with six sections including demographic data, oral hygiene behavior of the participants, the pharmacies’ specifications and products related to oral health, questions related to knowledge, questions related to practice, and questions related to the participants’ assessment were filled out by the participants. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, and descriptive results were presented in tables and charts. The chi-square statistical tests were used to explore any association between variables. RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 81 participants. Most of the participants were male and the mean age was 38 ± 10. The pharmacists’ mean knowledge of oral health was 6.5 out of 10 which places them in the medium knowledge range. The performance of pharmacists when encountering oral problems was prescribing analgesics in 79% of cases for tooth aches. There was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge score between different age and gender groups (P = 0.500). CONCLUSION: The results show a medium knowledge of pharmacists on oral health topics. Considering their own desire plans to train and educate in oral health fields to promote oral health seem necessary. KEYWORDS: Knowledge and Practice; Pharmacists; Oral Healt

Oral health status of a sample of disabled population in Iran

BACKGROUND: A wide range of oral health conditions has been studies in disabled populations. Many studies showed that the oral health of individuals who were disabled was poor and their oral treatment needs were greater than those of the general population. This study aimed to determine caries experience, levels of oral hygiene, periodontal health and prevalence of malocclusion in a sample of disabled subjects. METHODS: Five special care needs schools were randomly selected from the list of schools in Kerman and all attendants were examined for dental status on the basis of WHO criteria, gingival health and oral hygiene behaviors. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and chi-square tests. RESULTS: There were 297 participants in the study. The most frequent group of disability was mental retard. The mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score was 5.14. Ninety percent of subjects had gingival inflammation. There was no significant (P = 0.34) difference between caries experiences of different disable groups. CONCLUSIONS: Oral hygiene of disabled groups was poor and their caries experience rate was very high. Special oral health care program for them is recommended. KEY WORDS: Special care, oral health, oral hygiene, disability

Integrating Oral Health Care into Primary Health Care System

Introduction. Systematic evaluation is an integral part of the organization and delivery of community oral health care programmes, ensuring the effectiveness of these community-based interventions. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of primary health care (PHC) personnel regarding their duties toward oral health. Methods and Material. A cross-sectional study was carried out among three groups of PHC personnel in the city of Kerman (Iran). Volunteer personnel completed a piloted questionnaire which included demographic data, some question regarding their knowledge about oral health, their duties and also their practice regarding public oral health. All data were analyzed using chi-square and Pearson correlation test. Results. One hundred and fifty-seven out of 225 eligible personnel participated in the study. Sixty percent were auxiliary health workers (Behvarz). All personnel had a good level of knowledge regarding oral health. Despite significant differences among the knowledge of the personnel toward oral health, there was no significant difference between their knowledge related to their duties regarding oral health. The auxiliary health worker group had a higher rate (45.6%) for better public oral health practice. Conclusion. The study showed the personnel have good knowledge of their duties regarding oral health. However, their practice is not in line with their knowledge and needs more attention

Quality appraisal of published qualitative dental, medical and health researches in Iranian Persian language journals

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study aimed to determine the rate of published qualitative research in the field of public health including dental researches in Iran and to appraise their quality. METHODS: A total of 165 articles which published in 170 Iranian Medical Journals between years 2000 and 2014 were found eligible to the study. 48 papers were selected randomly. The papers were appraised by two calibrated reviewer using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) appraisal framework for qualitative research. RESULTS: Only 2 studies (about 4%) were on dental topics. About 82% (38-48) studies had sufficient reporting regarding aims, study design, recruitment and data collection, data analysis, finding and implication of research. Only 12 articles (25%) had an adequate discussion of the study limitations. Overall, the assessment showed that 27 papers (about 56%) of studies were well conducted. CONCLUSION: Qualitative methods are underutilized on dentistry topics, and the quality of qualitative research on health topics in medical journals of Iran is mediocre. KEYWORDS: Qualitative Research; Critical Appraisal; Oral Health; Ira

Knowledge, attitude, and practices of pediatricians about children’s oral health

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Many pediatric oral diseases are preventable if physicians recognize and encourage preventive care and refer patients to dentists whenever necessary. Parents usually visit pediatricians for routine care during the first few years of a child’s life. Therefore, pediatricians have can assist dental professionals by educating parents to maintain their children's oral health. The main objective of this study was to determine knowledge, attitude, and practices of pediatricians about the oral disease prevention. METHODS: A piloted questionnaire was completed by volunteer pediatricians and pediatric residents in Kerman, Iran. It comprised a series of questions including sociodemographic and practice characteristics, knowledge about the risk factors for oral diseases, attitude toward oral disease prevention, practicing preventive care for oral diseases, and information about oral diseases. RESULTS: Overall, 60 subjects participated in the study. Less than half of the respondents knew all the main risk factors of dental caries, gingivitis, and malocclusion. There was also a positive attitude that caries can be prevented (100%). Less than 10% of the participants prescribed dietary fluoride supplements for their patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although we found inadequate knowledge about oral and dental diseases among pediatricians, the majority of our subjects believed that they had an important responsibility in preventing oral diseases. KEY WORDS: Oral Health, Children, Pediatrician, Preventive Car

Assessment of knowledge and practice of pharmacists regarding oral health in Kerman, Iran

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral health is an integral part of general health. Between the different medical professions, pharmacists are one of the groups who encounter patients seeking consultation in the oral health field a lot. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of pharmacists in Kerman, Iran, toward oral health. METHODS: All pharmacists were invited to participate in the study after being informed about the aims of the study. A validated questionnaire with six sections including demographic data, oral hygiene behavior of the participants, the pharmacies’ specifications and products related to oral health, questions related to knowledge, questions related to practice, and questions related to the participants’ assessment were filled out by the participants. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, and descriptive results were presented in tables and charts. The chi-square statistical tests were used to explore any association between variables. RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 81 participants. Most of the participants were male and the mean age was 38 ± 10. The pharmacists’ mean knowledge of oral health was 6.5 out of 10 which places them in the medium knowledge range. The performance of pharmacists when encountering oral problems was prescribing analgesics in 79% of cases for tooth aches. There was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge score between different age and gender groups (P = 0.500). CONCLUSION: The results show a medium knowledge of pharmacists on oral health topics. Considering their own desire plans to train and educate in oral health fields to promote oral health seem necessary

Oral Health Behavior of Parents as a Predictor of Oral Health Status of Their Children

Copyright © 2013 Elham Bozorgmehr et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction. It is widely acknowledged that the behavior of parents affects their children’s health. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between oral health behavior of parents and oral health status and behavior of their children in a sample of preschool children in Iran.Method and Material. A random sample of over-five-year-old preschool children and their parents were enrolled in the study. Selection of schools was by clustering method. Parents were asked to fill a piloted questionnaire which included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, oral health behaviors of children and their parents.Oral health status of childre

Improving oral health status of preschool children using motivational interviewing method

BACKGROUND: Oral diseases are common chronic diseases that are affected by human health behavior. One-way to promote health behaviors can be achieved through education. The present study aims to assess the effect of an oral health education program using motivational interviewing (MI) method on oral health status of preschool children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study recruited 222 volunteer children and their parents from 10 elementary schools into a community trial. At baseline, plaque, gingival and decayed, missing, and filled teeth indexes were measured in the children. They were randomly allocated into test groups where they and their parents received oral health education using MI and the control group received traditional oral health education. The test group had recall and postal reminder during 6 months of the study, but there was no reminder for the control group. After 6 months, the same oral health indexes were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) by t-test, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon signed ranks test. P < 0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: The results showed that after both oral health education programs, differences of plaque index (PI) (P = 0.000) and gingival index (P = 0.000) were significant between the two groups. The number of children with healthy gingiva and low PI were more frequent in the test group after intervention. CONCLUSION: Considering the limitations of this study, oral health status of children after education of parents using MI was observed, and it should be considered in oral health education programs

Oral health status of a sample of disabled population in Iran

BACKGROUND: A wide range of oral health conditions has been studies in disabled populations. Many studies showed that the oral health of individuals who were disabled was poor and their oral treatment needs were greater than those of the general population. This study aimed to determine caries experience, levels of oral hygiene,periodontal health and prevalence of malocclusion in a sample of disabled subjects. METHODS: Five special care needs schools were randomly selected from the list of schools in Kerman and all attendants were examined for dental status on the basis of WHO criteria, gingival health and oral hygiene behaviors. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and chi-square tests. RESULTS: There were 297 participants in the study. The most frequent group of disability was mental retard. The mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score was 5.14. Ninety percent of subjects had gingival inflammation. There was no significant (P = 0.34) difference between caries experiences of different disable groups. CONCLUSIONS: Oral hygiene of disabled groups was poor and their caries experience rate was very high. Special oral health care program for them is recommended

Quality appraisal of published qualitative dental, medical and health ‎researches‏ ‏in Iranian Persian language journals

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study aimed to determine the rate of published qualitative research in the field of public health including dental researches in Iran and to appraise their quality. METHODS: A total of 165 articles which published in 170 Iranian Medical Journals between years 2000 and 2014 were found eligible to the study. 48 papers were selected randomly. The papers were appraised by two calibrated reviewer using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) appraisal framework for qualitative research. RESULTS: Only 2 studies (about 4%) were on dental topics. About 82% (38-48) studies had sufficient reporting regarding aims, study design, recruitment and data collection, data analysis, finding and implication of research. Only 12 articles (25%) had an adequate discussion of the study limitations. Overall, the assessment showed that 27 papers (about 56%) of studies were well conducted. CONCLUSION: Qualitative methods are underutilized on dentistry topics, and the quality of qualitative research on health topics in medical journals of Iran is mediocre