Oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices of people living with diabetes in South Asia : a scoping review

Diabetes increases the risk of oral health complications. This review aimed to synthesise the current evidence on the oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices of people living with diabetes in South Asian countries and provide recommendations on possible strategies for addressing the gaps in oral health care in this population, including the role of non-dental professionals. Using a scoping review framework, six electronic databases (Ovid Medline, CINAHL, ProQuest Central, Scopus, Web of Science and Embase) were searched to identify the relevant literature published between January 2000 and December 2021. The data were extracted into three main categories based on the review’s aims, and further refined into sub-categories. A total of 23 studies were included. The review identified that while people with diabetes living in South Asian countries had some level of awareness about oral health and limited care practices to maintain good oral health, there were gaps in knowledge, and there were areas where their oral health practices and attitudes could be improved. The findings suggest a need for developing targeted oral health policies as well as implementing integrated oral health care interventions involving non-dental professionals to improve the oral health outcomes of people with diabetes

Driving research impact through interprofessional collaboration (IPC)

Aim and intended educational objectives: This workshop aims to showcase the value of IPC in the generation and dissemination of research, knowledge translation and research impact, and share with participants the best strategies to promote and engage in IPC in research. Educational objectives include: • Understand the value of IPC. • Develop strategies to build IPC. • Learn how to embed impact measures through a program of IPC research. • Understand the importance of ongoing engagement and ensuring transparency/shared vision with stakeholders in IPC

[In Press] Long-term effectiveness of the midwifery initiated oral health-dental service program on maternal oral health knowledge, preventative dental behaviours and the oral health status of children in Australia

Background The Midwifery Initiated Oral Health-Dental Service was developed to train midwives to promote maternal oral health, and a large trial showed it substantially improved the oral health, knowledge and behaviours of pregnant women. Aim Evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the program (post-trial) on maternal oral health knowledge, dental behaviours, and early childhood caries in offspring. Methods A prospective cohort study involving 204 women and children 3-4 years (followed after trial) was conducted in Sydney, Australia from 2017 to 2019. Results The program did not have a significant impact on the study measures. Mothers who received the program did have comparatively better knowledge around preventative behaviours to reduce early childhood caries and significantly more mothers were engaging in a key behaviour of using a cup to feed their child. Overall maternal oral health knowledge and level of education did have a protective effect on the dental decay of children. Higher knowledge and levels of education reduced the odds of having a dmft of one or more by over half (OR 0.473), and almost 80% (OR 0.212) respectively. Conclusions Although the MIOH-DS program was not effective, there is still value in exploring other complementary interventions to improve maternal oral health, especially for disadvantaged families. Future research should focus on co-designing an antenatal and postnatal oral health intervention and exploring its long-term impact on the oral health of children