The DREEM, part 1: measurement of the educational environment in an osteopathy teaching program

Background Measurement of the educational environment has become more common in health professional education programs. Information gained from these investigations can be used to implement and measure changes to the curricula, educational delivery and the physical environment. A number of questionnaires exist to measure the educational environment, and the most commonly utilised of these is the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). Methods The DREEM was administered to students in all year levels of the osteopathy program at Victoria University (VU), Melbourne, Australia. Students also completed a demographic survey. Inferential and correlational statistics were employed to investigate the educational environment based on the scores obtained from the DREEM. Results A response rate of 90% was achieved. The mean total DREEM score was 135.37 (+/- 19.33) with the scores ranging from 72 to 179. Some subscales and items demonstrated differences for gender, clinical phase, age and whether the student was in receipt of a government allowance. Conclusions There are a number of areas in the program that are performing well, and some aspects that could be improved. Overall students rated the VU osteopathy program as more positive than negative. The information obtained in the present study has identified areas for improvement and will enable the program leaders to facilitate changes. It will also provide other educational institutions with data on which they can make comparisons with their own programs

Eating habits in older people in Greece: The role of age, dental status and chewing difficulties

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of age-related parameters on the dietary preferences in a Greek community-dwelling sample. 130 participants aged between 18 and 92 years were interviewed and clinically examined. Data were collected on their socio-demographic characteristics, their dental status, the oral complaints, their chewing difficulties and the frequency of eating a variety of food types. The results revealed that increasing age was associated with increased frequency of consumption of fish, grains and vegetables. Impaired dental status and chewing difficulties did not affect the frequency of eating meat and other " difficult to chew" food, but it was related to more frequent consumption of softer food (chicken, fish, grains, and dairy products). The older Greeks did not exclude any food type from their diet, because of dental impairment. To overcome chewing problems they used various preparing methods to consume their favorite food. The dietary patterns of the older participants adhere to the traditional Mediterranean diet greater than those of the younger ones, revealing the various cultural and social parameters which influence food selection. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Variation in oral health parameters between older people with and without mental disorders

This study investigated the variation in the oral examination findings and the subjective oral complaints between older people with and without mental disorders. An interview and an oral investigation were performed in a group of older patients with mental disorders with a mean age of 71.9 years and in a group of older people without mental disease with a mean age of 70.2 years. The analysis did not reveal any statistically significant differences in the dental status of the participants and in the prevalence of oral ulcers and stomatitis. However xerostomia, burning mouth, dysgeusia, and oral malodor complaints were more frequent in patients with mental disorders, whereas general chewing complaints were less frequent. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that psychiatric illness was significantly associated with more complaints of dysgeusia and fewer chewing complaints. The increased prevalence of specific oral complaints in the older patients with mental disorders revealed the significant psychopathological compound of these symptoms. ©2013 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc

The masseteric jaw‐jerk reflex in older dentate subjects and edentulous denture wearers

The aim of the present study was to investigate any variations in the jaw‐jerk reflex in edentulous subjects wearing complete dentures, compared to an age and sex‐matched dentate group. The reflex was elicited by chin taps in 22 older dentate subjects with mean age 61.3 years and in 22 denture wearers with mean age 63.1 years. Surface electromyographic recordings were obtained from the masseter muscle of the preferred chewing side during mandibular rest and at moderate clenching (40% of the individual maximum clenching masseteric EMG activity). A jaw‐jerk reflex was recorded in all subjects at least once, and its occurrence during clenching was reduced compared to rest. The occurrence of the reflex was however increased in the denture wearers in both experimental conditions, while minor differences were observed in the values for latency, duration and amplitude between the two dental status groups. These results suggest that under the present experimental conditions the periodontal ligament receptors might inhibit reflex activity. Multiple sensory interactions are expected in denture wearing. However a particular source of sensory feedback is provided by the stimulation of mucosal receptors from the acrylic denture base. Since the occurrence of the jaw‐jerk at clench in the denture wearers was also reduced compared to the rest experiments, a potential inhibitory effect of the mucosal receptors can be speculated. According to the findings in the present study the loss of teeth and the rehabilitation with complete dentures do not severely disrupt the reflex activity investigated. Copyright © 1995, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Self-reported oral complaints in older mentally ill patients

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported oral complaints in older hospitalized mentally ill patients and relate them to the primary psychiatric diagnosis. Methods: A total of 89 older hospitalized psychiatric patients consented to participate in the study, and were interviewed and clinically examined. The medical data were obtained from the hospital's medical records. Results: The mean age of the patients was 73years (range 59-94years). A total of 54% suffered from psychotic disorders, 26% from dementia and 20% from mood disorders. The most common oral complaint was xerostomia (45%), followed by dysgeusia (28%), oral malodor (26%), pain when chewing (25%), burning mouth (23%), chewing difficulties (12%) and sialorrhoea (2%). The prevalence of burning mouth, dysgeusia and oral malodor differed significantly among psychiatric diagnoses and was increased in patients with mood disorders. A close association was recorded between burning mouth, dysgeusia, xerostomia and oral malodor complaints. Stepwise logistic regression showed that the use of antidepressants and burning mouth complaints were significantly associated with mood disorders. Conclusions: An increased prevalence of oral complaints was recorded in the elderly psychiatric patients with mood disorders. Those patients should be systematically evaluated and managed for oral complaints, and particularly for burning mouth. The close association between burning mouth complaints and mood disorders requires further investigation to clarify the potential diagnostic value of the symptom for mood disorders. © 2012 Japan Geriatrics Society