A science metric study of Iranian published articles about oral health-related quality of life

BACKGROUND AND AIM: A new perspective on health suggested that the ultimate goal of dental care, namely good oral hygiene, should no longer merely is seen as the absence of caries or periodontal disease; a patient's mental and social well-being should be considered as well. The concept of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) captures the aim of this new perspective. The present article aimed to describe the published studies carried out to date in Iran on OHRQoL. METHODS: After adequate searching, 28 articles were reviewed published up to beginning 2013. RESULTS: Among the reviewed articles, there were 9 studies in which the OHRQoL questionnaires have been validated in Farsi, 15 studies in which the OHRQoL has been evaluated in a specific group of patients and 4 were interventional studies. CONCLUSION: Further precise studies are necessary in this regard in Iran especially in the field of intervention. KEYWORDS: Oral Health, Quality of Life, Ira

Assessment of oral health-related quality of life: Comparison of two measurement tools

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Development of patient-based outcome measures has enhanced our ability to assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Present study aimed to compare the performance of the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) as two methods of assessment of oral health-related quality of life. METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey, a sample of 400 healthy participants which were 18-65 years old was recruited in Kerman School of Dentistry, Iran. Main measurement tools were the validated Persian version of GOHAI and OHIP- 14 questionnaires. Data were collected by means of personal interview. Internal consistency and discriminant validity were carried out to compare the two measures. RESULTS: The internal consistencies of both tools were acceptable and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the scores was 0.739. Both measures discriminated between dentate subjects over and under 25 natural teeth and wearing removable dentures or not, both also showed significant associations with dental attendance, self-rated oral health and satisfaction with oral health status. CONCLUSION: Both GOHAI and OHIP-14 are appropriate instruments with equal power for survey of OHRQoL on under-elderly population. KEYWORDS: Oral Health, Quality of Life; Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL); Oral Health Impact Profile- 14 (OHIP-14); Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI

Validation of a Persian Short-Form Version of a Standardised Questionnaire Assessing Oral Cancer Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes Among Dentists

Objectives: Oral cancer is a global health problem; however, many dentists lack the necessary skills, knowledge and capacity to diagnose oral cancers early. This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of a Persian short-form version of a standardised questionnaire to assess dentists’ knowledge, practice and attitudes towards oral cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in May 2015 in Tehran, Iran. An original 39-item English-language questionnaire developed by Yellowitz et al. was translated into Persian using forward and backward translation methods. A total of 15 dental professionals were asked to assess the questionnaire for content validity. Based on their feedback, a 20-item short-form version was prepared, including six demographic, six knowledge, four attitude and four practice items. The translated short-form questionnaire was subsequently distributed to 973 general dental practitioners attending a dental conference in Tehran. Internal consistency and reliability were assessed with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and item-total correlation calculations. Results: A total of 13 professionals and 313 general dentists participated in the study (response rates: 86.7% and 32.2%, respectively). After the elimination of six items (two knowledge, two attitude and two practice items), the validity and reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed. Conclusion: The final Persian 14-item version of the questionnaire had acceptable validity and internal consistency. These results indicate that researchers can use this translated short-form version to evaluate oral cancer knowledge, attitudes and practices among Persian-speaking dentists; this will allow for a comparison of data between different populations

Validation of an Ultrashort Persian Version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-5) Questionnaire

Objective: To validate the ultrashort (5-item) Persian version of OHIP by investigating its psychometric properties. Material and Methods: Construct validity was assessed by examining the correlation between OHIP-5 scores and self-reported oral health status, judgment for dental treatment needs and the number of natural teeth. Reliability was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha and corrected item-total correlation. Effect size (ES) and Standardized Response Mean (SRM) were calculated for the responsiveness of the scale and factor analysis was done by measuring Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO), Bartlett’s sphericity test and scree plot. Results: In 430 subjects (mean age 41.56+/-11.35 years, 56% female) the correlations between OHIP-5 scores and mentioned items were significant (p<0.01) indicating sufficient construct validity. The reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of the OHIP-5 was above the recommended 0.7 thresholds (0.809) and considered well. For evaluation of responsiveness, the ES was measured to be 5.604 and the SRM was 1.5. Moreover, in the confirmatory factor analysis, the unidimensional model for OHIP5 approved by indices (KMO=0.81, p<0.001 for Bartlett sphericity). Conclusion: The Persian version of OHIP-5 is a precise, valid, reliable and unidimensional instrument for assessing oral health-related quality of life among the general adult population

Molecular markers as an indicator in the malignant potential of oral lichen planus: A systematic review

ACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic, autoimmune, inflammatory disease. The progression of OLP to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has generated a longstanding controversy about the details of this malignant transformation potential. This study aimed to do a systematic review on the molecular markers related to the malignant transformation of OLP. METHODS: We searched the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane and Thomson Reuters Web of Science (1990-2015) with the MeSH key words of: (“oral lichenoid reaction”, “oral lichenoid lesion”, “oral lichenoid eruption”, “oral lichen planus” “lichen planus”, “lichenoid”) AND (“malignant transformation”, “premalignant character”, “cancerization”, “pre-neoplasm”, “squamous cell carcinoma”). The reviewers screened the identified publications in three steps according to title, abstract and full text, extracted all the investigated markers in screened articles and finally classified the markers according to the frequency. Extracted data were saved in Excel software. RESULTS: Out of 570 articles, 66 were finally enrolled in the study. The most frequent evaluated markers were p53, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Ki67, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bax, p21, and caspase-3. CONCLUSION: The present study concluded that there were some documented evidences for association between malignant transformation of OLP and seven molecular markers (p53, COX-2, Ki67, Bcl-2, Bax, p21, and caspase-3). KEYWORDS: Biomarkers; Tumor; Gene Expression; Oral Lichen Planu

Risk Factors Associated with Denture Stomatitis in Healthy Subjects Attending a Dental School in Southeast Iran

Objectives: There is scant information regarding the multifactorial aetiology of denture stomatitis (DS) in the world and, despite its frequency, associated factors are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors that may be associated with this lesion. Methods: A total of 70 edentulous patients, all wearing removable dentures, were divided into two groups. The test group comprised 43 patients with DS and the control group comprised 27 subjects with clinically healthy palatal mucosa. A thorough history-taking and physical examination were carried out; the subjects also answered a questionnaire. The serum level of vitamin A for each subject was assayed from a blood sample taken after the examination. Results: This study showed a significant relationship between the incidence of DS and three major factors: denture age (in terms of years), the practitioner manufacturing the dentures (general dental practitioner versus dental hygienist), and the nightlong wearing of dentures. Also, the vitamin A serum level was low in 94.29% of all subjects (cases and controls). Conclusion: Although many predisposing conditions were related to this situation, the most important risk factor was the continuous use of the dentures

The Experiences of Medical and Dental Personnel Regarding Informing their Patients about the Diagnosis of Head and Neck Cancer

Introduction: One of the main challenges regarding the patients with cancer, is to inform them about their disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate outlooks and experiences of medical and dental staff experts in Kerman, Iran, regarding the method of informing the diagnosis of head and neck (HN) cancer to patients and their relatives. Method: In this qualitative study, the data were obtained through deep interviews, and focus group discussions. The target groups were faculty members of the departments of oral medicine, oral and maxillo-facial surgery, and oncology, nurses of the departments of oral diseases and oncology, and postgraduate students of the department of oral medicine in Kerman university of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran (25 individuals). Aim-based sampling was carried out and continued till the saturation of data. The data were analyzed using content analysis method. Results: Two major classifications were derived. “Truth-telling improving factors” of them, “giving the patients an opportunity for decision making for treatment plan” was the most important factor; and “truth-telling avoiding factors” of them, "close relatives insist to avoid telling the truth to the patients” was the most important factor. Conclusion: In spite of the fact that most of the interviewees believed in telling the truth to the patients, practitioners should consider several factors such as patient's family preference, as well as patients’ anxiety and physical and psychological conditions. It would be reasonable if health care workers train to deal with the patients having cancer. Keywords: Medicine, Dentistry, Head and neck cancer, Qualitative researc

Oral health related quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in the year 2012

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study was investigation of oral and dental side effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in patients with DM type 2. METHODS: In this descriptive, analytic study 121 patients were participated by consecutive method based on the type of diabetes and the age. After the subjects received adequate explanations about the necessity of carrying out such a study, a questionnaire was handed into each patient who gave their consent to take part in the study. Oral lesions consisted of ulcers, erythema, leukoplakia, erythroplakia, candidiasis, angular cheilitis, median rhomboid glossitis, and denture stomatitis based on oral examination. The OHQoL were surveyed by oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation test, T-test, and χ2 by SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 121 patients with diabetes were evaluated in this study [31 males (25.6%) and 90 females (74.4%)]. In this study, there was no significant correlation between OHQoL and decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), periodontal disease index (PDI). OHQoL was associated with higher ages and higher levels of blood sugar (P = 0.002, P = 0.016). The average of OHIP score significantly was increased by xerostomia experience (P = 0.010). CONCLUSION: In this survey, the influence of oral manifestation on OHQoL was low. Xerostomia was the most important symptom in diabetic patients that causes decreasing OHQoL. Age and blood sugar had more influence on this matter as well. KEYWORDS: Diabetes Mellitus; Oral Manifestation; Oral Health Related Quality of Lif

The impact of laminate veneer restoration on oral health-related quality of life: A case series study

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Laminate veneer restorations exhibit excellent ability to reproduce the natural teeth regarding esthetic and biomechanics. The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of laminate veneers on oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL). METHODS: In this case series study, the impact of treatment on OHQol was measured using the standard questionnaire OHIP-14. This tool was applied to 19 patients who visited the private office of restorative and cosmetic specialist before and six months after treatment. RESULTS: The maximum score recorded by Oral Health Impact Profile-14 was 34 before treatment, with 31 after treatment. The average score decreased from 13.1 ± 9.44 (before treatment) to 12 ± 10.6 (after treatment). Comparison of the frequencies of patient’s responses to OHQoL suggested that changes in OHQoL for question number 4 (uncomfortable to eat food) and question number 9 (difficult to relax) were significant, respectively (P = 0.03, P = 0.02) and for question number 10 (feeling embarrassed) were nearly significant (P = 0.07). Nineteen subjects in this study exhibited improvement in OHQoL. CONCLUSION: Esthetic dental treatment using laminate veneers would significantly affect OHQoL enhancement in some aspects. KEYWORDS: Oral Health; Quality of Life; Cosmetic Dentistry; Laminate Venee

Clinical and denture-related characteristics in patients with epulis fissuratum: a retrospective 58 case series

Introduction: Epulis fissuratum is one of the important denture-related mucosal lesions that occurs around the borders of an ill-fitting denture. The purpose of this study was to analyze the cases of epulis fissuratum admitted in the department of oral medicine, Kerman Dental School in relation to the demographic, denture-related and clinical findings. Materials &Methods: Medical files of all patients referred to the Department of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology, Kerman Dental School, Iran from 1999 to 2014 were reviewed and 58 cases with the diagnosis of epulis fissuratum with complete and acceptable data were illustrated. Results: The frequency of epulis fissuratum was 2.9 % of the total number of pathologies. The disorder had been occurred predominantly in the sixth decade of life (41.4%) and more often among females (79.3%). The frequency of epulis fissuratum was higher for a length of denture use of more than 10 years. Patients reported pain associated with the lesion (70.6%). Conclusion: The knowledge of some facts, especially the quality of dentures and level of denture hygiene in patients with epulis fissuratum supports the importance of the prevention of the lesion, hence the dentists should instruct their patients who have worn dentures how to prevent this lesion