Development of a technical aid for occlusal adjustment during dental treatment under general anesthesia

General anesthesia can increase the volume of the tongue. A large tongue between the upper and lower teeth may be a serious obstacle, especially for tapping during occlusal adjustments in prosthetic treatment. We developed a tongue retractor to eliminate interference by the tongue. This study assesses the effect of the tongue retractor on occlusal adjustment time and describes two patients in which the tongue retractor was used. Methods The study involved five patients and two dentists. Measurements were performed during occlusal adjustment of the molars. The time from when the dentist took hold of the articulating paper to the first tap was compared in situations with and without the tongue retractor. Results The mean occlusal adjustment time was significantly shorter (p <0.05) than without the tongue retractor for both dentist A and B in all patients. Conclusion Use of the tongue retractor considerably shortened occlusal adjustment times under general anesthesia. Clinical reports We have been using the tongue retractor in clinical practice for 7 years. Two individual patients are described. One was a 34-year-old woman with cerebral palsy who underwent full mouth reconstruction, consisting of prosthetic appliances (full cast crown and resin facing crown) for 26 teeth. The second was a 29-year-old man with Down’s syndrome who underwent adjustment of mandibular position by prosthetic treatment of molars

COVID-19-related stress, exercise, and oral health-related quality of life among community-dwelling older adults who participated in the CHEER Iwamizawa project, Japan

This study examined the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related stress, exercise habits, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a sample of 215 community-dwelling older adults in Japan (57 men, 158 women; M-age = 74.2 years, SD = 6.0). Data were collected during wellness checkups in October 2020 and included participants' demographic characteristics, measures of instrumental activities of daily living and depressive tendencies, number of teeth, oral hypofunction, OHRQoL, COVID-19-related stress, and exercise habits. Four mutually exclusive groups were created, using the presence or absence of COVID-19-related stress and lack of exercise habits as risk factors for poor OHRQoL (no COVID-19-related stress and no lack of exercise, COVID-19-related stress only, lack of exercise habits only, and both COVID-19-related stress and lack of exercise habits). Poisson regression with robust standard errors provided the prevalence ratio for poor OHRQoL. The presence of both COVID-19-related stress and lack of exercise habits (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.31- 3.69) was associated with poor OHRQoL. The results indicate that COVID-19-related stress and exercise habits should be considered when designing oral health and public health initiatives

Oral frailty and carriage of oral Candida in community-dwelling older adults (Check-up to discover Health with Energy for senior Residents in Iwamizawa; CHEER Iwamizawa)

Objective To examine the association between oral frailty and oral Candida carriage as a general indicator of deteriorating oral function in older adults. Background Older adults exhibit an elevated risk of oral candidiasis caused by Candida. Although many studies have identified factors associated with oral Candida carriage, none have evaluated its relationship with oral function. Materials and Methods This study included 210 community-dwelling older adults aged >= 60 years who participated in wellness checks. Fungal flora expression in saliva samples was evaluated to identify oral C. albicans and C. glabrata. Participants were categorised by detection of neither strain (group 1), either one of the strains (group 2), or both strains (group 3). The relationship between oral Candida carriage and oral frailty was evaluated by multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results The participants included 58 men and 152 women with a mean age of 74.2 +/- 6.1 years. A total of 88 (41.9%), 94 (44.8%) and 28 (13.3%) participants were assigned to groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. In the multinomial logistic regression analysis, significant associations were observed between group 1 and group 2 for "Have you choked on your tea or soup recently?" and the number of applicable oral frailty items. Between group 1 and group 3, significant associations were observed for the number of remaining teeth, masticatory performance and the number of applicable oral frailty items. Conclusion We obtained basic data useful for intervention studies aimed at verifying whether oral function management prevents deterioration of the oral bacterial flora