Frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets starts at early age

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the habitual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and sweets in relation to mothers' behaviours and practices with their infants. Methods: We targeted mothers with children 1-24 months (N=200) visiting Public Child Health clinics in Finland. During routine visits mothers (N=179) volunteered to complete a self-administered anonymous questionnaire about their child's health-related behaviours (consumption of sweets and SSBs, tooth brushing frequency). The questionnaires also included questions about the mothers' background (age, education) and health-related behaviours (consumption of sweets, tooth brushing frequency and smoking habits). The children were categorised by age, and Chi-squared tests, Fischer's exact test, ANOVA and correlation coefficient served for the statistical analyses. Results: Of those under 6 months, almost half (44%) received SSBs, and 45% of them more than once a week. Their use gradually increased by age such that by 19-24 months, all received SSBs at least sometimes, and 56%, frequently. Fewer than half of the mothers (33-43%) gave sweets to their children between the ages of 10-15 months, but 92% by the age of 2 years. Children's twice-a-day tooth brushing increased from 14% to 33%. The child's age and tooth brushing frequency correlated with the consumption of sugar-sweetened products (r=0.458). Conclusions: Infants frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened products begins early in childhood. Thus, tackling these common risk factors in the first years of life is essential and calls for health-promoting actions in multiple areas that target primarily the parents of infants.Peer reviewe

Long-term effects of smoking on tooth loss after cessation among middle-aged Finnish adults: the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study

Abstract Background Despite smoking cessation efforts, cigarette smoking remains a serious general and oral health problem. We aimed to investigate the putative benefits of smoking cessation on dentition and to analyse whether the time elapsed since smoking cessation associated positively with the remaining number of teeth. Methods This cross-sectional study analyses data from the 46-year follow-up of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study 1966 (NFBC1966). A total of 5 540 subjects participated in this cross-sectional study, which utilises both clinical dental examinations and mailed questionnaires. We used the following information on smoking: status (current, former, never), years of smoking (current, former) and years elapsed since smoking cessation (former). Self-reported and clinically measured number of teeth (including third molars) served as alternative outcomes. We used binary logistic regression models to analyse the dichotomised number of teeth (‘0–27’, ’28–32’) and then calculated unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the smoking variables (never smoker as the reference). Gender, education, tooth brushing frequency, diabetes and alcohol use served as confounders for the adjusted models. Results Ten years or more of smoking associated with tooth loss; this effect was the strongest among men who reported having an ongoing smoking habit (self-reported outcome: adjusted OR = 1.74, CI = 1.40–2.16) and the weakest among women classified as former smokers (self-reported outcome: adjusted OR = 1.27, CI = 1.00–1.62). Conclusions This study shows that smoking has long-term effects on tooth loss even after cessation. The findings support smoking cessation efforts to reduce oral health risks

Oral health behaviour, attitude towards, and knowledge of dental caries among mothers of 0- to 3-year-old children living in Kaunas, Lithuania

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the oral health behaviours of mothers with young children and their attitudes towards dental caries. Methods The survey targeted all mothers with children under 3 years attending a primary healthcare centre (Department of Family Medicine at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences [LSMU] Hospital) in Kaunas, Lithuania. The Bioethics Centre of the LSMU approved the study (No. BEC‐OF‐14). Of 176 mothers, 123 (69.9%) took part in the 2016–2017 study. The self‐administered questionnaire enquired about mothers' attitudes towards oral health and behaviours related to the potential transmission of oral bacteria to their children, dietary habits, tooth brushing, smoking, and background factors. The chi‐squared test and univariate/multivariate logistic regression analyses served for the statistical analysis. (p values ≤ .05 indicated statistically significant differences). Results Most (76; 68.5%) of the mothers brushed their teeth twice daily, and 97 (87.4%) reported themselves as nonsmokers. We found a statistically significant association between mothers who brushed their own teeth twice daily and those who cleaned their children's teeth likewise (OR = 5.42, 95% CI [1.28–6.63]; p = .005). We observed significant associations among mothers who gave their children sugar‐sweetened beverages (SSBs) daily and the mothers' college or lower education (OR = 6.51, 95% CI [1.59–27.19]; p = .01) and maternal tooth brushing less than twice daily (OR = 3.88, 95% CI [0.99–15.18]; p = .05). Conclusions A majority of mothers who took part in this survey did not brush their children's teeth as recommended. Mothers with a lower education and who brushed their teeth less than twice daily offered their children SSBs more frequently.publishedVersio

Patterns of pre-treatment drug abuse, drug treatment history and characteristics of addicts in methadone maintenance treatment in Iran

Peer reviewe

Evaluation of a special needs dental workshop for health professionals and students in Trinidad and Tobago

AimsThis study aimed to evaluate a special needs dental workshop for dentists, allied dental health professionals and students in Trinidad and Tobago.MethodsThis feedback study conducted in 2019–2020, included two surveys, one at the time of the workshop and a second survey one year after it. The first survey utilized an anonymous self-administered questionnaire enquiring about the reason for attendance, profession/education, demographics, and difficulties faced in treating patients with special needs. The follow-up study used an online survey tool assessing the workshop and queried comments/suggestions. The Chi-square test served for statistical analysis.ResultsOf the 176 attendees 131 participated (response: 74.4%). The majority (81.5%) were females. Most attendees were dental students (50.3%) or dentists (38.9%). Knowledge acquisition (73.1%) and professional development (14.2%) were the main motives for attendance while communication (31.8%) and non-compliance (34.5%) were the main problems faced in treating patients with special needs. The follow-up evaluation (post-workshop) (response: 72.5%) showed that most participants (90.5%) assessed the workshop as positive; 80% reported an increase in their knowledge and 64.2% perceived a need for further education.ConclusionThese findings suggest a considerable demand for special needs dental services and continuing education and show that workshops can actively affect patient care

A global survey of national oral health policies and its coverage for young children

BackgroundThere is no accessible information on countries with oral health policies. The purpose of this study was to identify World Dental Federation (FDI) member countries with oral health policies and their scope and extent of coverage of oral health care for young children.MethodsThis international survey recruited chief dental officers, oral health advisors to national ministries of health, and other key informants of the 158 FDI member countries between December 2020 and December 2021. The survey tool was administered online to the study participants. Key questions explored the following outcome measures: countries with oral health policies; the thrusts of the oral health policies; policy thrusts targeting young children; and dental care plans as a component of a universal health care plan. Descriptive statistics were conducted to determine the number of countries with any of the study outcome measures and coverage per country.ResultsSixty (38%) of the 158 FDI member-countries responded to the survey. Forty-eight (55.2%) of the 60 countries had a national oral health policy document or position statement on oral health; 54 (62.1%) countries had plans on universal health care, and 42 (48.3%) included dental care within their universal health care plan. The most common policy thrusts addressing the oral health needs of children were the promotion of oral hygiene (71.7%), provision of fluoride products for children (53.3%), collaboration with primary care providers (35%), and prenatal oral health education (50%). There were differences in the scope of oral health care coverage and the coverage for young children between continents as well as between countries. Europe had many countries with children-friendly oral health policy coverage.ConclusionsAbout half of the surveyed countries had a national oral health policy. There were variations in the scope of oral health care coverage, particularly for young children, both between continents and among individual countries. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the landscape of oral health policies globally. Such insights can help inform targeted interventions to enhance oral health policies, thereby contributing to improved oral health outcomes on a global level

Psychological distress, oral health behaviour and related factors among adolescents: Finnish School Health Promotion Study

Background: Psychological distress may affect health behaviour. We examined how psychological distress, social phobia (SP) and anxiety associated with tooth brushing among Finnish adolescents with respect to gender, school grade, parents' education, family structure, smoking and perceived general health.Methods: This study is part of the Finnish national School Health Promotion Study (SHP). The study population comprised a representative sample of Finnish 15-year-olds (N = 45,877). Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) served to assess SP and anxiety. A questionnaire enquired about the respondents' oral health habits (tooth brushing, smoking), background factors (age, gender, family structure and parents' education) and perceived general health. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression analyses served in the statistical analyses.Results: About two-thirds of the girls (66.7%) and less than half of the boys (40.1%) followed the international recommendation of tooth brushing twice daily. Girls reported possible problems with SP and GAD more often than boys did. Those reporting possible problems with SP or moderate or severe anxiety brushed their teeth at least twice daily less often than did those reporting no possible problems with SP and those with no, slight or mild anxiety. Logistic regression analyses showed that male gender (OR = 3.2; 95% CI 3.1-3.4), parents' basic education (OR = 1.5; 95% CI 1.4-1.5), and adolescents' perception of their current state of health as moderate, fairly or very poor (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.5-2.0) associated with not brushing teeth twice daily. Gender-specific logistic regression analyses showed that boys who smoked (OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.6-1.8) were less likely than non-smokers to brush their teeth twice daily.Conclusion: Adolescents with psychological distress, such as possible SP or possible general anxiety, had less favourable oral health behaviour. Psychological distress indicates a greater risk for oral health problems already in adolescence.</p

Psychological Distress, Dental Health, and Dental Fear among Finnish University Students: A National Survey

The aim of this study was to study the association between dental fear, psychologicaldistress, and perceived symptoms of teeth controlled for age, gender, educational sector, andtobacco use. The data from the Finnish University Student Health Survey 2016 targeting students (n= 10,000) of academic universities and universities of applied sciences were used.  Psychologicaldistress was measured with the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10 (CORE-10) and the GeneralHealth Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) and dental fear with the question ‘Do you feel scared aboutreceiving dental care?’. The study included 3110 students. In logistic regression analyses thosewith psychological distress (measured with CORE-10 and GHQ-12) and those reporting teeth-relatedsymptoms were more likely than their counterparts to have high dental fear.  In gender-specificanalyses men with psychological distress (measured with CORE-10) and women with teeth-relatedsymptoms were more likely to have high levels of dental fear.  Finnish university students withpsychological distress and teeth-related symptoms were more likely to experience higher levels ofdental fear than their counterparts were.  The results of this study support possible commonvulnerability factors that dental fear and other psychological disorders may share.</p

Oral Health Behaviour of Nine-Year-Old Children and Their Parents in Sarajevo

The oral health situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the worst in Europe. We investigated the oral health behaviour of primary schoolchildren and their parents in Sarajevo. This was an anonymous cross-sectional survey among third-grade schoolchildren and their parents’ oral health habits in Canton Sarajevo. Cluster random sampling yielded a representative sample from all the public schools in Canton Sarajevo in 2019. The survey targeted a total of 441 children and 365 parents. Two thirds (66.5%) of the children reported brushing their teeth twice daily, and almost half of them failed to use fluoride toothpaste daily. Girls brushed their teeth significantly more often than did the boys (74% vs. 58%, p = 0.004). Children living in residential areas of middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) reported better oral health habits than did those living in areas of low SES. Our study showed that Sarajevo children’s oral health habits were poor. One-third of the nine-year-olds failed to brush their teeth according to recommendations, and almost half of them failed to use fluoride toothpaste daily. Improving the children’s oral health in the future will urgently require national oral health promotion and prevention programmes.</p

Validity of self-reported number of teeth in middle-aged Finnish adults: the Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study 1966

BackgroundWe examined the validity of self-reported number of teeth in middle-aged adults by using representative cohort data to compare corresponding self-reported and clinical values.MethodsThis validity study is part of the representative 46-year-old follow-up of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) Study. Mailed questionnaires (n=5950) requested information on self-reported number of teeth and background variables (education, tooth brushing and smoking), while clinical oral health examinations (n=1891) assessed the number of teeth (the gold standard'). The main analyses compared the self-reported and clinical values for the number of teeth in 1669 participants. Scatterplot and Bland-Altman plot served for visual analyses, and alternative correlation coefficients (Pearson, Spearman, intraclass) for numerical comparisons separately for men and women, with stratification according to background variables.ResultsThe clinical assessment revealed that the mean value for the number of teeth was 27.46 (SD=2.38), while the corresponding value based on self-reported information was 27.48 (SD=2.78). According to the Bland-Altman plot, the mean difference between the clinical and self-reported values was -0.02 (95% limits of agreement, LoA: -3.37 to 3.32). The observed ranges of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) among men and women were 0.72 to 0.95 and 0.72 to 0.85, respectively, depending on the background variables.ConclusionsSelf-reported number of teeth in middle-aged Finnish adults agreed closely with the corresponding clinical measure.</div