Oral Health in South Australia - 2008

Oral health in South Australia 2008 provides a comprehensive summary of the oral health of South Australian residents. This publication was developed from a range of surveys conducted by the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) and administrative data provided by state dental services. Information provided in this publication includes data on caries experience and periodontal diseases of children and adults, tooth retention and loss among adults, access to dental care, cost of dental care and the dental labour force. Information on the oral health of Indigenous children and adults is also provided. The publication highlights the recent increase in the level of dental decay among primary and secondary school children, the low percentage of school aged children visiting the school dental service, the extent of individual out-of-pocket expenditure on dental services, and issues with access to dentists and dental hygienists outside of the Adelaide metropolitan area

Oral health awareness and care preferences in patients with diabetes : a qualitative study

Background People with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of oral health problems; however, oral health is currently not included in structured diabetes reviews and education in the UK. Aim and Objectives This study explores the patient experience related to oral health and diabetes, especially in relation to: • Awareness of the link between oral health and diabetes and oral self care needs • Interaction with health professionals in dental and general practice • Preferences for receiving oral health information and education Methods This nested qualitative study involved semi-structured telephone interviews with a purposive sample of 20 participants from a questionnaire study on oral health awareness in patients with diabetes. Interview transcripts were analysed using a thematic framework approach. Results Participants were mostly unaware of the link between oral health and diabetes. Those that had been made aware by a health professional were not given concrete self care advice. Interactions with dental professionals were often limited to informing the dental practice of their diagnosis and current medication. Most participants were in favour of dentists screening for diabetes, but as their general practice was the hub for diabetes care, they felt GPs or nurses should provide oral health information and discuss oral health with patients. Conclusions Written information regarding diabetes and its possible effects on oral health needs to be more readily available to people with diabetes, especially at diagnosis. There may be a place for introducing a structured oral health question in routine diabetes reviews

Associations between poor oral health and reinjuries in male elite soccer players : a cross-sectional self-report study

Background: Although it is well known that oral pathogens can enter the systemic circulation and cause disease, it is largely unknown if poor oral health increases the risk of sports injuries. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between poor oral health and reinjuries in male elite soccer players, adjusted for psychosocial problems and player characteristics. Methods: 184 Players in premier league soccer clubs and 31 elite, junior soccer players in the Netherlands, Belgium and England, were enrolled in a retrospective cross-sectional study. The Sports Injury Risk Indicator, a self assessed questionnaire, was used to obtain information on reinjuries, age and player position, oral health and psychosocial problems. The number of different types of oral health problems was used as an indicator of poor oral health. (SumDental, range 0-2: 0 = no oral health problems, 1 = one type of oral health problem and 2 = two or more types of oral health problems). Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate whether SumDental was associated with reinjuries, after adjustment for psychosocial problems and player characteristics. Results: 37% of the players reported no oral health problems, 43% reported one type of oral health problem and 20% reported two or more types of oral health problems. After full adjustment for age, player position and psychosocial problems (i.e. injury anxiety, psychophysical stress, unhealthy eating habits and dissatisfaction with trainer/team), poor oral health (SumDental) was positively associated with all kind of reinjuries whether analyzed as a continuous variable or as a categorical variable. The fully adjusted odds ratios for SumDental analyzed as a continuous variable were: in relation to repeated exercise-associated muscle cramps: 1.82(95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 3.12), in relation to muscle or tendon reinjury 1.57 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.45) and in relation to multiple types of reinjury 1.88 (95% CI: 1.19, 2.97). Conclusion: The results from this study justify a thorough examination of the effects of oral health problems on the injury risk of playing elite soccer

Oral health beliefs and behaviors of nurse and nurse practitioner students using the HU-DBI inventory: An opportunity for oral health vicarious learning

Background: Oral health access to care issues are resulting in curricular changes to train nursing students as oral health educators and providers. However, little data are available concerning their personal oral health beliefs/behaviors. The study purpose was to gather information from nurse and nurse practitioner students regarding their oral health beliefs and behaviors. Methods: Using the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI), survey data were gathered from nurse and nurse practitioner students as well as dental hygiene students as controls concerning their oral health beliefs and behaviors. Results: Mean HU-DBI scores were higher among nurse practitioner than nursing students, indicating more positive beliefs/behaviors, but both were lower than dental hygiene students. Both nurse and nurse practitioner students reported significantly fewer dental visits and some poorer hygiene practices than controls. Additionally, nursing students were more likely to believe that their teeth were worsening despite brushing. Conclusions: Assessment of personal oral health beliefs/behaviors should occur early in nursing education with mentoring so that optimal modeling can positively impact patients’ oral health. Oral health education opportunities within and among disciplines are discussed

Pediatric Dental Education Improves Interprofessional Healthcare Students’ Clinical Competence in Children’s Oral Health Assessment

Primary care and healthcare providers can facilitate children’s timely referral to a dental home. However, there are few studies of providers’ oral health knowledge and clinical skills. This study aims to improve future healthcare providers’ knowledge, confidence, attitude and clinical competence in assessing children’s oral health. Sixty-five health professional students participated in a 10-week didactic and clinical curriculum on children’s oral health. They completed pre- and post-training questionnaire to assess changes in knowledge, confidence and attitude. Calibrated faculty graded students’ clinical skills on a 24-point grading criterion. Descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test and Pearson correlation were used in data analyses. Students were in dentistry (46%), nursing (28%), medicine (22%), and pharmacy (3%). Students significantly improved in knowledge (t=-7.71, p<.001), confidence (t=-10.30, p=<.001) and attitude (t=-4.24, p=<.001). Students on average scored 83% on clinical competence, with the highest average for fluoride varnish application (96%) and lowest for providing anticipatory guidance (69%). There was a moderate correlation between improvement in knowledge and their clinical skills (r=.39, p=.010). Interprofessional education improves students’ knowledge, confidence, attitude and clinical competence in assessing children’s oral health. Such education is necessary in guiding future providers to gain adequate competence in serving the children’s oral health needs.Keywords: Pediatric Dentistry; Primary Care; Children’s Oral Health; Interprofessional Education; Oral Health Education; Public Health Dentistry; Oral Health Disparity; Access to Care; Clinical Competency; Oral Health Assessmen

Comparative Clinical Study Testing the Effectiveness of School Based Oral Health Education Using Experiential Learning or Traditional Lecturing in 10 Year-Old Children

Background School based oral health education through traditional lecturing has been found successful only in improving oral health knowledge, while has low effectiveness in oral hygiene and gingival health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of experiential learning (EL) oral health education to traditional lecturing (TL), on enhancing oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior as well as oral hygiene, gingival health and caries of 10-year-old children. Methods Eighty-four children were recruited for the EL and 100 for the TL group from 3 locations in Greece. Data regarding oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior were collected via questionnaires. Data regarding dental plaque, gingivitis and caries were collected by clinical examination. The evaluation using questionnaires and clinical examination was assessed at baseline and 6 and 18 months afterwards. Two calibrated pediatric dentists examined the students using a periodontal probe and artificial light. Modified hygiene index (HI) was used for dental plaque recording, the simplified gingival index (GI-S) was used for gingivitis and DMFT, based on BASCD criteria, for dental caries. Based on a dedicated manual, the teacher applied in the classroom the oral health educational program using EL. Results EL group had statistically significant better hygiene than the TL at 6 months (p \u3c 0.05). Within the same group, both groups had enhanced oral health knowledge at 6 and 18 months (p \u3c 0.05) and improved oral health behavior (p \u3e 0.05) and attitude (p \u3e 0.05) at 6 months in comparison to baseline. Conclusion EL program was found more successful than TL in oral hygiene improvement. Both oral health education programs improved the oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of children

Socio-demographics, Oral Health Behavior, and Physical Activity: Factors in Caries Experience Among 19–59 Years Old Adults in a Malaysian Population

Dental caries is one of the common diseases that are attributed by many factors. Many from the adult population are afflicted with dental caries. This study aimed to determine the predictors of developing dental caries among adults. Three hundred and thirty four adults participated in this study. Information gathered includes their socio-demographic backgrounds, oral health behaviour, physical activity level, body mass index, body fat percentages, visceral fat level, and dental missing filled extracted teeth (DMFX) index. All standard protocols were observed and DMFX was examined using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Prevalence of dental caries was 87.4%, inclusive of 61.3% of female respondents with caries experience. Most of the study participants were overweight. Only the consumption of high sugar food (p=0.03) was found to be connected between dental caries and oral health behaviours. Regression analysis (p<0.001) showed that older age (p<0.001), regular visits to dental clinic per year (p=0.012), lower education level (p=0.025), and lower physical activity (p=0.008) were significant factors in developing dental caries among this study population. Older aged adults, frequent appointment with the dentist, lower education in oral health, and lower physical activity were possible factors for dental caries presence

Developing Children's Oral Health Assessment Toolkits Using Machine Learning Algorithm.

ObjectivesEvaluating children's oral health status and treatment needs is challenging. We aim to build oral health assessment toolkits to predict Children's Oral Health Status Index (COHSI) score and referral for treatment needs (RFTN) of oral health. Parent and Child toolkits consist of short-form survey items (12 for children and 8 for parents) with and without children's demographic information (7 questions) to predict the child's oral health status and need for treatment.MethodsData were collected from 12 dental practices in Los Angeles County from 2015 to 2016. We predicted COHSI score and RFTN using random Bootstrap samples with manually introduced Gaussian noise together with machine learning algorithms, such as Extreme Gradient Boosting and Naive Bayesian algorithms (using R). The toolkits predicted the probability of treatment needs and the COHSI score with percentile (ranking). The performance of the toolkits was evaluated internally and externally by residual mean square error (RMSE), correlation, sensitivity and specificity.ResultsThe toolkits were developed based on survey responses from 545 families with children aged 2 to 17 y. The sensitivity and specificity for predicting RFTN were 93% and 49% respectively with the external data. The correlation(s) between predicted and clinically determined COHSI was 0.88 (and 0.91 for its percentile). The RMSEs of the COHSI toolkit were 4.2 for COHSI (and 1.3 for its percentile).ConclusionsSurvey responses from children and their parents/guardians are predictive for clinical outcomes. The toolkits can be used by oral health programs at baseline among school populations. The toolkits can also be used to quantify differences between pre- and post-dental care program implementation. The toolkits' predicted oral health scores can be used to stratify samples in oral health research.Knowledge transfer statementThis study creates the oral health toolkits that combine self- and proxy- reported short forms with children's demographic characteristics to predict children's oral health and treatment needs using Machine Learning algorithms. The toolkits can be used by oral health programs at baseline among school populations to quantify differences between pre and post dental care program implementation. The toolkits can also be used to stratify samples according to the treatment needs and oral health status

Oral Health Care Access in New Hampshire

In this brief, authors Eleanor M. Jaffee, Joan Widmer, and Lisa I. Speropolous provide an overview of the current state of oral health care in New Hampshire. They report that although New Hampshire is rated above the national average on most measures of pediatric oral health, performance varies substantially by county and by region. Access to adequate oral health care for both children and adults is particularly challenging for low-income families in the sparsely populated northern region of the state. Programs that address oral health care access issues by bringing services to those with the greatest need, such as school-based dental sealant programs and mobile dental care units, are among current efforts to improve oral health across the state

Providing Preventive Oral Health Care to Infants and Young Children in Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Early Head Start, and Primary Care Settings

This report focuses on seven oral health programs that provide preventive oral health care to young children (infants, toddlers, and children up to 5 years old) in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Early Head Start (EHS), and primary care settings. All of the programs strive to increase access to preventive oral health care by integrating dental services into primary care settings, WIC clinics, or EHS centers. These programs also rely on primary care providers (physicians, nurses, medical assistants, etc.) or new types of dental hygienists who can practice in community settings to deliver preventive oral health services. Two additional reports in this series describe the remaining programs that provide care in non-dental settings and programs designed to specifically address socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic barriers to preventive oral health care.The findings from the EAs of these programs are synthesized to highlight diverse and innovative strategies that are utilized to provide preventive oral health care in primary care settings, WIC clinics, or EHS centers. These strategies have potential for rigorous evaluation and could emerge as best practices. If proven effective, these innovative program elements could then be disseminated and replicated to increase access for populations in need of preventive oral health care