Factors influencing the use of public dental services: An application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Background  

There is limited evidence of the influence of psychosocial factors and health beliefs on public dental patient's patterns of service use in Australia. The research aims were to examine associations between dental attitudes and beliefs of public dental service users and dental visiting intention and behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour.     

HIV and AIDS related knowledge,sources of information,and reported need for further education among dental students in Sudan- a cross sectional study

Background  

Information on the HIV and AIDS-related knowledge among dental students provides a crucial foundation for efforts aimed at developing an appropriate dental curriculum on HIV and AIDS, and for attracting the attention of dental school educators towards the subject.     

Assessing individual and neighborhood social factors in child oral health-related quality of life: a multilevel analysis

Purpose

It has been suggested that subjective measures of oral health are influenced by both individual and contextual characteristics. This study assessed the relationship between neighborhood and individual social networks and child oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL).

Methods

This study followed a cross-sectional design using a multistage sample of 478 children aged 1–5 years old. Caregivers completed the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) and answered questions related to socioeconomic status and social network. The dental examination provided information on the prevalence of dental caries, dental trauma, and occlusion. Contextual social determinants included the presence of cultural community centers and of workers’ association in the neighborhood. Data analysis considered the total ECOHIS scores as the outcome and neighborhood/individual social networks as the independent variables. A multilevel Poisson regression model was used to investigate the association among individual and contextual characteristics and COHRQoL.

Results

Total ECOHIS scores ranged from 0 to 41 (possible range 0–52). The mean ECOHIS score was low (mean = 1.8, SD = 3.9), and the functional domain presented the highest mean impact on COHRQoL (mean = 0.5, SD = 1.4). Following adjusted analysis, low household income, visiting a neighbor less than once a month, the presence of anterior open bite, dental trauma, and dental caries were identified as individual determinants of negative impact on a child’s quality of life. These variables remained associated with the outcome even after adding the contextual-level variables in the model. At the contextual level, the presence of community cultural centers was associated with overall mean ECOHIS score; higher impacts on COHRQoL were observed in those living in neighborhoods without cultural community centers.

Conclusion

There is a significant association between individual and contextual social determinants and COHRQoL; unfavorable social conditions and poor socioeconomic status have a negative impact on caregiver reports of children’s oral health-related quality of life.     

Italian multicenter study on infection hazards during dental practice: Control of environmental microbial contamination in public dental surgeries

Background  

The present study assessed microbial contamination in Italian dental surgeries.     

Dental pain, oral impacts and perceived need for dental treatment in Tanzanian school students: a cross-sectional study

Background  

Dental caries, dental pain and reported oral problems influence people's oral quality of life and thus their perceived need for dental care. So far there is scant information as to the psychosocial impacts of dental diseases and the perceived treatment need in child populations of sub-Saharan Africa.     

Effectiveness of preventive oral health care in Hispanic children living near US–Mexico border

Objective  

The effect of preventive oral healthcare on dental caries in Hispanic children in a school district near the US–Mexico border in Texas was studied.     

Factors associated with dental caries among institutionalized residents with schizophrenia in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study

Background  

Little research has been done on the relationship between dental caries and the personal characteristics of institutionalized residents diagnosed with schizophrenia. This study investigates the individual and treatment factors associated with the dental caries among institutionalized residents with schizophrenia in Taiwan.     

The prevalence of dental erosion and associated risk factors in 12-13-year-old school children in Southern China

Background  

Dental erosion has been investigated in developed and developing countries and the prevalence varies considerably in different countries, geographic locations, and age groups. With the lifestyle of the Chinese people changing significantly over the decades, dental erosion has begun to receive more attention. However, the information about dental erosion in China is scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of dental erosion and associated risk factors in 12-13-year-old school children in Guangzhou, Southern China.     

Household smoking and dental caries in schoolchildren: the Ryukyus Child Health Study

Background  

Secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) is perhaps one of the most important toxic exposures in childhood. However, epidemiological studies on the relation between SHSe and dental caries are limited and have yielded inconsistent results. The present cross-sectional study examined the potential association between SHSe at home and the prevalence of dental caries in children.     

Self-reported halitosis and emotional state: impact on oral conditions and treatments

Background  

Halitosis represents a common dental condition, although sufferers are often not conscious of it. The aim of this study was to examine behavior in a sample of Italian subjects with reference to self-reported halitosis and emotional state, and specifically the presence of dental anxiety.     

Children's tooth decay in a public health program to encourage low-income pregnant women to utilize dental care

Background  

A community-based public health program to provide a dental home for women covered by the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) in Klamath County, Oregon USA was instituted with the long-term goal to promote preventive oral care for both mothers and their new infants provided by dental managed care companies.     

Oral health in a convenience sample of Chinese older adults living in Melbourne,Australia

Objectives  

To present data on the dental and periodontal status of a convenience sample of 101 ambulant China-born older adults who now live in Melbourne. These older adults participated in a study to assess the prevalence of specific oral diseases.     

Association of dental prosthetic condition with food consumption and the risk of malnutrition and follow-up 4- year mortality risk in elderly Taiwanese

Objective  

To determine the impact of dental prosthetic condition on food consumption, risk of malnutrition and follow-up 4-year mortality risk in elderly Taiwanese.     

Training pediatric health care providers in prevention of dental decay: results from a randomized controlled trial

Background  

Physicians report willingness to provide preventive dental care, but optimal methods for their training and support in such procedures are not known. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of three forms of continuing medical education (CME) on provision of preventive dental services to Medicaid-enrolled children by medical personnel in primary care physician offices.     

Effects of residence and race on burden of travel for care: cross sectional analysis of the 2001 US National Household Travel Survey

Background  

Travel burden is a key element in conceptualizing geographic access to health care. Prior research has shown that both rural and minority populations bear disproportionate travel burdens. However, many studies are limited to specific types of patient or specific locales. The purpose of our study was to quantify geographic and race-based differences in distance traveled and time spent in travel for medical/dental care using representative national data.     

Is water fluoridation effective in reducing inequalities in dental caries distribution in developing countries? Recent findings from Brazil

Objectives:  

To assess socioeconomic differences between towns with and without water fluoridation, and to compare dental caries levels among socioeconomic strata in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas.     

Factors associated with dental visit and barriers to utilisation of oral health care services in a sample of antenatal mothers in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia

Background  

The aims of this study were to determine factors associated with dental visit and to describe barriers to utilisation of oral health care services among antenatal mothers attending the Obstetric and Gynaecology Specialist clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.     

Responsibility loadings for dental services by general dentists

Background  

Responsibility loadings determine relative value units of dental services that translate services into a common scale of work effort. The aims of this paper were to elicit responsibility loadings for a subset of dental services and to relate responsibility loadings to ratings of importance of the components of responsibility.     

Social and dental status along the life course and oral health impacts in adolescents: a population-based birth cohort

Background  

Harmful social conditions in early life might predispose individuals to dental status which in turn may impact on adolescents' quality of life.     

Disability weights for the burden of oral disease in South Australia

Background  

Australian burden of disease estimates appeared inconsistent with the reported repetitive and ubiquitous nature of dental problems. The aims of the study were to measure the nature, severity and duration of symptoms for specific oral conditions, and calculate disability weights from these measures.