Halitosis prevention campaign: a report of oral health promotion activities in Japan

A local dental association, Hakodate Dental Association, has been conducting an oral health promotion campaign, 'Good-bye Bad Breath', in a local community since April 1998. The purpose of this campaign was not only to prevent oral malodour but also to raise people's awareness about oral health. Oral health education has been provided at schools and through television commercials, radio programmes and newspaper articles. Campaign posters and leaflets on bad breath have also been distributed to drug stores, medical clinics and schools, as well as dental clinics. It has been emphasised that oral malodour is a preventable condition and that the dentist can provide adequate advice and suitable treatment. Medical and pharmaceutical associations have cooperated with the Dental Association in running the campaign. Dental care was provided free of charge to the local residents. The free services provided included the assessment of oral malodour using a portable sulphide detector, instructional programmes, and consultations with dentists. This campaign offered a good opportunity to encourage people to visit the dentist for regular check-ups. The number of regular check-ups and halitosis patients has increased in 70% of the clinics belonging to the Dental Association.     

School teachers' knowledge of oral disease prevention: a survey from Dharwad, India

Aim: To assess knowledge and the associated factors among Indian school teachers towards oral disease. Methods: A cross‐sectional design was employed using a self‐administered questionnaire. A total of 215 school teachers were selected, with a response rate of 95.3% (n = 205). Results: A total of 35.6% of school teachers had “good” knowledge, while 42.4% had “medium” knowledge of the prevention of oral disease. Knowledge of dental caries was highest, as opposed to oral cancer, which was lowest. School teachers aged >50 years and those with postgraduate degrees had greater knowledge. A significant association was observed between teachers’ levels of knowledge and their age groups (χ² = 20.9950, P < 0.05) and education level (χ² = 13.9740, P < 0.05). However, the multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that education, age group, sex, and type of institutional funding (public/private) was significantly correlated to knowledge (R² = 0.1250, P < 0.05). Conclusions: The study revealed that school teachers, in particular younger teachers and those with only basic educational qualifications, need to be further motivated to improve their awareness and knowledge about oral diseases. Therefore, the establishment of school‐based oral health promotion programs in India with immediate effects is essential.     

Relationship between oral health behaviors and general health behaviors in a Japanese adult population

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between oral health behaviors and general health behaviors in adults. METHODS: A total of 2,467 adults (1,208 men and 1,259 women aged 20-59 years) who consulted dentists in Chiba City were administered a questionnaire. RESULTS: Women, older participants, and those living with family had better health behaviors than the other subjects studied. Additive indices for oral and general health behaviors were significantly correlated. Toothbrushing frequency was significantly correlated with five items of general health behavior (smoking, drinking, exercise, eating breakfast, and having medical check-ups). Having dental check-ups was significantly correlated with having medical check-ups. There was a negative correlation between dental flossing and drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Of all oral health behaviors examined, toothbrushing frequency was the most predictive indicator of general health behavior.     

Prevention of oral diseases and oral health promotion.

Research and activities, as promoted in 1989 and 1990, in oral disease prevention and health promotion are summarized. Significant syntheses of research findings have occurred, as a result of planning and workship activities, which will direct oral health promotion in the 1990s. Original research on established and new preventive therapies for dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral mucosal alterations, soft-tissue lesions, precancers and cancers, and trauma are reported, opportunities to prevent oral diseases or maintain oral health through changes in individual behaviors, professional orientation, and social and environmental changes are addressed.     

Bite size oral health promotion

Improving health is part of the Government's wider public health agenda and central to this theme is the requirement to help patients make informed healthy choices. The aim of the article is to review the basis of oral health promotion in primary dental care, explain why it is necessary and to give some practical tips on behaviour change in practice. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Understanding and relating well to your patients can make oral health promotion more successful, with communication skills being paramount in achieving this goal, along with the creation of a supportive health-orientated practice environment.     

Efficacy of an oral health promotion intervention in the prevention of early childhood caries

Abstract – Objective: Despite a marked improvement in oral health of Australian children over the last 30 years, severe early childhood caries (S‐ECC) affects up to 17% of 2‐ to 3‐year‐old children with some requiring hospitalization and invasive treatment. This provided a compelling rationale to develop and test an oral health promotion programme which aimed to reduce this unnecessary suffering. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of an oral health promotion programme for the parents of infants, starting during the pregnancy, using a randomized controlled trial. Methods: A programme was developed around the provision of anticipatory guidance to nulliparous women (women expecting their first child) in Adelaide. Mothers in the test group received oral health promotion information during pregnancy, and later when the child reached 6 and 12 months of age. After the second round of information the test group mothers were randomized again. The information was reinforced in one of the test subgroups through a telephone consultation. There was no contact with mothers in the control group after enrolment. At the age of 20 ± 2.5 months all test and control group children were examined by a dentist. The case definition of an incidence of S‐ECC was one or more upper incisor teeth being carious at the level of a cavitated or noncavitated lesion. The differences in S‐ECC incidence between the test and control groups, and the test subgroups were analysed. Results: Of 649 women enroled in the programme (test group 327, control group 322), 441 had their child examined at follow‐up. The incidence of S‐ECC in the test group was 1.7% and in the control group 9.6% (P < 0.001). Conclusion: An oral health promotion programme based on repeated rounds of anticipatory guidance initiated during the mother’s pregnancy was successful in reducing the incidence of S‐ECC in these very young children.     

Leadership role of dental associations: oral health promotion

'Promoting Oral Health: Guidelines for Dental Associations' is the product of Working Group 3 on Oral Health Promotion of the Commission on Oral Health, Research and Epidemiology of the FDI. This paper describes the guidelines document, its rationale and its potential utility. An organized planned sequence of activities, including policy formation and dissemination, planning group structure and function, information gathering, goal setting, strategic planning of objectives and interventions, implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation, are reviewed. Relevant to both industrialized and developing countries, these oral health promotion guidelines can be used to develop programmes to demonstrate the benefit of self-care and appropriate demand for dental services.     

Education for geriatric oral health promotion

Dentate older adults need to be aware that restorative procedures completed in the past do not guarantee their oral health now or in the future. By building on the strengths of their current behaviors, the elderly may see change as more manageable and may accept it more readily. Educational approaches aimed at the edentulous older patient should focus on the need for preventative oral health care. Thirty thousand new cases of oral cancer are reported each year, and of those, 50% are in patients above the age of 65. Progressive bone resorption, decreased nutritional intake, and poor oral health affecting self-esteem to the point of withdrawal from social circles can all be avoided through periodic assessment and timely intervention.
All health care professionals must be educated in the role that are required of them as health team members. Initial exams of elderly patients should include assessment of not only the patient's oral health but also his/her ability to perform oral hygiene. An accurate assessment of the patient's needs, desires, and abilities will help to eliminate many of the misconceptions that the care provider may harbor. Clinical training in more thorough oral exams and in methods of effectively educating patients concerning oral health is a prudent step for physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners. Effective educational presentations must be tailored to the targeted group of older adults; not all strategies will work for all elderly people.     

Models for individual oral health promotion and their effectiveness: a systematic review

Background:  There is a recognized need to deliver oral health information to people during clinical encounters to enable them to develop personal skills in managing their own oral health. Traditional approaches to individual oral health education have been shown to be largely ineffective and new approaches are required to address personal motivations for preventive behaviour. This systematic review aims to identify and assess the effectiveness of behaviour models as a basis for individual oral health promotion.
Methods:  Electronic databases were searched for articles evaluating the effectiveness of health behaviour models in oral and general health between 2000 and 2007. Eighty-nine studies were retrieved and data were extracted from the 32 studies that met the inclusion criteria.
Results:  Thirty-two studies were identified in the fields of clinical prevention and health education, motivational interviewing (MI), counselling, and models based interventions. MI interventions were found to be the most effective method for altering health behaviours in a clinical setting.
Conclusions:  There is a need to develop an effective model for chairside oral health promotion that incorporates this evidence and allows oral health professionals to focus more on the underlying social determinants of oral disease during the clinical encounter. There is potential to further develop the MI approach within the oral health field.