Dental Public Health Postdoctoral Education: a Survey on the Status of Funding and Career Opportunities

Objectives : This paper reports the results of a survey to determine the consequences of budget reductions on the status of dental public health postdoctoral training in the United States, and opinions of experts in education and practice regarding career opportunities in dental public health. Methods : A survey was mailed to 154 dental and public health education and service institutions. Results : Most respondents (74 of 103; 72%) agreed that training opportunities depend on funding, and 73 percent ( n =75) expressed the view that more dental public health specialists are needed. Respondents reported that funding for current dental public health master's degree and residency programs is less than satisfactory. Respondents involved in training of dental public health professionals held marginally statistically significant different opinions regarding career opportunities than those who were not involved. No significant differences in opinions of respondents existed by type of institution. Conclusion : With decreased numbers of dental graduates, improved funding for dental public health programs will be critical, particularly at the specialty entry level, to ensure that adequate numbers of specialists are trained and available to meet the oral health needs of all the US population.     

Differences between dental health data obtained by interviews and questionnaires

Two hundred and eighty-six persons out of a population of 358 were interviewed about dental health. Approximately 9 months later the same group was posed identical questions in a self-administered questionnaire. An open-ended question about reasons for loss of teeth showed nearly 50% more answers on the questionnaire than in the interview. The number of answers in the questionnaire fell with increasing age and decreasing income and/or lower social class, while sex, age, income, and social class seemed to have only a minor effect on the number of answers in the interview. The number of two-reply categories varied between the interview and the questionnaire. To questions about water fluoridation and covering of dental expenses by Social Security, married couples gave more often identical replies on the questionnaire than in the interview. The findings imply that the method itself, i.e. the choice between the interview and questionnaire methods, is of importance for the results as such.     

The role of the dental hygienist in the public health sector; an Australian perspective

A review of the literature on dental hygienists and their utilisation in the dental workforce is presented. Dental hygienists are employed as part of a dental team in the prevention and management of the two most common and costly oral diseases; dental caries and periodontal disease. The potential scope for dental hygienists in the public health sector in Australia is examined in the light of broader issues relating to changing disease patterns, service delivery and the treatment of patients with special needs. Prevention and treatment of oral disease by the dental hygienist in schools, institutions, nursing homes, hospitals and residential facilities is discussed, with emphasis on such issues as legislation, productivity and quality assurance. Implications for the future training of dental hygienists are presented and recommendations made for increasing their utilisation in the public sector.     

Cross-cultural differences of self-reported oral health behaviour in Japanese and Finnish dental students

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether any differences existed in dental health behaviour between Japanese and Finnish dental students. SETTING: Hiroshima University School of Dentistry and the University of Helsinki. DESIGN: Comparison of cross-cultural differences of self-reported oral health behaviour. SUBJECTS: Dental students, 337 in Japan and 113 in Finland. METHOD: Subjects were surveyed using the Japanese and Finnish versions of a 20-item questionnaire entitled Hiroshima University--Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI). RESULTS: Only 2 per cent of Finnish students reported that they put off going to the dentist until they had toothache, compared to 56 per cent of Japanese students. Similarly, significantly more Japanese students thought that their teeth were getting worse despite their daily brushing, compared to their Finnish peers. The mean HU-DBI score of Year 1 Finnish students was higher than that of their Japanese peers, which suggested a higher level of dental health awareness in Finnish students upon entry into dental school. The mean scores of the Japanese students were lower than those of their Finnish peers until Year 3. The mean scores of Year 5 and Year 6 Japanese students were higher than that of Year 1 students, indicating raised self-care levels influenced by the course in preventive dentistry. The gender difference of the HU-DBI score was not a major feature in either country. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported oral health behaviours seemed to be very different between the two countries, which reflected different culture and/or health education systems of the students.     

Children's dental health: British expatriate residents in Tokyo, Japan

AIM: To identify in expatriate British parents resident in Tokyo, Japan, their levels of dental health knowledge, patterns of dental health behaviour, and caries status of their children compared to Japanese children. METHODS: 223 parents with children at one school were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. Data were collected on: parental knowledge and behaviours with respect to caries prevention, and sweet consumption of the children. The caries status of the children was established by a clinical examination, using standard criteria. RESULTS: The questionnaire response rate was 66.8%. The mean age of the children was 7.6 years (range 3-11 years). The responses related to 51 British, 21 Japanese, and 20 children who had British and Japanese mixed parents. 33% of British and none of Japanese children had sweet foods frequently. Fluoridated toothpaste was used by 67% of British and 10% of Japanese children. British parents knew about dental caries more than Japanese. 13% of British and 38% of Japanese children were found in the higher caries experience group. CONCLUSION: Parental access to information in the UK and to fluoridated toothpaste in Japan could have helped to prevent dental caries in these expatriate British children.     

Issues in Financing Dental Care for the Elderly

The elderly make up an increasingly larger segment of the patient population in dental practices. This article reviews recent epidemiologic, demographic, and health services research, and concludes that significant segments of the elderly are at high risk for oral disease and/or limited access to dental treatment, and consequently warrant classification as high-risk groups for policy considerations. It then proposes policy options to the dental community and public decision makers. Oral care can be viewed as having three components. Two basic components are the primary care component--which includes diagnostic, preventive restorative, and periodontal care--and the acute care component--i.e., the treatment of oral pain, trauma, and infection. The third, rehabilitative component, has to do with the restoration of oral function, including prosthodontics and cosmetic dentistry. Viewing dental care in this perspective may help link funding for dental primary care services with that for other primary health services, and link restoration of function and improvement of quality of life with similar health services, like hearing, vision, and social services. In addition, approaching dental care policy makers on several levels--i.e., federal, state, and local--will contribute to our ability as a profession, in the decades ahead, to meet the oral health needs of more elders: including the frail, those at high risk for oral disease, and those with limited access to care.     

Dental alloys and magnetic resonance imaging

The aim of this review article is to describe the behaviour of dental alloys during the magnetic resonance imaging procedure. Mechanical and physical effects of a high frequency magnetic field are discussed. They may cause a movement or heating of metal objects present in the body, which can lead to a potential health risk for patients undergoing this examination. Metal objects with positive magnetic properties can influence magnetic resonance scans and the results of this procedure. Such negative effects are documented in experiments, theoretical studies and articles evaluating clinical trials. The safety of magnetic resonance and the compatibility of dental alloys must always be considered prior to the magnetic resonance imaging procedure.