Search

Objectives To determine whether participants of a dental practice-based research network ( PBRN) differ in their level of oral health impact as measured by the Oral Health Impact Profile ( OHIP) questionnaire. Methods A total of 2410 patients contributed 2432 OHIP measurements (median age = 43 years; interquartile range = 28) were enrolled in four dental studies. All participants completed the Oral Health Impact Profile ( OHIP-14) during a baseline visit. The main outcome of this study was the level of oral health impact, defined as follows: no impact (' Never' reported on all items); low (' Occasionally' or ' Hardly ever' as the greatest frequency score reported on any item); and high (' Fairly often' or ' Very often' as the greatest frequency reported on any item). Polychotomous logistic regression was used to develop a predictive model for the level of oral health impact considering the following predictors: patient's age, gender, race, practice location, type of dentist, and number of years the enrolling dentist has been practicing. Results A high level of oral health impacts was reported in 8% of the sample; almost a third (29%) of the sample reported a low level of impacts, and 63% had no oral health impacts. The prevalence of impacts differed significantly across protocols ( P < 0.001). Women were more likely to be in the high oral impact group than in the no impact group compared to men ( OR = 1.46; 95% CI = 1.06-1.99). African Americans were more likely to report high oral impacts when compared to other racial/ethnic groups ( OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.26-3.55). Protective effects for being in the high or in the low-impact groups were observed among patients enrolled by a solo practice ( P < 0.001) or by more experienced dentists ( P = 0.01). A small but highly significant statistical association was obtained for patient age ( P < 0.001). In the multivariate model, patient's age, practice size, and gender were found to jointly be significant predictors of oral health impact level. Conclusions Patients' subjective report of oral health impact in the clinical setting is of importance for their health. In the context of a dental PBRN, the report of oral health-related quality of life ( OHRQo L) was different across four dental studies. The observed findings validate the differential impact that oral health has on the patients' perception of OHRQo L particularly among specific groups. Similar investigations to elucidate the factors associated with patient's report of quality of life are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bernabé E, Watt RG, Sheiham A, Suominen AL, Vehkalahti MM, Nordblad A, Uutela A, Kivimäki M, Tsakos G. Childhood socioeconomic position, adult sense of coherence and tooth retention. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2012; 40: 46-52. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract - Objective: To explore the role of sense of coherence (SOC) as a mediator in the relationship between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and tooth retention in adulthood. Methods: Data from 5401 dentate adults aged 30 and over who participated in the nationally representative Finnish Health 2000 Survey were analysed. Participants provided information on demographic characteristics (sex and age), childhood SEP (parental education), adulthood SEP (years of education and household income), the SOC scale and oral health-related behaviours (dental attendance, toothbrushing frequency, sugar intake frequency and daily smoking). They also had a clinical oral health examination. Structural equation modelling was used to test a model including adulthood SEP, SOC and oral health-related behaviours as mediators of the relationship between childhood SEP and tooth retention. Multigroup comparison was also conducted to test the hypothesized model within each sex and age group (<45 years, 45-59 years and 60+ years). Results: The relationship between childhood SEP and tooth retention in adulthood was to a large extent mediated by adulthood SEP and to a much lesser extent by SOC. There was only a weak association between childhood SEP and adult SOC, but favourable oral health-related behaviours appeared to link a strong SOC with greater tooth retention. The model was invariant across sexes and age groups. Conclusions: SOC is associated with tooth retention through oral health-related behaviours, but contributes little to the relationship between childhood SEP and tooth retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Montero J, Bravo M, López-Valverde A. Development of a specific indicator of the well-being of wearers of removable dentures. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 515-524. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract - Objectives: Bearers of removable prostheses have certain particular characteristics that require the inclusion of items able to detect the specific effect on their oral functions (derived from the presence of such prostheses). We aimed to develop and validate a specific indicator for the assessment of oral health-related quality of life in bearers of dentures. Methods: A panel of experts compiled a questionnaire addressing oral health-related quality of life (11 items) to assess the degree of well-being afforded by removable dentures. After a pilot trial in patients bearing prostheses ( n = 36), a consecutive sampling of denture wearers ( n = 123) was conducted among patients not requesting odontological treatment and accompanying persons, attending their respective health centres in the City of Granada and its metropolitan area. The subjects were classified as RPP1 (removable partial prosthesis on one of the arches, RPP2 (on both) and complete prosthesis (CP on both arches). Results: The questionnaire was consistent (Cronbach alpha 0.814) and proved to have suitable validity. Factor analysis revealed three factors termed physical, psychological and social well-being, which coherently supported the interrelationship among the 11 items. The prevalence of impact was significantly higher in the CP individuals (97.1%) and in that of the RPP2 group (92.1%) than in the RPP1 subjects (80.7%). Prosthetic fit, aesthetics and self-confidence were significantly discrepant among the prosthetic groups, although the total prosthetic quality of life score was not able to differentiate them. The main prosthetic impact in all the prosthesis-wearing groups was attributed to 'food impaction', although all the groups were essentially satisfied with their mouth. Conclusions: The prosthetic quality of life (PQL) questionnaire is a valid and reliable indicator of the specific well-being of partial or complete denture wearers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lindmark U, Hakeberg M, Hugoson A. Sense of coherence and its relationship with oral health-related behaviour and knowledge of and attitudes towards oral health. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 542-553. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract - Objective: To investigate the relationship between sense of coherence (SOC), oral health-related behaviour, knowledge of and attitudes towards oral health in an adult Swedish population. Methods: A cross-sectional design with a stratified random sample of 910 individuals aged 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 years were invited to the study, from Jönköping, Sweden. The investigation used the Swedish short version of the SOC questionnaire comprising 13 items and self-reported questions about oral health habits and knowledge of and attitudes towards oral health. In addition, a self-report questionnaire to elicit demographic information was included. Results: A total of 525 individuals, 261 men and 264 women, answered all the 13-item SOC questions, which constituted the final number of the participants. After adjustment for all the sociodemographic factors included in the analysis, individuals with a stronger SOC had twice as high a chance of having healthier behaviour, including a lower frequency of snacks and drinks between meals, as well as a more positive attitude, such as the importance of having one's own teeth as one gets older, satisfaction with their own teeth, perceiving their teeth as good and no feeling of dental fear, compared with individuals with a poorer SOC. Moreover, SOC and a good knowledge of caries were significantly associated after adjustment for age and gender. Conclusions: SOC was significantly associated with several oral health-related behaviours, attitudes towards oral health and knowledge of dental caries. When working with oral health promotion, SOC could be a way for promoting a better understanding of the behaviour and attitudes of individuals and for enabling dental personals to use that knowledge for the guidance of the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aida J, Kuriyama S, Ohmori-Matsuda K, Hozawa A, Osaka K, Tsuji I. The association between neighborhood social capital and self-reported dentate status in elderly Japanese - The Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 239-249. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Little is known about the influence of social capital on dental health. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to determine the association between neighborhood social capital, individual social networks and social support and the number of remaining teeth in elderly Japanese. In December 2006, self-administered questionnaires were sent to 31 237 eligible community-dwelling individuals (response rate: 73.9%). Included in the analysis were 21 736 participants. Five neighborhood social capital variables were calculated from individual civic networks, sports and hobby networks, volunteer networks, friendship networks and social support variables. We used multilevel logistic regression models to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of having 20 or more teeth according to neighborhood social capital variables with adjustment for sex, age, individual social networks and social support, educational attainment, neighborhood educational level, dental health behavior, smoking status, history of diabetes and self-rated health. The average age of the participants was 74.9 (standard deviation; 6.6) years, and 28.5% of them had 20 or more teeth. In the univariate multilevel model, there were statistically significant associations between neighborhood sports and hobby networks, friendship networks and self-reported dentate status. In the multivariable multilevel model, compared with participants living in lowest friendship network neighborhoods, those living in highest friendship network neighborhoods had an OR 1.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.30) times higher for having 20 or more teeth. There is a significant association between one network aspect of neighborhood social capital and individual dentate status regardless of individual social networks and social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abanto J, Carvalho TS, Mendes FM, Wanderley MT, Bönecker M, Raggio DP. Impact of oral diseases and disorders on oral health-related quality of life of preschool children. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 105-114. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S The presence of oral diseases and disorders can produce an impact on the quality of life of preschool children and their parents, affecting their oral health and well-being. However, socioeconomic factors could confound this association, but it has not been yet tested at this age. To assess the impact of early childhood caries (ECC), traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and malocclusions on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children between 2 and 5 years of age adjusted by socioeconomic factors. Parents of 260 children answered the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) (six domains) on their perception of the children's OHRQoL and socioeconomic conditions. Two calibrated dentists (κ > 0.8) examined the severity of ECC according to dmft index, and children were categorized into: 0 = caries free; 1-5 = low severity; ≥6 = high severity. TDI and malocclusions were examined according to Andreasen & Andreasen (1994) classification and for the presence or absence of three anterior malocclusion traits (AMT), respectively. OHRQoL was measured through ECOHIS domain and total scores, and poisson regression was used to associate the different factors with the outcome. In each domain and overall ECOHIS scores, the severity of ECC showed a negative impact on OHRQoL ( P < 0.001). TDI and AMT did not show a negative impact on OHRQoL nor in each domain ( P > 0.05). The increase in the child's age, higher household crowding, lower family income and mother working out of home were significantly associated with OHRQoL ( P < 0.05). The multivariate adjusted model showed that the high severity of ECC (RR = 3.81; 95% CI = 2.66, 5.46; P < 0.001) was associated with greater negative impact on OHRQoL, while high family income was a protective factor for OHRQoL (RR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.87, 0.99; P < 0.001). The severity of ECC and a lower family income had a negative impact on the OHRQoL of preschool children and their parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study is presented which examined material and sociodemographic factors influencing oral health practices and experiences of six-year-old Pacific children in New Zealand. The study is based on a cohort of infants born at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, interviews with their mothers, and an analysis of their ethnicity and level of acculturation. Other variables assessed by the researcher are educational background, duration of breastfeeding, frequency of toothbrushing and tooth brushing supervision.

Ferracane J, Hilton T, Korpak A, Gillette J, Speed McIntyre P, Berg J, Northwest PRECEDENT. Use of caries prevention services in the Northwest PRECEDENT dental network. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2011; 39: 69-78. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S This cross-sectional study assessed the use of caries preventive services by Northwest PRECEDENT dental network practitioners and compared the caries experience of patients who received such services in the past 12 months with those who had not. An oral health survey was conducted on approximately 20 patients seen by each of 97 private practice dental practitioners in the network. Eligible patients (total of 1877 aged 3-92) were randomly assessed for the occurrence of one or more new caries lesions as well as having received the following preventive services within the past 12 months: fluoride varnish or gel, sealant in molar or premolar, and prophylaxis. Patients were stratified by gender and age (1-17 years old, 18-64 years old, and 65+ years old). Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between the practitioner characteristics and the use of preventive services, as well as the preventive services and the presence of a new caries lesion in the past 12 months. The percent of patients in age category 1-17 years old/18-64 years old/65+ years old receiving each preventive treatment varied as follows: 95%/85%/81% for prophylaxis, 87%/24%/22% for fluoride, and 27%/2%/0% for sealant. There was a very limited association between the use of a specific preventive service and practitioner gender, and no significant association between use of services and practice location (rural, urban or suburban). There was a significant association between greater use of sealants for dentists with 0-15 years of practice experience as compared with those having more than 25 years of experience. For the 1-17 -year-old age group, boys had about 1.7 times the odds of having a new lesion than girls in the past 12 months, and patients receiving a sealant had 1.9 times the odds of having a new caries lesion. In the 18-64 -year-old group, receiving a prophylaxis in the past 12 months was significantly associated with lower odds for having a new lesion (odds ratio = 0.57). This study reports that aside from prophylaxis, which more than 85% of the patients had received, about one-third of the patients overall received preventive services consisting of either sealants or some type of fluoride treatment in private dental practices in the Northwest PRECEDENT network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study is presented which examined clinical indicators associated with the development of dental root caries in elderly patients who are enrolled in Family Medicine Unit Number 28 of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Mexico City, Mexico. The data collection, instrument for data collection, clinical indicators for oral health and statistical analysis of the study are included. The study shows that patients who developed root caries have limited basic daily life activities (BDLA).

Vermaire JH, Hoogstraten J, van Loveren C, Poorterman JHG, van Exel NJA. Attitudes towards oral health among parents of 6-year-old children at risk of developing caries. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2010; 38: 507-520. © 2010 John & Wiley & Sons A/S Parental attitudes are likely to play a role in achieving and maintaining a desired level of oral health in children. To be useful in individually delivered caries prevention programmes, parental attitudes should be identified at individual level. Q-methodology has been proved successful in identifying attitudes in a wide range of disciplines but in dentistry Q-studies are scarce. In this study Q-methodology was used to identify parents' prevailing attitudes towards the oral health of their children. Thirty-nine parents ranked 37 statements regarding the dental health behaviour they apply to their 6-year-old child. They later explained their rankings during a short interview. In Q-methodology, rather than reporting one average composite attitude and opinion, various combinations of opinions and attitudes concerning these statements are identified using by-person factor analysis. Based on their beliefs, attitudes and cognitions, five categories of parents were found: (i) conscious and responsible, (ii) trivializing and fatalistic, (iii) appearance-driven and open-minded, (iv) knowledgeable but defensive and (v) conscious and concerned. Q-methodology appears to be a fruitful way to structure the complexity of parents' opinions and attitudes towards their children's dental health. It appears that Q-methodology provides comprehensive clusters of individual attitudes, based on various levels of responses to a wide range of questions. The five identified profiles may be useful in developing tailor-made prevention strategies in caries prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]