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The proportion of older people continues to grow worldwide, especially in developing countries. Poor oral health among older people has been seen in a high level of tooth loss, dental caries experience, high prevalence rates of periodontal disease, xerostomia, and oral precancer/cancer. Although all countries face the problem of an aging population, there are differences due to factors such as: health insurance, economic development, social and cultural characteristics. The purpose of this review study is to report disparities in countries in different geographical region. On the other hand, the lack of national epidemiological data on the oral status of this population requires the implementation of epidemiological programmes and strategies towards improved oral health of older people.

Oral health, as an important part of general health, may negatively influence individuals’ quality of life. In recent decades, many instruments for oral health-related quality of life assessment have been developed. These are usually represented by questionnaires evaluating psychological, physical, material or social aspects and the results allow an analysis of the factors involved or how the individual perceives his own oral health status. A socio-dental evaluation system is also useful in the process of treatment needs assessment and may increase its usefulness in oral healthcare planning.

Dental anxiety and fear are widespread among the population and pose a significant problem in their management. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dental anxiety and sanogenic habits on the oral health of dental students in Iasi. Material and methods: The study involved questionnaire-based survey and DMFT index evaluation on 100 dental students from years V and VI of the Faculty of Dentistry, U.M.F Iasi. Results: Most participants in this study showed symptoms of anxiety 76.8% (with the highest DAS score = 13-20).There were found higher DAS score of 13.1 for female dental students, compared to 11.9 for male dental students. Conclusions:Dental students showed lower levels of dental anxiety compared to other studies, in this group, women showed a higher degree of anxiety than men. In terms of highetst anxiety levels, this were found for local anesthesia and tooth preparation procedures. However we found that clinical education of dental practice could positively promote the reduction of dental anxiety.

Background and Objectives: Dentists play a very important part in the early identification of oral cancer lesions. This aspect of dental practice depends on the knowledge acquired during the faculty years. The aim of this study was to assess dental students’ and residents’ levels of awareness in terms of oral cancer. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Dental Medicine within the “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi, on a sample of 197 students in the fourth and the fifth years and first year residents in general dentistry. To assess their knowledge, a questionnaire was created containing 22 questions about the risk factors for oral cancer, with a focus on HPV infection. Results: Most participants correctly identified smoking, alcohol, and the HPV infection as risk factors and leukoplakia and erythroplasia as potentially malignant lesions. At the opposite site, aspects considered as unsatisfactory focused on the palpation of lymphatic nodules, a procedure largely carried out by 41.6% of the fourth year students, the counseling only of the patients at risk performed by 59.7% of residents, the lack of knowledge about the prevention of oral cancer through anti-HPV immunization found in 39.7% of the fifth year students. Other incorrect answers focused on other types of suspicious lesions, such as actinic cheilitis, as well as certain areas in the oral cavity subject to the frequent onset of oral cancer, such as buccal mucosa. Conclusions: Although the fifth year students and residents have better knowledge than the fourth year students, the gaps in terms of knowledge and practice encountered in all three categories of participants require a reevaluation of the academic curriculum and the focus on the building of the skills necessary for the correct screening of oral cancer.

The aim of the present study was to determine the dental treatment needs of schoolchildren aged 12 years in Iasi, Romania, and to determine whether there is a socioeconomic disparity in their distribution. Material and methods: the study cross-sectional included 402 schoolchildren aged 12 years. The children were clinically examined and the dental surfaces were scored using Full ICDAS criteria. Parents’ occupation, income and number of members in the family were considered to determine socioeconomic status (SES) of the family. Results: the most frequent treatment need was single-surface filling (2,06±2.18 teeth/subject), followed by multi-surface filling (0.93±0.75 teeth/subject) and endodontic therapy (0.31±0.16 teeth/subject). The treatment needs were much higher in the low SES group than in the high SES group (p < 0.01) and strong inverse correlations were found between SES and dental treatment needs. Conclusion: extensive preventive programs are needed to reduce the level of unmet dental treatment needs of schoolchildren in Iasi.

Anxiety is frequently associated to dental care and the identification of anxious patients is highly important for the correct and safe therapeutic management of them. The aim of this study is the identification the level of dental anxiety of a group of patients addressing the dental care office within the Faculty of Dental Medicine of Iasi. Material and method: The cross-sectional study was carried out in 2019 on a sample of 53 patients aged between 18 and 64. To appreciate the anxiety level and the causes of this phenomenon, we used a specially designed questionnaire: Dental Anxiety Assessment Questionnaire. The data were statistically processed by SPSS.17 software for Windows. Results: Most patients, namely 52.8% consider that before their dental treatment they face a state of anxiety, 49% say they have a moderate anxiety level and only 15% consider themselves as severely anxious. The most frequent cause of this dental phobia correlates either with a traumatizing dental experience in the past (43.3%), or with their contact with a dentist lacking empathy (28.3%). Among the dental maneuvers, dental extraction is considered as the one inducing the highest stress level, while the fear of injection and pain represents the main reasons for dental anxiety. Conclusions: This study highlights the characteristics of dental anxiety in adult patients and identifies a common clinical picture of the anxious patient. The purpose of our study is also to inform the medical community about the frequency of this phenomenon and thus to prevent the negative situations that might appear during the specialized treatment of these subjects.

The aim of study was to investigate the relationship between oral health and nutritional status in a population of elderly patients with systemic chronic or acute pathology. Materials and method: Prospective cross-sectional clinical investigation of 115 aged patients (] 60 yo; mean age 66.2) from the Clinical Foundation, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iasi. In the first stage of the study, the patients (able to understand and communicate) were submitted to a mini-test for the assessment of the mental status (MMSE) . In the second stage of the study, a questionnaire was used to record demographic and socioeconomic data of the subjects as well as information regarding systemic status and nutritional facts. In the third stage of the study, the nutritional status was evaluated by using Mini-Nutritional Assessment questionnaire (MNA). Finally, the oral status was evaluated by using clinical and radiographical exams as well as geriatric oral health assessment index (GOHAI). Results: Of the 60 old adults, 6% were severely malnourished, and 37.4% presented malnourished risk. 49.6% of the old people had difficulties eating firm foods, 25% of them being unable to prepare meals. Regarding oral status, only 5.2% had at least 20 natural teeth, 55.6% required dental care for decayed or broken teeth, 69.6% were affected by xerostomia, 21% of the completely or partial edentulous people were untreated by removable dentures, 25% of the edentulous patients complained by ill-fitted removable dentures. Conclusion: Lack of education, treatment with over 3 drugs daily, physical inability to buy foods or to prepare meals, as well as the difficulties eating firm foods are strongly associated with poor nutritional status. Also, the need for dental care was associated to nutritional deficiency.

Oral health in adolescents and adults has improved in recent decades, even if there were socio-economic inequalities between groups. Aim: to determine the association between caries experience and social and behavioral factors in young adults and adults in Iasi, Romania. Material and method: The cross-sectional study was carried out during 10 months in 2018 on a batch of students from the Iasi university center and adults who accessed the dental services within the Adult Stomatology Ambulatory, “Sf. Spiridon” Iasi. The necessary data were obtained through a questionnaire. The data on caries experience were collected through the clinical examination. Statistical analysis of the collected data was performed using the computer program SPSS 20.0.for Windows. Results: The prevalence of dental caries in young adults was 96.3%. There were statistically significant differences between the prevalence of dental caries by sex (p 0.05). The visit to the dentist and the reasons for these visits, the frequency of dental brushing, the consumption of sweets between meals and smoking are strongly associated with the socio-economic level in young adults. Conclusions: Increased prevalence of dental caries as well as increased values of DMFT are associated with socio-economic factors. Low level of education was a strong distal social determinant of caries experience, which affected dental health status via a pathway mediated by behavioural factors.

The aim of this study was to perform quantitative and qualitative assessment of salivary secretion within a group of young adults. Materials and methods: the study included 130 patients aged 19-22 years, attending the Faculty of Dental Medicine at the U.M.Ph. “Grigore T. Popa” in Iasi. The subjects were clinically examined for the DMFT, CPITN and API indices assessment, as well as for stimulated salivary flow rate and saliva buffer capacity. Results: 34% of the subjects had a medium oral hygiene. The mean DMFT index was 9.46. 60% of the subjects had supra/subgingival calculus. 92.31% of the subjects had a normal salivary secretion rate and 77% of them had a normal saliva buffer capacity. Correlations were found between the clinical indicators of oral health status and the salivary parameters. Conclusion: detecting host-related risk factors may be one of the basic elements in the control and prediction of dental caries.

At the individual level, behavior, education, knowledge and attitudes influence the quality of oral hygiene, diet hygiene, fluoride application, salivary flow. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of dental hygiene by chemical means in a group of students of the Dental Faculty from Iasi. Material and Method The study included 28 student subjects in the terminal year of the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Iasi. The data were recorded by clinical examination. Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) and Quigley-Hein, O’Leary, API (Aproximal Plaque Index) bacterial plaque pointers, one month after Listerine® oral rinses, and 2 months after mouthwash Oral B Pro Expert Multi-Protection (Oral B). Oral rinsing was performed as indicated by the manufacturer. The evidence of the bacterial plaque was performed with tablets of bacterial plaque disclosing. In conclusion, Listerine mounthrinse has been shown to be more effective in reducing bacterial plaque accumulation, proven by reducing OHI oral hygiene values by 0.246 and bacterial plaque scores by 8.57% compared to Oral B Pro Expert mouthwash which improved the OHI index only 0.093 and the index value of the board by 2.32%.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge of the students attending the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Iasi regarding the HIV/AIDS infection. Material and method: The cross-sectional study included 124 students from the 4th and 6th years who filled in a specially designed questionnaire consisting of 20 questions on two aspects: the first one refers to HIV transmission pathways and the risk of transmission in the dental office, and the second one refers to the oral lesions associated with this disease. The results demonstrate that some of the issues are correctly assimilated by the students of both years of study, as more than 80% of them marked the correct answer (concerning blood, sexual, maternal-fetal transmission routes, as well as the association between fungal infections, Kaposi’s sarcoma and AIDS). However, there were questions with a very low correct response rate (below 50%), concerning the transmission via the saliva or via the contact of infected blood with the nasal, oral or ophthalmic mucosa, as well as the herpetic and cytomegalovirus-associated infections as oral lesions manifest in the HIV infected patient. Surprisingly, only 29.5% of the interviewed subjects knew the post-exposure prophylaxis method. In conclusion, the study underlines the need of introducing new programs and lectures on this topic, with an accent on the practical aspects specific to the dental office activity.

The loss of teeth in the young adult population is closely correlated with the oral health status, oral health behaviors and socio-economic level. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of edentation among young adults in Iasi, Romania. Materials and methods: The study included a total of 285 students of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, „Grigore T.Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iași, aged between 22 and 26 years. The EGOHID System was used in order to evaluate the oral health status. The data were analyzed by gender, socio-economic level and oral health behaviors using SPSS 15.0 (p

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dental status in 6 years old school children in Iași in correlation with behavioral factors and socio-economic status. Material and method. A longitudinal epidemiological study was initiated within the project “Evaluation of oral health and education for oral health in 6 and 12 year-old school-children in Iași, Romania” including 592 school children aged 6 from 21 schools in Iași. For oral health assessment EGOHID system was used. Results. The values for dmft /dmfs were 3,64 and 6,85 respectively. The prevalence of dental caries was 78,6% for d1-6mf and 67,9% for d3-6mf. The values for decayed teeth and surfaces was significantly higher than those for filled teeth and surfaces. A positive correlations between dmft index and the socio-economic level and between dmft index and sugar intake were established. 57,9% of subjects eat sweets between meals. More than half of children (56.3%) brush their teeth twice a day and 15% of them cleen their teeth occasionaly.Conclusions. Intensive preventive efforts by risk factors control are needed in order to decrease the high found prevalence of dental caries.

In most of the developing countries, dental caries continues to represent a major issue of public health. In Romania, the National Program for Oral and Dental Diseases Prevention was implemented between 1999-2010, addressed to children attending primary school and consisting of weekly mouth rinses with 0.2% NaF solution. In the present study, the dynamic evolution of oral health status of schoolchildren aged 6-12 years in Iasi, under the impact of this Program, was analyzed. The results showed a decreasing trend in the prevalence and incidence of dental caries, a constant decrease of caries experience indices DMFT and DMFS and, within them, the increasing trend of fillings indicator FS and the decrease of deep lesions weight. The conclusion is that tooth decay has declined in schoolchildren in Iasi during the development of the National Prevention Program.