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The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence and nature of retained dental roots and their associations with demographics in the Finnish adult population. From the cross‐sectional nationwide Health 2000 Survey of the Finnish population aged 30 years and older, 6005 participants with clinical oral examination and panoramic radiographs were included. Occurrence and characteristics of all retained dental roots were examined. Statistical analyses included χ2, Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests, and SAS‐SUDAAN calculations. The mean age of the 6005 participants (46% men and 54% women) was 53 (SD 14.6) years. At least one retained dental root was observed in 13% (n = 754) of the participants. The 1350 retained roots included 461 (34%) roots retained entirely in bone and 889 (66%) partly in bone. The most common location of a retained dental root was the third molar region. Occurrence of retained roots partly in bone was associated with male sex and lower education. Occurrence of retained third molar roots entirely in bone was associated with female sex, younger age, higher education, and living in a city. Among all retained dental roots, the preponderance of third molars emphasized the demanding nature of extracting the third molar in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated differences in the technical quality of root fillings according to socioeconomic status. In the Finnish Health 2000 Survey, which comprised a sample of 8,028 adults aged over 29 yr, 6,115 underwent panoramic radiography. A total of 7,986 endodontically treated teeth were detected among 3,095 participants. The criterion for a technically inadequate root filling was a distance from the root filling to the root apex of over 3 mm or a filling extruding beyond the apex. Educational level, employment status, and income were the measures of socioeconomic status. Differences in the frequency of inadequate root fillings according to socioeconomic status were investigated using a multilevel logistic mixed‐effects model taking into account age, gender, number of teeth, and type of root filled tooth. Almost half (46%) of the root fillings were inadequate. Among the over 64‐yr‐olds, higher education and higher income were associated with a higher probability of having an inadequate root filling. Among the under 65‐yr‐olds, socioeconomic status was not associated with root filling quality. Contrary to expectation, lower socioeconomic status was not associated with poorer endodontic treatment quality; however, higher income and higher education was associated with higher odds for inadequate root fillings among the over 64‐yr‐olds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of third molars in panoramic radiographs in a population‐based study of adults aged ≥30 years. Methods: Out of a sample of 8028 inhabitants of Finland, selected with two‐staged stratified cluster‐sampling method for the Health 2000 Survey, 5989 participated in clinical oral examination and panoramic radiography. Mean age was 52.5 years (SD 14.6; range 30‐97 years). The following variables were included in the analysis: participant characteristics, clinical number of all teeth, and radiographic prevalence and characteristics of third molars. Statistics included chi‐squared, Fisher's exact, and Kruskal‐Wallis tests and SAS‐SUDAAN calculations. Results: A total of 5912 third molars in 47.8% of the study population were recorded from panoramic radiographs. At least one impacted third molar was found in 21.9% of the study population. More than half (57.3%) of the remaining third molars were located in the mandible. A preponderance of participants with all third molars missing were observed in the oldest age group, women, those with lower education and those living in the countryside. Third molars or remnants thereof were observed radiographically in 3.9% of clinically edentulous study population. Conclusions: The panoramic radiographs disclosed many remaining third molars in adult Finns aged ≥30 years. One‐third of the third molars located impacted which may cause unexpected need for care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate changes in and pathways between different measures of perceived oral health (POH) and regular oral health service use between the years 2000 and 2011 among Finnish adults. POH was measured by means of oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) and subjective oral health (SOH). Methods: The study was based on a longitudinal sample (n = 5525) of adults having participated both in the Health 2000 and 2011 Surveys (BRIF 8901). OHRQoL was measured with the Oral Health Impact Profile 14‐item questionnaire and SOH with a single question. Path analyses were used to determine whether SOH or OHRQoL affected service use or vice versa, grouped by age groups and self‐assessed treatment need. Results: The path analyses indicate that good OHRQoL leads to regular service use and regular service use leads to better SOH. The first path was stronger among the elderly (0.10) and the second among the younger age group (0.07). Both paths were stronger (0.12 and 0.06) among those who reported no treatment need in 2000. Conclusions: Good OHRQoL, indicated by a lack of perceived problems or symptoms, leads to regular service use. Our findings indicate that poor OHRQoL leads to nonregular service use, and nonregular service use leads to poor SOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether alcohol use influences periodontal pocket development during a 4‐yr follow‐up period. The study included those participants who took part in both the Health 2000 Survey and the Follow‐up Study on Finnish Adults' Oral Health. The participants at baseline were aged ≥30 yr, periodontally healthy, and did not have diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. The development of periodontal pockets at follow‐up was measured as the number of teeth with periodontal pockets and the presence of periodontal pockets. Alcohol use at baseline was measured as g/wk, frequency, and use over the risk limit. Incidence rate ratios with 95% CI were estimated using negative binomial regression models and Poisson regression models with a robust variance estimator. No consistent association was found between any of the alcohol variables and periodontal pocket development in the total population or among non‐smokers. Among smokers, a positive association was found with the frequency of alcohol use. In general, risk estimates were slightly higher for women than for men. In summary, light‐to‐moderate alcohol use appears not to be consistently associated with the development of periodontal pockets. The adverse effects on the periodontium seem, to some extent, to be dependent on gender and smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the relationship between frequency of interdental cleaning and 11‐year change in teeth with periodontal pocketing in Finnish adults. Methods: Data from 1667 dentate adults, aged 30 to 82 years, who participated in the Health 2000 survey and were re‐examined in 2004 and/or 2011 were analysed. Participants reported their frequency of interdental cleaning (either dental floss or interdental brush) at baseline. Teeth with periodontal pocketing (PD) ≥4 mm were counted in every survey and treated as a repeated outcome. The association between the frequency of interdental cleaning and the number of teeth with PD ≥4 mm was evaluated in linear mixed effects models, controlling for demographic factors, socioeconomic position, diabetes, smoking status, toothbrushing frequency, dental attendance and number of teeth. Results: Twelve per cent of adults reported daily interdental cleaning. Significant inverse linear trends in the number of teeth with PD ≥4 mm were found in every survey according to the frequency of interdental cleaning. However, this association was completely attenuated after adjustment for the full set of confounders. Contrarily, toothbrushing frequency was negatively associated with the baseline number of teeth with PD ≥4 mm and its rate of change over time. Conclusion: Interdental cleaning was not associated with 11‐year change in periodontal pocketing after accounting for other established risk factors for periodontal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim was to examine whether the changes in different measures of perceived oral health (POH) were similar and related to each other over 11 years in the Finnish adult population in a longitudinal setting. Perceived oral health was measured by means of subjective oral health (SOH), self‐assessed treatment need (STN), and oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL). Methods: The data were collected as part of the nationally representative Health 2000 and Health 2011 (BRIF 8901) surveys on Finnish adults born in 1981 or earlier. SOH and STN were measured using single items and OHRQoL using the 14‐item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‐14). The changes in STN and OHRQoL were reported by age group and by gender. Age groups (born in 1971 or later, in 1956‐1970, in 1946‐1955, or in 1945 or earlier) were based on access to subsidized oral health care. General linear mixed models for changes in perceived oral health variables were conducted. Results: Subjective oral health and oral health‐related quality of life with impacts occurring occasionally, fairly often, or very often (OFoVo) showed similar results and remained good or improved in the majority of the participants. Self‐assessed treatment need in the population showed less consistent results. Subjective oral health was good in the adult population. About half of the participants, regardless of age and gender, reported self‐assessed treatment need in both years, showing a decrease among women and an increase in the youngest group. Perceived oral health improved significantly in the two oldest age groups regardless of the measure. The general linear mixed model revealed that changes in all three perceived oral health variables were related even when adjusted for age and gender. Conclusion: Multiple perceived oral health measures might be useful for service planning, as the changes in the three separate measures used in this longitudinal study were various and thus measured different aspects of perceived oral health. Research including both self‐perceived and clinical indicators is needed to understand need for care as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine whether a healthy diet based on nutrient recommendations is associated with periodontal condition in smokers. Material and Methods: Daily smokers from the cross-sectional Health 2000 Survey (BRIF 8901) in Finland were analysed in two age groups (30–49 and 50–79 years, n = 704 and 267) and according to the level of oral hygiene. Periodontal condition was measured as the number of sextants with gingival bleeding and teeth with ≥4 mm deepened periodontal pockets. Information on nutrition was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire and measured using the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) and the Recommended Finnish Diet Score (RFDS). Results: In the total study population, no association between the scores and periodontal condition was observed. Among 30- to 49 year-old participants with good oral hygiene, diet scores associated inversely with the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets (p = .078 (BSDS) and p = .027 (RFDS)). Conclusions: In a representative sample of Finnish adults who smoke, a healthy diet was not associated with periodontal condition. Among a younger age group with good oral hygiene, a healthy diet associated with better periodontal condition. Age and oral hygiene appeared to modify the association between diet and periodontal condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the 2000s, two major legislative reforms concerning oral health care have been implemented in Finland. One entitled the whole population to subsidized care and the other regulated the timeframes of access to care. Our aim was, in a cross-sectional setting, to assess changes in and determinants of use of oral health care services before the first reform in 2000 and after both reforms in 2011. Methods: The data were part of the nationally representative Health 2000 and 2011 Surveys of adults aged ≥ 30 years and were gathered by interviews and questionnaires. The outcome was the use of oral health care services during the previous year. Determinants of use among the dentate were grouped according to Andersen's model: predisposing (sex, age group), enabling (education, recall, dental fear, habitual use of services, household income, barriers of access to care), and need (perceived need, self-rated oral health, denture status). Chi square tests and logistic regression analyses were used for statistical evaluation. Results: No major changes or only a minor increase in overall use of oral health care services was seen between the study years. An exception were those belonging to oldest age group who clearly increased their use of services. Also, a significant increase in visiting a public sector dentist was observed, particularly in the age groups that became entitled to subsidized care in 2000. In the private sector, use of services decreased in younger age groups. Determinants for visiting a dentist, regardless of the service sector, remained relatively stable. Being a regular dental visitor was the most significant determinant for having visited a dentist during the previous year. Enabling factors, both organizational and individual, were emphasized. They seemed to enable service utilization particularly in the private sector. Conclusions: Overall changes in the use of oral health care services were relatively small, but in line with the goals set for the reform. Older persons increased use of services in both sectors, implying growing need. Differences between public and private sectors persisted, and recall, costs of care and socioeconomic factors steered choices between the sectors, sustaining inequity in access to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To assess whether sense of coherence ( SOC) predicts the 4-year incidence of periodontal disease in adults. Methods Data from 848 adults who participated in both the Health 2000 Survey and the Follow-Up Study of Finnish Adults' Oral Health were analysed. At baseline, participants provided information on demographic characteristics, education level, the SOC scale, pre-existing diabetes and dental behaviours. The outcome measure was the change in number of teeth with pocketing ≥4 mm over 4 years over 4 years. Two separate sets of longitudinal analyses were conducted. The first set was conducted with all the 848 subjects who participated in both surveys and the second set was conducted with the 305 subjects who had no pocketing ≥4 mm at baseline. Results In the full sample, baseline SOC was not associated with change in number of teeth with pocketing over 4 years (coefficient from linear regression: −0.28; 95% CI: −0.74 to 0.18). Similarly, baseline SOC was not associated with number of teeth with pocketing after 4 years (Rate Ratio: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.80 to 1.11) among those with no pocketing at baseline. Conclusion This 4-year prospective study suggests that SOC measured in adulthood does not explain change in the number of teeth with periodontal pocketing ≥4 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tseveenjav B, Suominen AL, Vehkalahti MM. Oral health-related behaviours among dentate adults in Finland: findings from the Finnish Health 2000 Survey. Eur J Oral Sci 2012; 120: 54-60. © 2012 Eur J Oral Sci The aim of this study was to assess oral health-related behaviours among dentate adults. As part of the comprehensive Finnish Health 2000 Survey, this study included dentate subjects, 30-64 yr of age ( n = 4,417). Based on interview and questionnaire data, information on nine oral health-related habits was elicited. On average, study subjects reported 4.4 (SD = 1.5) oral health-promoting behaviours among the nine behaviours investigated, the mean number differing according to subjects' gender, educational level, marital status, and employment status. Older age, higher level of education, cohabiting, and being employed were indications of higher numbers of oral health-promoting habits than were younger age, lower levels of education, being single, or being unemployed. Oral health-promotion activities should be tailored and targeted in terms of adults' socio-economic and demographic characteristics, and directed especially towards men, those with lower education, and those who are single or unemployed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]