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Purpose A gap remains in the synthesis of studies focusing on the long-term effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the oral health of individuals. Thus, a systematic scoping review was conducted to examine whether adults who experienced/reported ACEs had worse oral health outcomes than those who did not experience/report ACEs. Methods The search was conducted over 12 months in six databases of peer-reviewed literature (PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO APA, EBSCO CINAHL) and two grey literature databases (MedRxiv, ProQuest). The last search was performed on January 20.sup.th, 2022. A narrative synthesis of quantitative data was performed by oral health-related outcomes identified. Results Nineteen studies were included and nine oral health-related outcomes were identified. The most commonly evaluated ACE was child sexual abuse (68.4% of studies). Associations between exposure to ACEs and any oral health problems, tooth loss, dental pain, periodontal diseases, dental anxiety, and dental hygiene patterns were observed, strongly suggesting that ACEs, mainly child sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, and neglect, could have negative effects on oral health in adulthood. Conflicting findings for use of dental services were observed. Associations with burning mouth syndrome and temporomandibular joint disorders were found only in subgroup analysis. Conclusions The findings suggest that ACEs could harm oral health in adulthood. However, associations between ACEs and oral health-related outcomes, confounders, and mediators need further exploration to amplify the knowledge and promote humanized and trauma-informed care at an individual level and proper public health planning., Author(s): Letícia R. M. Sartori [sup.1] , Daniela H. Pereira [sup.1] , Sarah R. Baker [sup.2] , Marcos B. Correa [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/05msy9z54, grid.411221.5, 0000 0001 2134 6519, [...]

Background: Research has demonstrated that the loss of one or more natural teeth can be an emotionally traumatic experience that mirrors processes associated with bereavement. There remains scant literature examining the role of emotions in dental encounters. One such exception is the literature on the idea of the 'treatment alliance' in dental encounters. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of the 'treatment alliance' in dentist–patient encounters. Methods: Data were collected from clinical observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups exploring the experience of tooth loss and how the treatment alliance shaped the patient journey. Data analysis was conducted using the grounded theory method influenced by phenomenology. Coding was conducted using NVIVO and the unit of analysis was the treatment alliance. Results: Twenty participants took part in the interviews (eleven male; nine female; 22–86 years; mean age = 58.9 years). Observations were carried out with a further fourteen participants (seven male; seven female; 50–101 years; mean age = 62.2 years). The paper draws on four cases taken from the observational data to illustrate important dynamics underpinning how the treatment alliance varied. These case studies are then used as the basis for a critical discussion of the importance of the treatment alliance in dentistry. Conclusions: The treatment alliance acted as an important moderator in the clinical encounter, helping to influence successful outcomes. An important foundational component of the treatment alliance was the degree of emotional work the dental team conducted when 'getting to know' unfamiliar patients. Whilst emotions were an important factor in dental encounters, their acknowledgement and management were not essential to all successful outcomes. Much more research is therefore needed into the role of emotional labour in dental encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with disabilities generally face poorer oral health outcomes compared with their non‐disabled peers due to a range of factors including inadequate oral hygiene, infrequent dental visits and systemic barriers in accessing care. Aim: This ethnographic study explored the perspectives of caregivers and professionals to identify the ways that children with disabilities are included in oral health. Design: A purposive sample of 10 caregivers, all mothers with disabled children aged 9–15 years, five healthcare providers and five educators in Saudi Arabia, participated. Data collection used participant observation and semi‐structured in‐depth interviews. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: The findings suggest that mothers lacked a supportive environment to develop their skills and knowledge about oral health care, preventing them from including their children in oral health. Inaccessible services added to the exclusion of both mothers and children. Some dental professionals exhibited poor communication skills and discriminatory attitudes towards the children and problematising mothers. Educators tended to discuss disabled children in terms of inability, displaying a deficit approach to impairment. Conclusions: The evidence suggests the exclusion of mothers from oral health. This has an impact on how they enable their children. Recommendations include adopting a social model of disability in dental education and policies in Saudi Arabia to address inequalities. Provision of support, education and focusing on societal barriers moves towards inclusion rather than conceptualising disability as an individual problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study comprises a synthesis of published qualitative studies from developed countries on the perspectives of carers regarding the oral hygiene toothbrushing practices of preschool children, through the lens of social practice theory. Methods: A search of the following electronic databases was conducted for all available years: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global Health using the Ovid platform; Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (DOSS), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Scopus. Included qualitative studies reported primary caregivers' perceptions of oral hygiene practices (focusing on toothbrushing) in preschool children (0–5 years old) in developed countries. A thematic synthesis of the qualitative findings was undertaken for the results of each study. Results: Eleven articles were included in this meta‐synthesis. The focus of this paper was toothbrushing practices. A conceptual map of toothbrushing as a social practice was developed. Key findings included practice elements (meanings, competences, and materials), spatial and temporal aspects, and barriers and facilitators to performance. Conclusions: The application of a social practice lens to published qualitative research on the oral hygiene of preschool children provided insights into the meanings and competences related to toothbrushing, as perceived by primary caregivers. However, it also revealed limited information on material, spatial and temporal aspects of toothbrushing practices, indicating the importance of considering social practice theory as a framework in future research to address this gap. Furthermore, exploring toothbrushing in connection with related social practices has the potential to increase understanding of factors influencing oral health in preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the association between dental caries and school readiness in 5‐year‐old children taking part in the Born in Bradford (BiB) birth cohort, UK. Methods: The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) assesses the school readiness of young children and is strongly predictive of future academic attainment. Children are recorded as 'emerging' (below expected), 'expected', or 'exceeding' in five key learning areas. The Oral Health Survey of 5‐year‐olds (OHS5) is undertaken biennially in England, assessing caries experience at a dentine threshold (d3mft). EYFSP and OHS5 were available for a proportion of children participating in BiB. Odds ratios and confidence intervals for caries experience were established, and odds ratios adjusted for significant sociodemographic variables. Results: EYFSP and OHS5 data were available for 2.5% (n = 346) BiB participants. Nearly half (45.2%) had caries. A measure of socio‐economic status, receiving free school meals, was the only demographic variable strongly related to caries experience (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.6–4.9). After adjustment, children 'emerging' in EYFSP learning areas had 1.6‐ to 2.2‐fold (95% CI: 1.0–3.8) higher odds of experiencing caries. Children 'exceeding' EYFSP learning areas had 2.3‐ to 4‐fold (95% CI: 0.1–0.9) lower odds of caries experience. Conclusion: This is the first study to explore the association between caries experience and school readiness using a holistic assessment tool. The association was found across different learning areas and was comparable to and independent of socio‐economic status. The findings indicate oral health‐related absenteeism is not a causative factor. EYFSP shows potential to enhance the targeting of preventive interventions at a child, class or school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In celebration of the journal's 50th anniversary, the aim of the study was to review the whole collection of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (CDOE) publications from 1973 to 2022 and provide a complete overview of the main publication characteristics. Methods: The study used bibliometric techniques such as performance and science mapping analysis of 3428 articles extracted from the Scopus database. The data were analysed using the 'Bibliometrix' package in R. The journal's scientific production was examined, along with the yearly citation count, the distribution of publications based on authors, the corresponding author's country and affiliation and citation count, citing source and keywords. Bibliometric network maps were constructed to determine the conceptual, intellectual and social collaborative structure over the past 50 years. The trending research topics and themes were identified. Results: The total number of articles and average citations has increased over the years. D Locker, AJ Spencer, A Sheiham and WM Thomson were the most frequently published authors, and PE Petersen, GD Slade and AI Ismail published papers with the highest citations. The most published countries were the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Canada, frequently engaging in collaborative efforts. The most common keywords used were 'dental caries', 'oral epidemiology' and 'oral health'. The trending topics were healthcare and health disparities, social determinants of health, systematic review and health inequalities. Epidemiology, oral health and disparities were highly researched areas. Conclusion: This bibliometric study reviews CDOE's significant contribution to dental public health by identifying key research trends, themes, influential authors and collaborations. The findings provide insights into the need to increase publications from developing countries, improve gender diversity in authorship and broaden the scope of research themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor oral health is common among older adults residing in care homes impacting their diet, quality of life, self‐esteem, general health and well‐being. The care home setting is complex and many factors may affect the successful implementation of oral care interventions. Exploring these factors and their embedded context is key to understanding how and why interventions may or may not be successfully implemented within their intended setting. Objectives: This methodology paper describes the approach to a theoretically informed process evaluation alongside a pragmatic randomised controlled trial, so as to understand contextual factors, how the intervention was implemented and important elements that may influence the pathways to impact. Materials and methods: SENIOR is a pragmatic randomised controlled trial designed to improve the oral health of care home residents in the United Kingdom. The trial uses a complex intervention to promote and provide oral care for residents, including education and training for staff. Results: An embedded, theoretically informed process evaluation, drawing on the PAHRIS framework and utilising a qualitative approach, will help to understand the important contextual factors within the care home that influence both the trial processes and the implementation of the intervention. Conclusion: Utilising an implementation framework as the basis for a theoretically informed process evaluation provides an approach that specifically focuses on the contextual factors that may influence and shape the pathways to impact a given complex intervention a priori, while also providing an understanding of how and why an intervention may be effective. This contrasts with the more common post hoc approach that only focuses on implementation after the empirical results have emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the association between dental clinical status and school performance and school attendance in the Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) using a life‐course framework. Methods: This time‐ordered cross‐sectional study included 466 school children in Grade 2 (aged 7–8 years) and their parents in the KoB. Data were collected through parents' self‐administered questionnaires, children's face‐to‐face interviews and dental clinical examinations. Data on children's school performance and school attendance were gathered from parents and school records. Structural equation modelling (SEM) examined the direct and indirect pathways between variables. Results: Children born in families with high socio‐economic status (SES) were less likely to have dental caries and more likely to have better school performance at 7–8 years of age. Dentine caries was directly linked with poor school performance. Treated teeth directly predicted high school performance. The presence of dentine caries mediated the relationship of SES with school performance. Conclusions: Birth and current socio‐economic factors were significant predictors of dental clinical conditions and school performance. Dental caries and fewer treated teeth directly predicted poor school performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The first steps towards gender equity in science are measuring the magnitude of inequity and increasing awareness of the problem. Objectives: To describe trends in gender disparities in first and last authorship in the most cited dental publications and general dental literature over a 20‐year period. Methods: Articles and bibliometric data were retrieved from the Scopus database for the period 1996 to 2015. Two groups of 1000 articles each were retrieved: a random sample and another sample of top‐cited articles for each year. The gender of the first and last author of each publication was manually identified. When this was not possible, we used an online software platform (https://genderize.io/). Descriptive analyses identified the proportion of women first and last authors in both samples, stratifying by dental discipline and geographic region. Trends were ascertained by frequency metrics across years. Gender disparity was observed in both first and last authorship, with a larger gap being observed in the top‐cited sample. Results: Women led 28.4% and 20.3% of articles in the random and top‐cited samples, respectively. A similar pattern was observed for the last authorship group (22.1% and 16.1%, respectively). An increasing trend in the proportion of articles led by women over time was observed in both samples. This increase was larger in the top‐cited sample (from 15.0% in 1996–2000 to 25.1% in 2015) than in the random sample (from 26.3% in 1996–2000 to 33.2% in 2011). Conclusions: Clear gender disparities in dental research publications in the last 20 years were identified in both general and top‐cited manuscripts, across dental disciplines, across countries, across first and last authorship, and over time. It is paramount that actions are taken to attract, retain and promote women in science, as well as to monitor and ensure progress towards gender equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is an excruciating unilateral facial pain, which negatively affects patient's quality of life. Historically, it has been difficult to compare treatment efficacy due to the lack of standardized outcomes. In addition, patients' perspective has seldomly been acknowledged. The aim of this study was to reach consensus on what outcomes of treatment are important to different TN stakeholders (patients, clinicians and researchers), to identify the TN Core Outcome Set (TRINCOS). Methods: A list of outcomes identified through a systematic review and focus group work was used to develop the survey questionnaire. A three‐round Delphi was conducted. Participants were asked to score the outcomes on scale from 1 to 9 (1–3 not important;4–6 important but not critical;7–9 critical). Outcomes scored as critical by ≥70% and not important by <15% were retained, and those for which no consensus was reached were discussed at a consensus meeting. Results: Of the 70 participants who completed the Delphi, 26 were patients, 38 were clinicians and six were researchers. Of the 40 outcomes presented, 17 were scored as critical and no consensus was met for 23 outcomes. Agreement was reached during a consensus meeting on 10 outcomes across six domains (pain, side effects, social impact, quality of life, global improvement, and satisfaction with treatment). Conclusion: Implementation of TRINCOS in future clinical trials will improve homogeneity of studies' results, reduce the redundancy in the outcome assessment and effectively allow comparison of different treatments to better inform researchers, clinicians and most importantly patients, about the efficacy of the different treatments. Significance: Implementation of a 10‐item core outcome set in trigeminal neuralgia will improve comparability between studies allowing patients to have faster access to better treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]