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Objective: The use of fluoride is one of the few evidence-based preventive of dental caries. Fluoride rejection is a growing public health concern. Public health researchers need to develop fluoride rejection screening tools, diagnostic tools, and evidence-based strategies for optimal preventive dental care decisions. This study aimed to develop a Fluoride Acceptance Scale (FAS). Material and Method: Six hundred and sixty-two volunteers were included for the research. An item pool consisting of 15 items was developed as a result of literature review. A 6-point Likert Scale ranging from 0 to 5 was used in this scale. Four items were removed at the content validity stage and one item at the internal consistency stage. Internal consistency stage 10 of them were accepted for the scale based on Cronbach's Alpha values. The mean Content Validity Indeks value of the scale was calculated as 0.95. The data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics Pack version 22.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results: In this study, Turkish Fluoride Acceptance Scale was developed to measure fluoride acceptance. The scale consisted of 10 questions and 2 factors: A: Fluoride Benefit and Protection (6 questions), B: Opposition to Fluoride (4 questions). The Cronbach's Alpha was 0.862, Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin was 0.826. Factor load values of all items (10 items) were found to be 0.5 and above. Conclusion: The FAS can be used to assess fluoride acceptance in an easy and quick way and can assist in the development of health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives The present study systematically reviewed and provided a meta-analysis on early childhood caries (ECC) global prevalence and its association with socioeconomic indicators, both geographical and regarding unemployment rate, national income as well as income inequalities. Methods Only cross-sectional or cohort studies covering ECC prevalence and experience in children younger than 71 months, reporting sample size, diagnostic criteria and conducted in urban and rural communities were considered. No language restriction was selected. Studies published from 2011 to 2022 available in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Open Grey literature were retrieved by ad hoc prepared search strings. The meta-analyses were conducted for both overall ECC prevalence and experience stratified by country of publication as well as measures of socioeconomic indicators using a random effects model using STATA 18®. Results One hundred publications reporting ECC data from 49 countries (published from 2011 to 2022) were included and summarized by meta-analysis. The lowest prevalence was reported in Japan (20.6%) and Greece (19.3%). The global estimated random-effect pooled prevalence of ECC was 49% (95%CI: 0.44–0.55). The random-effect pooled caries prevalence (ECC) was 34% (95%CI: 02.20–0.48) (Central/South America), 36% (95%CI: 0.25–0.47) (Europe), 42% (95%CI: 0.32–0.53) (Africa), 52% (95%CI: 0.45–0.60) (Asia-Oceania), 57% (95%CI: 0.36–0.77) (North America) and 72% (95%CI: 0.58–0.85) (Middle East). When stratified by gross national income (GNI) the ECC prevalence ranged from 30% ($20,000-$39,999) to 57% in countries with the lowest GNI (

Objectives: The Finnish dental care market operates as a dual system, divided between a regulated, affordable public sector and a less regulated, more expensive private sector that receives public subsidies. In 2015 and 2016, two policy interventions were introduced to reduce these subsidies for private dental services. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these policy changes on the dental care market. Methods: This study was a realist evaluation. Context‐Intervention‐Mechanism‐Outcome‐configurations were applied to elicit an initial program theory (IPT) for the policy interventions. The IPT allowed a complicated system to be reduced to the main components, allowing for better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the chain of events started by the interventions. The resulting hypotheses about the chain of events and outcomes were tested against a dataset collected from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (SII) registries on public and private dental visits in the cities of Espoo, Helsinki and Oulu during the years 2010–2016. The used dataset consisted of N = 17 111 625 dental procedures or N = 8 139 990 individual visits (which can include several procedures) at a public (n = 9 097 407 procedures, n = 4 083 475 visits) or a private (n = 8 014 218 procedures or n = 4 056 515 visits) dental clinic. The system was studied during three time periods related to the two interventions in 2015 and in 2016. Changes were evaluated by statistically analysing changes in several key metrics: mean subsidy, mean out‐of‐pocket price, mean (non‐subsidized) price, number of patients treated, number of professionals, procedures per professional, Case‐Mix adjusted procedures per professional, patient‐to‐professional ratio, total procedures. Results: The 2015 and 2016 reductions to the subsidization of private dental care reduced the average subsidies paid to the private dental sector by 49% [−49.1, −38.8]. A 26% [25.2, 26.7] increase in the out‐of‐pocket price paid in the private sector was observed. Over the 2 years, 12.2% of patients left the private sector and an increase of 13% was observed in the number of patients treated in the public sector. The public sector increased its number of dental care professionals by 2.3% and the patient‐to‐professional ratio increased by 9.9% over the 2 years, while the private sector lost 4.6% of its dental care professionals and increased its prices by 4.0% [3.5, 4.5]. Conclusions: The policy changes had tangible effects on both the private and public sectors of the Finnish dental care market. By reducing subsidies, the private sector became more expensive for patients, causing many to transition to the public sector for their dental needs. While the public sector increased its capacity to accommodate the rise in patients, the demand still outpaced the growth in professionals, hinting at capacity or resource constraints in the public sector. The results also show initial evidence that contrary to the objectives, the policy changes increased the cost to the public sector as subsidized patient cared for in the private sector costs less to the government than treating that same patient in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the Brazilian federal government launched the "Prevent Brazil" program to incentivize cities to improve their performance across 7 health care indicators, including prenatal dental care. Our study examines the impact of this policy on the use of oral health care among pregnant women in Brazil. We used a series of cross-sectional data from the Brazilian Public Health System from 2018 to 2023. We linked publicly available data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Our outcome was the proportion of pregnant women receiving prenatal care who had at least 1 dental visit during the past year. Covariates included city-level socioeconomic (income and literacy), demographic (gender, race, and urban areas), and workforce variables (number of dentists working in the public health system per city/year). We estimated the impact of the policy on prenatal dental visits nationwide and stratified by geographic region using interrupted time-series analysis. Our analyses included 99.9% of all Brazilian cities (n = 5,562). The use of oral health care among pregnant women increased from 15% in 2018 to 69% in 2023. Adjusted estimates show that, after initiation of the Prevent Brazil, dental care use among pregnant women increased nationally at a rate of 4.6 percentage points per 4-mo period (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5; 4.7). The policy's largest impact was in the North and Northeast regions, which have the lowest socioeconomic profiles (adjusted time-series rate 5.7 [95% CI 5.3; 6.1] and 5.2 [5.0; 5.4] percent points, respectively). Our findings support the positive impact of the Prevent Brazil policy on prenatal dental care in Brazil. The policy was associated with a countrywide improvement in prenatal dental care use, with a greater impact in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study systematically reviewed and provided a meta-analysis on early childhood caries (ECC) global prevalence and its association with socioeconomic indicators, both geographical and regarding unemployment rate, national income as well as income inequalities. Methods: Only cross-sectional or cohort studies covering ECC prevalence and experience in children younger than 71 months, reporting sample size, diagnostic criteria and conducted in urban and rural communities were considered. No language restriction was selected. Studies published from 2011 to 2022 available in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Open Grey literature were retrieved by ad hoc prepared search strings. The meta-analyses were conducted for both overall ECC prevalence and experience stratified by country of publication as well as measures of socioeconomic indicators using a random effects model using STATA 18®. Results: One hundred publications reporting ECC data from 49 countries (published from 2011 to 2022) were included and summarized by meta-analysis. The lowest prevalence was reported in Japan (20.6%) and Greece (19.3%). The global estimated random-effect pooled prevalence of ECC was 49% (95%CI: 0.44–0.55). The random-effect pooled caries prevalence (ECC) was 34% (95%CI: 02.20–0.48) (Central/South America), 36% (95%CI: 0.25–0.47) (Europe), 42% (95%CI: 0.32–0.53) (Africa), 52% (95%CI: 0.45–0.60) (Asia-Oceania), 57% (95%CI: 0.36–0.77) (North America) and 72% (95%CI: 0.58–0.85) (Middle East). When stratified by gross national income (GNI) the ECC prevalence ranged from 30% ($20,000-$39,999) to 57% in countries with the lowest GNI (<$5000). Stratification by inequality index (Gini index) resulted in an ECC prevalence range of 39% (low inequality) to 62% (no inequality), while for life expectancy the ECC prevalence ranged from 28% in countries with the highest life expectancy (< 80 years) to 62% in countries with 71–75 years life expectancy. Discussion: Within the limitations of this study (lack of certainty about the results as many countries are not represented and lack of uniformity in prevalence and experience data represented), results from 49 different countries reported a wide range of ECC prevalence. These reports indicated persisting high worldwide distribution of the disease. Both ECC prevalence and experience were associated with geographical areas and GNI. Registration: PROSPERO: CRD-42,022,290,418. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iran will soon have an aging population. Healthcare providers must consider factors affecting the quality of life for those 60 and older. Understanding oral health as one of these factors can improve the elderly's quality of life. Oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a crucial reflection of individuals' general well‐being and their overall quality of life linked to health. This study aimed to evaluate the OHRQoL among elderly Iranians referring to Azad University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Methods: In this cross‐sectional study, 171 individuals over 65 (93 men and 78 women) were evaluated using OHIP‐14 and GOHAI‐12 questionnaires to analyze their quality of life. Gender, age, systemic diseases, using medications and dentures, the number of remaining teeth, and oral lesions were recorded. Salivary flow and xerostomia were analyzed with the spitting method and xerostomia index questionnaire, respectively. Also, four main flavor solutions were used to evaluate the taste perception. Data were analyzed using PASS11 and p value <.05 was the significance level. Results: Based on OHIP‐14 and GOHAI‐12, Iranian older people's quality of life can be affected by cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, xerostomia, and the number of remaining teeth (p <.05). The results also showed a significant correlation between the OHIP‐14 and GOHAI‐12 scores (p <.001). Both indexes revealed that the number of remaining teeth, xerostomia, salivary flow, and taste perception greatly influenced participants' quality of life. More remaining teeth, improved salivary flow, and better perception of sweetness and sourness were all linked to a higher quality of life, while increased xerostomia, reduced salivary flow, and bitter taste perception were linked to a decline in overall well‐being. Cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and medication use were also found to significantly impact quality of life. Conclusion: This study's results indicate that cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, dry mouth, and tooth loss can negatively impact the elderly's quality of life. So, improving both systemic and oral health is vital for enhancing life quality in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective is to describe the actions and activities carried out by the dentist during home visits. Methods: The experience took place during visits to users of the Basic Health Unit UBS Vila São Pedro in the Municipality of São Bernardo do Campo, a peripheral region with a lot of socioeconomic vulnerability, recording the periods from January to December 2022. The actions and activities described were cataloged as basic levels in health care: promotion, prevention, and diagnosis of soft tissue injuries and damage limitation. Dentists carried out 84 home visits with the purpose of offering oral health care to users restricted to bed, health promotion actions and activities were based on encouraging the practice of healthy habits, making caregivers of bedridden patients aware of the importance of oral hygiene, and how care should be carried out in the oral cavity of these patients where they no longer have the capacity for self-care. Results: The prevention actions were oral hygiene instruction mainly aimed at caring for patients who have restricted movements and who depend on a caregiver to perform oral hygiene, brushing or cleaning with gauze soaked with 0.12% chlorhexidine, and topical application of fluoride to the patients who still have dental elements. The other actions to limit pre-existing oral damage were tooth extractions with periodontal involvement. Conclusion: Therefore, dentist-in-home visits play a fundamental role in promoting quality of life and social life for patients who cannot go to a Basic Health Unit due to being temporarily restricted or permanently restricted to their home.

ABSTRACTBackground Dental public health (DPH) is a specialty of dentistry that serves the community as a patient rather than the individual. It requires broad knowledge and skills in preventing and controlling oral diseases, planning and administering programs, applied research, surveillance and evaluation, financing, and providing dental care. This article aims to outline DPH practice, emphasizing its role in improving the oral health of communities, and highlight professional training pathways in this field.Methods We used the Ten Essential Public Health Services framework to illustrate DPH practice. The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) provides guidance to state and local health programs for promoting oral health policies and programs at the population or community level. In addition, we presented the education and training pathways for becoming a DPH specialist and identified opportunities for all dental practitioners.Results This paper outlines real-world examples how DPH practitioners have contributed to improving the oral health of Californians. The opportunities to practice both in the public health and private sectors and the collaboration with academia are highlighted. Examples throughout the paper such as the collaborative effort in San Francisco to address high tooth decay rates in children and its contribution to the statewide policy illustrate the opportunity for practicing dentists to improve community oral health and overall health with a DPH mind-set.Conclusions Improving the oral health of Californians requires competent dental public health and clinical practitioners. It is essential to have robust education and training programs with a community focus that offers multiple pathways.

Objectives: To describe the planning stage and the first year of “Smiles,” an innovative, inclusive oral health promotion program among preschool children, ages 3 to 5, encompassing the enhancement of daily toothbrushing skills, engagement of teaching staff and parents, and integration of a supportive environment of supervised toothbrushing in kindergartens. Method and materials: The major components of the first year of the program included workshops with the teaching staff, working sessions with the preschool children, and workshops with the parents. Program participation, program cooperation, program satisfaction, and kindergarten teachers, kindergarten parents, and dental hygienists’ attitudes towards this component of the program were recorded and evaluated. Minor components of the first year of the program included assimilation and integration of daily supervised toothbrushing in some of the kindergartens. Program participation, kindergarten teachers, kindergarten teachers’ assistants, and kindergarten parents’ attitudes towards this component of the program were recorded and evaluated. Results: In total, 180 kindergartens, in nine locations across Israel, including 5,311 preschool children, their parents, and teaching staff, took part in the first year of the program. High levels of participation (80% and above), cooperation (9.55 to 9.78) and satisfaction (9.62 to 9.81) were recorded in the first year of the program. Kindergarten teachers, parents, and dental hygienists expressed high levels of support for continuing the program beyond its first year (9.86 to 10.00). Regarding the daily supervised toothbrushing model in the kindergartens, high levels of satisfaction (9.50 to 9.75) and willingness to continue the program (9.50–10.00) were recorded among kindergarten teachers, assistants, and parents. Conclusion: The “Smiles” program serves as an example of successful collaboration between many partners and stakeholders from different organizations, sectors, and government ministries, local authorities, kindergarten management and staff, parents, and the most important partners, the preschool children. Its adherence to the basic principles of health promotion, and its professional adjustment to early childhood with positive atmosphere of happiness, joy, and shared warmth, contributed to the success of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Primary dental healthcare services are not accessible for a majority of Latino/a/e migrant farmworkers in the United States. Unmet dental health needs are well documented in larger states like California, Florida and New York, but the dental healthcare picture in smaller states is not well understood. The goal of this qualitative ethnographic study was to understand the delivery model of a free dentistry network serving Latine farmworkers in rural Vermont and specific barriers experienced at the network during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: Semi‐structured ethnographic interviews were carried out with clinicians and transcripts were analysed using the constant comparison method to identify salient concerns and recommendations about barriers and delivery of care. Results: Clinicians highlighted structural issues including farmworkers' lack of time off work and absence of transportation to attend appointments, concerns about COVID‐19 safety, concerns about immigration surveillance and language barriers. Providers outlined steps for improved service delivery including mobile care at local farms, enhanced intercultural training for providers, recognizing dentistry as essential healthcare at the state level and the leverage of existing appointments for preventive health. Drawing on anthropological frameworks of place‐based care and deservingness of healthcare, our ethnographic findings emphasize the role of community dentistry in bridging gaps in migrant healthcare during and beyond the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional epidemiological study aimed to describe dental caries and oral hygiene conditions among visually impaired students in Hong Kong. Students aged 6–21 years from two specialised schools for those with vision impairment were invited. Information on sociodemographic background and oral health-related behaviours was collected through an online parent-reported questionnaire. Dental caries and oral hygiene were assessed using the Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index and the Visible Plaque Index (VPI), respectively. Chi-square, Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests were conducted to analyse the association between students' background and oral health status. A total of 73 participants were recruited, of whom 57.5% were male. Their mean (SD) age was 12.9 (4.7) years. Their mean DMFT score (SD) was 1.0 (1.8), and 43.8% had caries experience. The mean VPI (SD) was 0.76 (0.30). Their caries experience was significantly associated with their snacking habits (p = 0.013). Male participants had poorer oral hygiene than females (p = 0.048). In summary, dental caries is prevalent among visually impaired students in Hong Kong and their oral hygiene condition is unsatisfactory. Caries experience is significantly associated with snacking frequency, whereas oral hygiene is associated with gender. More specially designed preventive oral health measures should be provided for visually impaired students and their caretakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RSBO: Revista Sul-Brasileira de Odontologia is the property of UNIVILLE and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: Gingivitis is one of the most prevalent plaque-initiated dental diseases globally. It is challenging to maintain satisfactory plaque control without continuous professional advice. Artificial intelligence may be used to provide automated visual plaque control advice based on intraoral photographs. Methods: Frontal view intraoral photographs fulfilling selection criteria were collected. Along the gingival margin, the gingival conditions of individual sites were labelled as healthy, diseased, or questionable. Photographs were randomly assigned as training or validation datasets. Training datasets were input into a novel artificial intelligence system and its accuracy in detection of gingivitis including sensitivity, specificity, and mean intersection-over-union were analysed using validation dataset. The accuracy was reported according to STARD-2015 statement. Results: A total of 567 intraoral photographs were collected and labelled, of which 80% were used for training and 20% for validation. Regarding training datasets, there were total 113,745,208 pixels with 9,270,413; 5,711,027; and 4,596,612 pixels were labelled as healthy, diseased, and questionable respectively. Regarding validation datasets, there were 28,319,607 pixels with 1,732,031; 1,866,104; and 1,116,493 pixels were labelled as healthy, diseased, and questionable, respectively. AI correctly predicted 1,114,623 healthy and 1,183,718 diseased pixels with sensitivity of 0.92 and specificity of 0.94. The mean intersection-over-union of the system was 0.60 and above the commonly accepted threshold of 0.50. Conclusions: Artificial intelligence could identify specific sites with and without gingival inflammation, with high sensitivity and high specificity that are on par with visual examination by human dentist. This system may be used for monitoring of the effectiveness of patients’ plaque control.

Objectives: To investigate whether professionally applied topical fluoride‐hesitant caregivers are also hesitant about other forms of fluoride for their child. Methods: This was a mixed methods study of 56 caregivers hesitant about professionally applied topical fluoride for their child recruited from the University of Washington Center for Paediatric Dentistry and Seattle Children's Hospital's Odessa Brown Children's Dental Clinic. A 32‐item semi‐structured interview script was piloted and finalized. One‐time interviews with caregivers were conducted by phone in 2019. Associations between hesitancy of topical fluoride, fluoridated water and toothpaste were assessed quantitatively via two‐tailed chi‐squared tests. Qualitative data were coded using an inductive approach and content analytic methods to investigate reasons for hesitancy. Results: There were significant associations between hesitancy in all three pairwise comparisons of fluoride form (p <.01). Similar proportions of caregivers strongly or somewhat opposed fluoridated water compared with toothpaste (75% and 65%, respectively), but four times as many caregivers strongly or somewhat favoured fluoridated toothpaste compared to water for their child (25% and 7%, respectively). Concerns about harm were the most common reason caregivers opposed both fluoridated water and toothpaste. However, fluoride‐hesitant caregivers reported being more comfortable with fluoridated toothpaste because amount and frequency can be controlled, and ingestion can be prevented. Conclusions: Professionally applied topical fluoride hesitancy is significantly associated with fluoridated water and toothpaste hesitancy, but caregivers who were hesitant about topical fluoride was more comfortable with fluoridated toothpaste than fluoridated water for their child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Timely diagnosis of oral cancers is critical, and performing biopsies of oral lesions with suspected malignancy is a crucial step in achieving this goal. The waiting time for the diagnosis may be related to the progression and prognosis of malignant neoplasms. Objective The aim of this observational, cross-sectional, national-level study was to identify the factors associated with the waiting time for scheduling an oral biopsy, based on the identification of its need. Methods We used secondary data from the Brazilian public health system, obtained from the 2nd cycle of the National Program to Improve Access and Quality of Dental Specialty Centers (PMAQ-CEO). The study outcome was the waiting time for scheduling an oral biopsy, starting from the identification of the need for the exam. We analyzed individual and contextual variables using multilevel statistical analysis. Results In 51.8% of DSC the waiting time for scheduling a biopsy was non-immediate; in 58.1% of CEOs, the sum of the weekly workload of dentists working in the Stomatology specialty is up to 20 h per week; in terms of coverage, 67.1% of the CEOs have only municipal coverage and 34.0% are references for up to 12 oral health teams in primary health care; only the coverage variable remained significant in the multivariate model (p 0.05). When these were analyzed together, only the coverage remained significant (p

This scoping review aimed to identify, describe, and analyze the use of Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) as public policy. Inclusion criteria: studies on public oral health policies; dental caries; ART. Exclusion criteria: clinical studies; specific interventions; studies that report public policies that do not use ART as a strategy for caries treatment. The search was conducted in PubMed, BVS, Epistemonikos, Health Systems Evidence, and Rxforchange. The selection process and data extraction were performed by two authors independently according to the stages and categories of a conceptual framework. Of the 2253 eligible articles, 139 were duplicates, and 1680 were not included after reading the title and abstract. After assessing the full text, 414 articles were excluded. Twenty articles were included. Nineteen were conducted in nine countries (South Africa, Bolivia, Cambodia, Egypt, Mexico, Tanzania, East Timor, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe), and one in the Americas. The studies reported high prevalence of dental caries and lack of access to restorative procedures in health services as common problems. Policy developments followed a similar process, with the presence of governments, conceptual use of scientific evidence, and induction by the World Health Organization. Regarding implementation barriers, the included studies mentioned the lack of supplies and lack of induction by managers, while in relation to the facilitators, permanent education and professional practice were mentioned. Cohort studies have shown a survival rate greater than 80% after one year of follow up of the restorations performed. The findings of this review indicate that the use of ART in public policies is promising, however, its use is still in an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Dental Hygiene is the property of Canadian Dental Hygienists Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: There are several options for removing extrinsic tooth stains, bleaching is the most popular one. The present study aims to provide knowledge about the perception of dentists and patients on the various aspects of the bleaching procedure which include different bleaching methods, their side effects, and financial characteristics. In addition, the study addressed the self-perception of patients' dental esthetic, factors responsible for the recommendation, and usage of different bleaching methods and materials as well as postprocedure satisfaction. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2022 in different dental institutes and private clinics in Pakistan. Two different, validated questionnaires were used for dentists and patients, respectively, one having 16 questions and the second one with 20 questions. The quantitative and qualitative variables were presented with frequency and percentages. Results: A total of 267 dentists and 250 patients participated in the study. The majority of dentists (74.2%) perceived that the presence of dental fillings influenced their decision in recommending a whitening treatment. Almost half (54%) of patients were satisfied after the whitening treatment at home but reported high teeth and gum sensitivity (67%). Conclusion: Our study suggested that bleaching is a sensitive treatment and most of the patients are unaware of its cautions and correct use; therefore, it should be done in dental clinics only to decrease the side effects of sensitivity.

Background: Timely diagnosis of oral cancers is critical, and performing biopsies of oral lesions with suspected malignancy is a crucial step in achieving this goal. The waiting time for the diagnosis may be related to the progression and prognosis of malignant neoplasms. Objective: The aim of this observational, cross-sectional, national-level study was to identify the factors associated with the waiting time for scheduling an oral biopsy, based on the identification of its need. Methods: We used secondary data from the Brazilian public health system, obtained from the 2nd cycle of the National Program to Improve Access and Quality of Dental Specialty Centers (PMAQ-CEO). The study outcome was the waiting time for scheduling an oral biopsy, starting from the identification of the need for the exam. We analyzed individual and contextual variables using multilevel statistical analysis. Results: In 51.8% of DSC the waiting time for scheduling a biopsy was non-immediate; in 58.1% of CEOs, the sum of the weekly workload of dentists working in the Stomatology specialty is up to 20 h per week; in terms of coverage, 67.1% of the CEOs have only municipal coverage and 34.0% are references for up to 12 oral health teams in primary health care; only the coverage variable remained significant in the multivariate model (p < 0.05). Of the contextual variables, none of the variables remained significant (p > 0.05). When these were analyzed together, only the coverage remained significant (p < 0.05); Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that the waiting time for scheduling an oral biopsy is longer in CEOs that cover only one municipality and is not related to contextual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental public health competencies in predoctoral dental education ensure that students have the skills to succeed in an increasingly complex professional environment. This study examined existing public health curricula in US dental education and their alignment with national recommendations from the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) and guidance from the Healthy People Curriculum Task Force for health professions education programs. We contacted all US dental schools (N = 66) in November 2020–January 202 and requested syllabi for schools' first course with dental public health content. We received 34 syllabi, which provided textual data for content analysis. The authors used an initial content analysis tool to extract descriptive course characteristics. Then, direct and emergent coding was performed to summarize course content. Direct codes included the 23 dental public health topics specified by AAPHD recommendations. Uncategorized content was coded using an inductive approach to identify emergent course themes. Frequently covered topics included principles of dental public health (79% of syllabi) and access to care (79%). "Health disparities" was the most common emergent theme, with 50% of courses including related content. There was little consistency in how courses approached each topic. For example, the topic "access to care" covered healthcare delivery systems, determinants of health, legislative reform, and advocacy. Dental public health was often taught alongside unrelated content. Recommendations for dental public health competencies should be updated to include new educational priorities, align with current national recommendations, and align with Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards more clearly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Reports of interventions to improve dental opioid prescribing have come primarily from academic settings, but most opioid prescriptions are written by community dentists. This analysis compares prescription characteristics between these two groups to inform interventions to improve dental opioid prescribing in community settings. Methods: State prescription drug monitoring program data from 2013 to 2020 were used to compare opioid prescriptions from dentists at academic institutions (PDAI) to prescriptions from dentists in non‐academic settings (PDNS). Linear regression was used to assess daily morphine milligram equivalents (MME), total MME, and days' supply, adjusting for year, age, sex, and rurality. Results: Prescriptions from dentists at the academic institution accounted for less than 2% of over 2.3 million dental opioid prescriptions analyzed. Over 80% of prescriptions in both groups were written for <50 MME per day and for ≤3 days' supply. On average, in the adjusted models, prescriptions from the academic institution were written for about 75 additional MME per prescription and nearly a full day longer duration. Compared to adults, adolescents were the only age group who received both higher daily doses and longer days' supply. Conclusions: Prescriptions from dentists at academic institutions accounted for small percentage of opioid prescriptions, but prescription characteristics were clinically comparable between groups. Interventional targets to reduce opioid prescribing in academic institutions could be applied to community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community dentistry or dental public health residency program are non-existent in Pakistan. Due to this, the dental institutions find it extremely difficult to hire and retain teachers in this discipline. There are other subjects such as Special Care Dentistry and Oral Medicine which too are lacking in our country. However, these disciplines are locally overseen by faculty of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery. Interestingly, other emerging disciplines such as Dental Anesthesiology, Oral Radiology and Oral Pathology are standalone specialties recognized by the American Dental Association but in Pakistan, these subjects fall in the domain of medical specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology, respectively. The two dental disciplines that warrant immediate attention of the dental academia and should be established as subject specialties are: Dental Public Health (DPH) and Pediatric Dentistry. This short communication discusses the significance and methodology of initiating a residency (fellowship training) program in Dental Public Health.

This study aimed to identify professional factors associated with case resolution without a referral of orofacial pain to secondary health care by Brazilian Primary Health Care (PHC) practitioners who demanded asynchronous teleconsulting, stratified by year, in 2019 and 2020 (the COVID-19 Pandemic burst). A cross-sectional study employed secondary databases from asynchronous teleconsulting Telehealth Brazil Networks from January 2019 to December 2020. The outcome was the dichotomous variable "If referral to secondary care was avoided." As covariates: sex, healthcare professions, and category of orofacial pain doubts. A negative binomial regression model estimated each covariate's unadjusted and adjusted PR (95%CI) and p values, stratified for 2019 and 2020. There was a difference in descriptive factors associated with case resolution without a referral from 2019 to 2020. Females prevailed in both years, and the total demand decreased to a third from 2019 to 2020. The rate of resoluteness decreased by 19.1%. In 2019, nurses (PR = 0.69 CI 95% 0.57–0.83) and other professionals (PR = 0.84 CI 95% 0.73–0.97) showed less frequency of case resolution without a referral than did general dentists. In 2020, oral-cavity-related doubts (PR = 1.18 CI 95% 1.06–1.32) and temporomandibular disorders (PR = 1.33 95% 1.15–1.54) surpassed other causes of orofacial pain in case resolution without a referral, and female professionals avoided referrals more frequently than men (PR = 1.24 CI 95% 1.21–1.38). In conclusion, in 2019, oral cavity doubts and the PHC profession influenced the case resolution. Female professionals and oral cavity doubts scored the higher case resolution without a referral for the service in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study evaluates the dentists' availability to deliver preventive dental care to children in schools and the impact of school‐based programs on access. Methods: The study population included Florida elementary‐school children, differentiated by dental insurance (Medicaid, CHIP, private, or none). We considered the implementation of school‐based programs using optimization modeling to (re)allocate the dentists' caseload to schools to meet demand for preventive care under resource constraints. We considered multiple settings for school‐based program implementation: (i) school prioritization; and (ii) dentists' participation in public insurance. Statistical inference was used to identify communities to improve access and reduce disparities. Results: School‐based programs reduced unmet demand (3%–12%), being more efficient if prioritizing schools in communities targeted to improve access. The access improvement varied by insurance status and geography. Uninsured urban children benefited most from school‐based programs, with 15%–75% unmet need reduction. The percentage of urban communities targeted to improve access decreased by 12% against no‐school program. Such percentage remained large for suburban (15%–100%) and rural (50%–100%) communities. Disparity in access for public‐insured vs. private‐insured children persisted under school‐based programs (32%–84% identified communities). Conclusion: School‐based programs improve dental care access; the improvement was however different by insurance status, with uninsured children benefiting the most. Accounting to the dentists' availability in prioritizing schools resulted in effective resource allocation to school‐based programs. Access disparities between public and private‐insured children did not improve; school‐based programs shifted resources from public‐insured to uninsured. School‐based programs are effective in addressing access barriers to those children experiencing them most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Avances en Odontoestomatologia is the property of Ediciones Avances SL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background/Aim: The requirements for dental specialties and the number of specialists in each country are unique and strong indicator of the availability and affordability of primary health care for children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern, type and the extent of dental services, as well as the influence of regional factors and data on whether services are provided by a pediatric dentist or general dentist have effect on these parameters, based on information obtained from dentists providing dental care to children and youth. Material and Methods: Within the project "Program for the improvement of oral health of children and youth in the Republic of Serbia", supported by the Ministry of Health of Serbia, a research was conducted among dentists involved in dental care for children and youth in Serbia. Data collection from primary health care facilities was performed through a specially designed questionnaire. A total of 445 questionnaires were collected from dentists from 102 health centers in Serbia in the period June - October 2019. Results: There are significant differences between regions in the pattern, type and the extent of dental services. In the quantitative analysis, there are no significant differences in the type of dental services between pediatric and preventive dentistry specialists and general dentists. Conclusions: The data from the conducted research speak in favor of a large daily workload of dentists who deliver oral health care for children and youth in Serbia. Additional multifactorial analysis, which includes epidemiological data from the region, but also environmental, demographic and cultural parameters of oral health could be the basis for improving the provision of preventive dental and preventive oral care

Introduction: Untreated dental caries is the most frequent childhood chronic disease worldwide. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) offers a safe and effective alternative treatment, especially for children. Objective: To inform the dental community about the efficacy of SDF in community dental caries programs and to advocate for its use as an affordable and equitable approach to promote health and well-being within the dental setting. Methods: A summary of the literature shared during a webinar about the use and efficacy of SDF in community dental programs hosted by the Oral Health Working Group of the World Federation of Public Health Associations Results: Based on the traditional “drill-and-fill” approach, the current treatment for severe caries is associated with pain, fear, and poor oral health outcomes in later life. Innovative approaches to prevent and control caries are needed. SDF offers an alternative treatment option for caries. It is a practical, affordable, and acceptable option for caries treatment, eliminating the need for general anaesthetic in young children, and improving long-term oral health outcomes. Conclusion: SDF can improve oral health outcomes for community members, especially for individuals from low-socioeconomic settings.

Abstract Background Integrated dental services within the Health System, particularly at primary health care, are crucial to reverse the current impact of oral diseases, which are among the most prevalent diseases worldwide. However, the use of dental services is determined by complex phenomena related to the individual, the environment and practices in which care is offered. Therefore, factors associated with dental appointments scheduling can affect positively or negatively the use of dental services. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the indicators for dental appointment scheduling in Primary Health Care (PHC). Methods The present is a cross-sectional analytical study that used data from the external assessment of the third cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality in Primary Care (PMAQ-AB), carried out between 2017 and 2018, in Brazil. The final sample consisted of 85,231 patients and 22,475 Oral Health teams (OHTs). The outcome variable was the fact that the user sought for a dental appointment at the Primary Health Care Unit. A multilevel analysis was carried out to verify the association between individual variables (related to users) and contextual variables (related to the OHTs) in relation to the outcome. Results Only 58.1% of the users interviewed at these Primary Health Care Units seek the available dental care. The variables with the greatest effect on the outcome were the patient’s age up to 42 years old (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.96–2.10), at individual level, and ‘oral health teams that assisted no more than a single family health team (FHT)’ (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.23–1.36) at contextual level. Other variables were also associated with the outcome, but with a smaller effect size. Conclusion In conclusion, users’ age and work process of OHT were indicators for dental appointment scheduling. Our results suggest that when OHT put the National Oral Health Policy guidelines into practice, by assisting only one FHT, the chance for PHC users seeking dental appointments is higher than OHTs that assist more than one FHT. Regarding age, patients aged up to 42 years are more likely to seek an appointment with a dentist.

Introduction: Coronavirus belongs to family of Coronaviridae, which primarily infect the upper respiratory and gastro intestinal tract of birds & mammals. It is an enveloped virus with positive—sense single—stranded RNA. Patients with COVID-19 are usually present with symptoms of fever, dry cough, myalgia, dysgeusia, nausea, diarrhoea, hyposmia and later it progresses into pneumonia. Dentists are at potential risk because they are in consistent exposure of blood and saliva, so they should have knowledge of COVID-19 infection, transmission & prevention for proper infection control practices. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge and perception of DHPs toward COVID-19. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was undertaken among practicing dental professionals in Lucknow city (U.P) India. A total of 302 Dental Health Practitioners (DHPs) participated in the study. Knowledge was assessed using self-administered, structured questionnaire. The questions were administered online through Google Forms by sending link to the registered Dentist through E-mail. Results: A total of 350 DHPs were participated in the study, among which 302 DHPs has given complete responses and was included in the analysis. Simple linear regression showed a significant relationship between knowledge with age of dentist (p < 0.001), qualification as MDS (p = 0.025), practice as private (p < 0.001), experience between 5 and 10 years (p = 0.009), and experienced more than 10 years(p = 0.006). Correct answers in each sections of questionnaire were defined an internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Conclusion: Despite having high standard of knowledge, practices and perceptions DHPs around the world are in a state of anxiety and fear while working in their respective field due to COVID-19 impact. DHPs are advised to follow the guidelines for clinical recommendations given by health authorities like WHO, CDC, ADA and IDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective: The study and enactment of dental preventive measures, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are necessary to prevent cross-infections between professionals and patients. The objective of this integrative review was to identify the COVID-19 preventive practices in dentistry. Methods: The electronic search was conducted on these databases: Pubmed / Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, LILACS and Scielo, using the following descriptors and / or words: “Coronavirus disease 2019”; “Coronavirus 2019”; “Covid-19”; “2019-ncov”; “Sars-cov2”; “Dental practice”; “Dental care”; “Dentistry”; “Dental medicine” and “Oral medicine”. PRISMA was used as a reference for designing it. Results: A total of 11 articles were included and the preventive measures against COVID-19 were based on guidelines from health agencies and consisted of: perform only emergency treatments; reschedule patients with suspected disease; hand washing; disinfection of surfaces with 70% alcohol; testing dental professionals for the disease; use the N95 mask; disposable lab coats, and face shields. Children, in addition to the measures mentioned above, should routinely drink a lot of water and be provided with healthy diets. No study has evaluated the efficacy and effectiveness of these measures. There is a lack of scientific evidence on the preventive protocols adopted against COVID-19 in dentistry since preventive measures are recommended by health agencies. Conclusion: Consequently, professionals are recommended to follow the guidelines by these organizations until effective and efficient preventive protocols tailored to dentistry are established.

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate temporal trends in non‐traumatic dental condition (NTDC) related emergency visits at Emergency Department (ED), urgent care (UC), and at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that providing dental services to a mid‐sized rural community. Methods: Temporal trends over a 9‐year period (2008–2016) in NTDC rates at ED, UC, FQHC and in a region around the FQHC were determined. Statistically significant changes (α = 0.05) in the proportion of NTDC visits between FQHC and UC across each of the time points were investigated. Results: Proportion of NTDC ED visits was relatively stable over the study period; whereas those at FQHC exceeded those at UC site beginning 2012 and were significantly (α = 0.05) higher than that of UC subsequently (2015–2016). Conclusions: NTDCs are preventable dental conditions and the care provided in treating NTDCs in emergency settings is palliative and does not address the underlying conditions resulting in poor outcomes. The results presented elucidate the critical role of FQHCs in significantly reducing NTDC visits. These might be precursors to a potential shift in NTDC care seeking behavior and expected to favorably impact oral health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the implementation of a community‐based clinical education (CBCE) program at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry (SOD) and the preliminary outcomes on dental students and affiliated clinics. Methods: A retrospective review was carried out of SOD CBCE program implementation and program data between March 2018 and June 2019 related to patient encounters, pre‐ and post‐rotation student self‐assessments, student exit surveys and surveys administered to faculty within affiliate clinics. Results: In five academic quarters, 133 students delivered care for 7556 patients and completed 12,467 procedures in underserved communities. Students reported increased confidence across 14 areas of self‐assessment. The percentage of students reporting future plans of working in public health clinics upon graduation increased from 6% to 19%. Affiliate clinic faculty indicated increased care delivery for underserved patients, appointment availability, and job satisfaction. Conclusions: The newly implemented UCLA SOD CBCE program preliminarily yielded immediate positive outcomes for SOD students and affiliate community clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study verifies the association between the trajectory of sugar consumption and dental caries in the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort in Pelotas, Brazil. It was conducted with data from the follow-ups at 3, 12, 24, and 48 mo from the 2015 Birth Cohort, which included 4,275 children born alive in hospitals in Pelotas. Data collection included standardized questionnaires for first caregivers applied by trained interviewers at all follow-ups. Exposure was the trajectory of sugar consumption from 3 to 48 mo (always low, always intermediate, increasing, and always high), obtained by group-based trajectory modeling. The outcome of this study was dental caries, obtained through clinical examination performed by calibrated dentists at 48 mo of age. Socioeconomic conditions and oral health instruction from a health professional during the first 4 y of life were included in the analysis as potential confounders. Prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were provided from generalized estimating equations with a log-Poisson with robust variance specification. In total, 3,654 (91.1%) children participated in the survey at 48 mo, and 2,806 children had complete data for the analyzes performed. Of these, 1,012 (36.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 34.3–37.8) experienced caries, and 723 (25.8%; 95% CI, 24.2–27.4) had cavitated caries. Regarding cavitated caries, the prevalence was 1.48 times higher in the group with increasing sugar consumption than children with always low consumption. There is an association between the trajectory of sugar consumption and dental caries at 48 mo. Children with increasing and always high sugar consumption have the highest prevalence of caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health perception is a subjective predictor of long-term morbidity and mortality. Few studies address the perception that pregnant women have of their oral health. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between socioeconomic factors and self-assessment of oral health in pregnant women from Cali, Colombia. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 998 pregnant women, calculated using the formula to estimate a proportion in finite populations, with a confidence level of 95%. A questionnaire was applied for sociodemographic characterization, as well as to enquire about oral health perception, knowledge, and practices of oral health. Results: The mean age of the surveyed mothers was 24.7, with a standard deviation of 6.1, of which 23.6% were adolescents. The perception they had about their oral health status was considered good by 60.8%. Of the 82.9% who reported having attended dentistry, more than half perceived good oral health. Pregnant women with no history of oral problems, with a perception of medium or high income, and with good oral hygiene practices tend to have a good perception of their oral health. Conclusion: Pregnant women with no history of oral problems, with a perception of medium or high income, and with good oral hygiene practices tend to have a good perception of their oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Research indicates that adolescents may have difficulties to adopt the tooth brushing recommendations delivered in prophylaxis programs. However, it is not clear whether these difficulties are seen amongst the entire age range of adolescence (10–19 years) or only occur at certain developmental stages of the adolescence. The present study analyzes the tooth brushing performance of adolescents and compares it to the best-practice of tooth brushing demonstrated during prophylaxis programs. Methods A random sample of N = 66 adolescents, comprising 10-year-olds (n = 42) and 15-year-olds (n = 24), were asked to perform oral hygiene to the best of their abilities in front of a tablet camera. Videos were analyzed for tooth brushing duration, location, and brushing movements, and the difference between the actual and expected behaviour was tested for consistency using repeated measures ANOVAs and Student’s t-tests. For the direct comparison across different age groups, already available data from 12- and 18-year-olds were reanalysed. Results The average brushing time (mean ± SD) of the 10-year-olds and 15-year-olds was 195.8 s (74.6 s) and 196.1 s (75.8 s), respectively. Regardless of age, the adolescents distributed their brushing time unevenly across the inner, outer and occlusal surfaces. The inner surfaces in particular were neglected to a considerable extent, as no age group spent more than 15.8% of the total brushing time on them. Furthermore, all age groups showed a high proportion of horizontal movements on the inner and outer surfaces, regardless of the movements instructed for the respective surfaces. Conclusion Even if adolescents brush to the best of their abilities, they neglect or skip one or many of the tooth surfaces. The reasons for the lack of compliance to tooth brushing instructions are discussed in light of the methods used in prophylaxis programs and the influence of parents.

Limited data exists on Pacific Islander (PI) health, but a growing body of literature reports the existence of racial discrimination and inequities and mistrust of the healthcare system, leading to poor health outcomes. When COVID-19 restricted health services, such inequities and mistrust due to historical trauma were magnified. This report describes one federally qualified health center's dental department's response utilizing culture-based approaches, community relationships, and the social determinants of health (SDOH) to dispel the stigma of COVID and restrictions on in-person care in order to lower barriers to accessing care. When the dental department transitioned to emergency-only care, staff were redeployed to address significant inequities facing the PI community. Redeployment activities included building relationships with the most vulnerable patients, delivering healthy foods, supplies, oral hygiene kits to households, and canvasing neighborhood businesses with public health education. The mobile dental clinic, a trusted symbol in the community, also brought public health education to community testing events and food distributions. From March 2020 to July 2020, staff conducted over 800 outreach calls for health and food security, delivered over 2000 care packages and oral hygiene kits. Also, frequent community outreach by the mobile dental clinic led to a 10-fold increase in COVID testing. Investing in relationship building can maintain access to health care and build trust in the health care system for PI communities. This approach may be relevant to others serving other communities experiencing racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is a minimally-invasive preventive service used in the U.S. to avert and arrest caries since 2014. No studies document survival outcomes based in real world delivery. We analyzed 12-month survival outcomes of SDF applied independently or concurrently with other restorative procedures among a population receiving community dental care. Methods We analyzed data on SDF applications from de-identified dental claims on Oregon Health Plan patients served by Advantage Dental in 2016, who had been seen in 2015 (patient n = 2269; teeth n = 7787). We compared survival rates of SDF alone, SDF applied with a sedative filling, and SDF with a same-day restoration. Failure was defined as a restoration or extraction of the tooth 7 to 365 days after initial application. Survival was defined as a patient returning 180 or more days after application whose tooth did not have a restoration or extraction. Differences were assessed through Wilcoxon equality of survivor function tests and log-rank equality of survivor tests to compare failure rates, Cox Proportional Hazards models to assess factors associated with survival of SDF, and Kaplan–Meier survival estimate to calculate the probability of survival over time. Results SDF alone had an overall survival rate of 76%. SDF placed with sedative filling and with a same-day restoration had survival rates of 50% and 84% respectively, likely reflecting treatment intent. SDF alone survived exceptionally well on primary cuspids, permanent molars, and permanent bicuspids and among patients aged 10 to 20 years, with modest variation across caries risk assessment categories. A single annual application of SDF was successful in 75% of cases. Among SDF failures on permanent dentition, more than two-thirds of teeth received a minor restoration. Conclusion SDF is a minimally invasive non-aerosolizing option that prevented non-cavitated lesions and arrested early decay among community dentistry patients when applied independently or concurrently with restorative procedures. Professional organizations, policy makers, providers, and payors should broaden optional SDF use by informing clinical guidelines, reimbursement policies, and treatment decisions. Future research should address clinical, social, service delivery, workforce, and economic outcomes using diverse population-based samples, and the mechanisms underlying single application success and caries prevention potential.

This paper describes the possibilities of using Teledentistry to expand and qualify health care in oral health care networks. WHO already recommended to its member countries, even before the pandemic, Telehealth as a strategy to improve the quality of services, especially in universal systems, as the Unified Health System (SUS). Teledentistry opens opportunities for oral health to resume the provision of various services, remotely, such as: 1) Tracking, active search, monitoring of priority users, those at risk and with systemic problems, suspicions of COVID-19 and contacts, through Telemonitation; 2) Initial listening, individual or collective educational activities, through Teleorientation; 3) Discussion of clinical cases for the definition of the opportunity / need for operative procedures, matrix support, sharing, solution of doubts among professionals and between these and teaching and research institutions, by Teleconsulting, among others. In addition to a review of Teledentistry in the context of the pandemic, we conceptualized the terms used and possibilities offered to SUS professionals, in addition to specifying the possible protocols for recording these activities to provide safe data for their monitoring and evaluation. Besides, we bring a brief discussion with promising experiences, carried out in the pre- and trans-pandemic contexts, which can be important strategies for the resumption of oral health in the post-pandemic scenario.

ObjectiveThe objectives were to assess early childhood caries (ECC) in rural areas of El Salvador and to investigate the changes in caries and mouth pain in the presence of community-based interventions.MethodsThis study was a retrospective analysis of de-identified and anonymous data obtained from baseline and four annual follow-up visits that focused on the preventive oral health intervention and nutrition in a convenience sample of children 0-6 years of age. The decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) index for primary teeth was used as the survey tool. Caries was defined as a cavitated lesion. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the prevalence of ECC in the sample in relation to age and dmft score. Linear mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and generalised linear mixed effects models were used to compare the pre-intervention and post-intervention outcomes.ResultsThe prevalence of caries was 58%. Incorporation of a community oral health education and fluoride supplementation programme contributed to significant reductions in caries experience (from 74% to 61%) and mouth pain (from 58% to 39%), in children 3-6 years of age.ConclusionsECC is a common public health problem in rural El Salvador. In an established community-based maternal-child health programme in El Salvador, there appears to be an association between the incorporation of preventive oral health intervention and improvement in children's oral health and quality of life over time.

The aim of this study was to review the intervention components of school‐based oral health‐related behavioural interventions using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). We identified relevant papers from the review of Cooper et al., and these papers came from both the original inclusion and exclusion article lists. We also modified and updated their search strategies (2013 – April 2019). The 53 included papers reported on 79 interventions (experimental groups = 57 interventions, control groups = 22 interventions). Most of the papers used three to nine domains (average = 5.6) in their experimental interventions, and the most commonly used domains were 'knowledge,' 'skills,' 'social influences,' and 'environmental context and resources.' Considering the complexity of intervention components in one programme, there is no one specific domain or domain set that can determine the success of behavioural interventions. The design of future programmes should be guided by a complex intervention methodology. However, the best combination set might not exist, and the choice of domains should depend on local context or resources. This study can be used as a resource for identifying previous papers, which have used the same domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article describes the author's professional experience of 29 years in a home geriatric dentistry service. Methods: The manuscript uses autobiography as a methodology to report this experience with an elderly community in conditions of disability in the city of Medellín, Colombia. Findings: The history of the service dates back to the early 1990s when the author was a university professor. It describes how the service and training developed in scientific areas that are not often part of the academic curriculum of dental schools. Likewise, it relates how the service was formalized and how the professional dentist-patient/family member/caregiver relationship consolidated until the service's closure in 2019 just before the COVID 19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RGO: Revista Gaúcha de Odontologia is the property of RGO: Revista Gaucha de Odontologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Integrated dental services within the Health System, particularly at primary health care, are crucial to reverse the current impact of oral diseases, which are among the most prevalent diseases worldwide. However, the use of dental services is determined by complex phenomena related to the individual, the environment and practices in which care is offered. Therefore, factors associated with dental appointments scheduling can affect positively or negatively the use of dental services. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the indicators for dental appointment scheduling in Primary Health Care (PHC).Methods: The present is a cross-sectional analytical study that used data from the external assessment of the third cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality in Primary Care (PMAQ-AB), carried out between 2017 and 2018, in Brazil. The final sample consisted of 85,231 patients and 22,475 Oral Health teams (OHTs). The outcome variable was the fact that the user sought for a dental appointment at the Primary Health Care Unit. A multilevel analysis was carried out to verify the association between individual variables (related to users) and contextual variables (related to the OHTs) in relation to the outcome.Results: Only 58.1% of the users interviewed at these Primary Health Care Units seek the available dental care. The variables with the greatest effect on the outcome were the patient's age up to 42 years old (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.96-2.10), at individual level, and 'oral health teams that assisted no more than a single family health team (FHT)' (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.23-1.36) at contextual level. Other variables were also associated with the outcome, but with a smaller effect size.Conclusion: In conclusion, users' age and work process of OHT were indicators for dental appointment scheduling. Our results suggest that when OHT put the National Oral Health Policy guidelines into practice, by assisting only one FHT, the chance for PHC users seeking dental appointments is higher than OHTs that assist more than one FHT. Regarding age, patients aged up to 42 years are more likely to seek an appointment with a dentist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Dental care workers are considered a susceptible group for Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 infection (SARS-CoV-2). Although efficacious vaccines are now available for the prevention of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), their knowledge and attitude towards these vaccines are not clear. Aim To assess the knowledge, perception, and attitudes of Indian dental professionals towards COVID-19 vaccines. Methods An anonymous web-based survey of Indian dental practitioners and clinical dental students was conducted using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire, to elicit data on the COVID-19 vaccine uptake, attitudes to the vaccine, and the general knowledge related to vaccination. Results A total of 350 dental practitioners and clinical dental students/undergraduates participated in the study. The vast majority (90%) of the respondents' perceived that they have adequate knowledge of the vaccine. There is a statistically significant association in the probability of uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine related to the level of knowledge on COVID-19 vaccine perceived by the dental practitioners in India. Conclusions In general, the knowledge, perception and attitudes of Indian dental professionals on COVID-19 vaccines appear satisfactory, but there dental students appear to be hesitant in taking the vaccine. Data on the efficacy and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines should be continuously promoted by the dental professional bodies to protect their fraternity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]