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The Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) were initially developed in 2007 to provide an effective and optimal level of quality health care in our country. IPHS was later revised in 2012, and more recently, in 2022. IPHS revised guidelines for 2022 take into account several new initiatives and programs, including Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centers, the introduction of the National Urban Health Mission and Urban Primary Health Centers (polyclinics) in urban areas. These revised guidelines also make provision for the delivery of oral health services at each facility level. This review highlights the oral health-care services and delivery mechanisms mentioned in all the four volumes of IPHS revised guidelines 2022 under the headings of infrastructure, human resource, service provisions and essential drugs, diagnostics, and equipment required at all the levels of health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: People with hearing impairment (HI) prefer visual learning strategies in daily activities owing to their reliance on vision. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of visual learning as a communication strategy in improving oral hygiene and dental care of children and adolescents with HI. Methods and Results: Four electronic databases were searched and complemented by hand searching for original intervention studies published till December 2021. Eligible studies were screened, data was extracted as per priori data collection form and analyzed by thematic content analysis. The quality of studies was assessed as per the validated tools appropriate for study designs including ROB2, ROBINS‐I, and NIH quality assessment tool. Out of 4159 records identified and 1302 duplicates removed, 24 original studies were identified and the visual learning strategies were classified into sign language, visual aids with or without sign language, customized educational demonstrations and the interim role of training the teachers. These strategies helped in improving oral hygiene status, oral health‐related knowledge and attitude as well as dental anxiety during treatment. Participants were found to be satisfied with these strategies, however, significant heterogeneity in the included studies precluded meaningful meta‐analysis. ROB2 and ROBINS were rated as high and serious in all included trials, respectively, and NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Pre‐Post Studies With No Control as fair in five studies and poor in three. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the significance of visual learning, however, long‐term rigorously designed trials are needed to better understand effective and patient‐centered communication methods for people with HI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral diseases affect half of the world's population and found to be the most common and preventable noncommunicable diseases worldwide. The World Health Organization Oral Health Programme work plan 2018–2020 is to prevent the burden of oral diseases using digital technology. With 5 billion mobile phone subscribers in the world, covering over 85% of the world's population, the utilization of technology-based interventions for oral health promotion is no different. In India, numerous medical applications such as eRaktkosh and mDiabetes have been developed for the improvement of general health, whereas few initiatives such as mCessation and National Quitline services for oral health have been undertaken. Digitalization and oral health forms a crucial component in the future of oral health, which should be utilized in ensuring oral health for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a novel health education method-Audio Tactile Performance (ATP) technique-in maintenance of gingival health and plaque removal efficacy among institutionalized visually impaired children of Bhubaneswar city.Methods and Results: A parallel arm, single blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted among 10- to 15-year-old visually impaired children. Clinical examinations were done by the examiner blinded to group allocations. Oral health education materials (Braille and audio) were given to control group and ATP technique was given to test group. Clinical examinations for plaque and gingival scores were assessed at baseline, 30 days interval, and 90 days interval. The trial was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI/2017/05/008551). In control group, a greater plaque reduction was observed at 30 days interval (3.58 ± 1.3) when compared to baseline (2.63 ± 2.02) and 90 days interval (3.14 ± 0.88), and this difference was statistically significant. For whole mouth, in test group, a greater reduction in gingival scores was observed at 90 days interval (2.65 ± 1.64) when compared to baseline (4.58 ± 1.63) and 30 days interval (1.23 ± 2.43), and this difference was statistically significant.Conclusion: ATP was found to be at par with the control group (Braille and audio aids). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keeping an eye the escalating costs of dental services, the treatment cost of the consequences of dental caries can be reduced to manageable proportions by preventive measures aimed at decreasing the prevalence. One such measure is by increasing the consumption of caries preventive foods. Recently, there has been an upsurge of interest in mushrooms not only as a healthy food but also as a caries preventive food. The most common type of mushroom, Lentinula edodes also called as shiitake, is studied in-depth for its oral health benefits. The cultivation of shiitake dates way back to 1100 A.D. during the rule of Sung dynasty which is replaced by more modern and efficient sawdust substrate log cultures lately. Shiitake mushroom extract can be isolated in various forms such as freeze dried, oil, and ethyl acetate extracts. Various biologically active compounds such as erythritol, copalic acid, adenosine, carvacrol, and many more are responsible for this mushroom's antimicrobial activity. Anticariogenicity can be attributed to the induction of the detachment of cariogenic microorganisms from hydroxyapatite, changes in cell surface hydrophobicity, bactericidal activity, and disruption of signal transduction in Streptococcus mutans as proved through various in vivo and in vitro studies. Apart from these benefits, it has tremendous potential to be used as an antioxidant, anticancer, antigingivitis, antifungal, and antiviral agent. The one and only known adverse reaction due to shiitake mushroom consumption is the eruption of pruritic erythematous papules termed as shiitake dermatitis. This review highlights the unexplored anticaries potential of one such useful bioactive metabolite-shiitake mushroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Schools are a valuable platform for promoting oral health through oral health education as the children spend most of their active time in schools. Training school teachers on oral health promotion will help to inculcate healthy oral habits in children during their formative years of life., Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, approach, and action change of school teachers toward oral health and the impact of this training intervention in improving their knowledge., Materials and Methods: An interventional study was conducted among 50 primary school teachers across the country selected by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. A self-administered, 28-item questionnaire in Google document format was developed to evaluate the knowledge and practice of teachers toward oral hygiene before and after the teachers' training program. The training was done using a validated training manual on oral health promotion for school teachers developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Needs assessment for training was conducted 1 week before this training program., Statistical Analysis: Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mc Nemar tests were used to assess the difference between the scores before and after oral health education., Results: The needs assessment revealed that majority of the teachers felt the need to participate in oral health promotion training. A significant increase ( P < 0.001) in mean knowledge scores of school teachers was seen after a 1-day training program., Conclusion: The training improved the knowledge of school teachers on oral health which indicates that the adopted method of oral health education was well received by the participants from all over the country., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Journal of Education and Health Promotion.)