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Background: Pregnant women have poor knowledge of oral hygiene during pregnancy. One problem with the follow-up of dental caries in this group is zero accumulation in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index, for which some models must be used to achieve valid results. The studied population may be heterogeneous in longitudinal studies, leading to biased estimates. We aimed to assess the impact of oral health education on dental caries in pregnant women using a suitable model in a longitudinal experimental study with heterogeneous random effects. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal, experimental research was carried out on pregnant women who visited medical centers in Tehran. The educational group (236 cases) received education for three sessions. The control group (200 cases) received only standard training. The DMFT index assessed oral and dental health at baseline, 6 months, and 24 months after delivery. The Chi-square test was used for comparing nominal variables and the Mann–Whitney U test for ordinal variables. The zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) model was applied under heterogeneous and homogeneous random effects using R 4.2.1, SPSS 26, and SAS 9.4. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Data from 436 women aged 15 years and older were analyzed. Zero accumulation in the DMFT was mainly related to the filled teeth (51%). The heterogeneous ZIP model fitted better to the data. On average, the intervention group exhibited a higher rate of change in filled teeth over time than the control group (P = 0.021). Conclusion: The proposed ZIP model is a suitable model for predicting filled teeth in pregnant women. An educational intervention during pregnancy can improve oral health in the long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Research indicates a high prevalence of dental caries and significant unmet dental treatment needs among individuals with disabilities. This study aimed to evaluate the oral health status of disabled students in Tehran, Iran, considering factors such as age, gender, and type of disability. Methods The study involved 1,170 disabled students aged 6 to 20 years, each with one or more of the following disabilities: physical retardation (PR), hearing impairment (HI), visual impairment (VI), mental retardation (MR), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth index was used as an oral health indicator (dmft for children aged 6- 12 years, and DMFT for children older than 9 years). Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests at significant level of 0.05 were conducted for comparisons. Results Mental retardation (MR) was the most prevalent disability (59.4%). The decayed component constituted the largest part of the mean dmft (82%) and DMFT (75%) indices in all age groups. Girls had significantly higher DMFT scores compared to boys (P < 0.001). Among the different disabilities, children with HI had the highest dmft score (mean ± SD = 2.17 ± 2.86), while those with MR had the highest DMFT score (mean ± SD = 3.76 ± 3.83). Additionally, the caries-free ratio was significantly higher among VI students in the 9-12 years (40.5%) and older than 13 years (38.8%) age groups. Conclusion The dmft/DMFT scores were elevated among disabled children, yet they remained lower than those of healthy children. Dental caries were more common in girls. Although children with VI had lower dmft/DMFT scores, those with HI had the highest dmft scores, and those with MR had the highest DMFT scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pregnant women have poor knowledge of oral hygiene during pregnancy. One problem with the follow-up of dental caries in this group is zero accumulation in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index, for which some models must be used to achieve valid results. The studied population may be heterogeneous in longitudinal studies, leading to biased estimates. We aimed to assess the impact of oral health education on dental caries in pregnant women using a suitable model in a longitudinal experimental study with heterogeneous random effects. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal, experimental research was carried out on pregnant women who visited medical centers in Tehran. The educational group (236 cases) received education for three sessions. The control group (200 cases) received only standard training. The DMFT index assessed oral and dental health at baseline, 6 months, and 24 months after delivery. The Chi-square test was used for comparing nominal variables and the Mann-Whitney U test for ordinal variables. The zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) model was applied under heterogeneous and homogeneous random effects using R 4.2.1, SPSS 26, and SAS 9.4. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Data from 436 women aged 15 years and older were analyzed. Zero accumulation in the DMFT was mainly related to the filled teeth (51%). The heterogeneous ZIP model fitted better to the data. On average, the intervention group exhibited a higher rate of change in filled teeth over time than the control group (P = 0.021). Conclusion: The proposed ZIP model is a suitable model for predicting filled teeth in pregnant women. An educational intervention during pregnancy can improve oral health in the long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a panel of conditions that begin during the developmental period and result in impairments of personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning. Early diagnosis is directly related to a better prognosis. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of ASD requires a long and exhausting subjective process. We aimed to review the state of the art for automated autism diagnosis and recognition in this research. In February 2022, we searched multiple databases and sources of gray literature for eligible studies. We used an adapted version of the QUADAS-2 tool to assess the risk of bias in the studies. A brief report of the methods and results of each study is presented. Data were synthesized for each modality separately using the Split Component Synthesis (SCS) method. We assessed heterogeneity using the I2 statistics and evaluated publication bias using trim and fill tests combined with ln DOR. Confidence in cumulative evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach for diagnostic studies. We included 344 studies from 186,020 participants (51,129 are estimated to be unique) for nine different modalities in this review, from which 232 reported sufficient data for meta-analysis. The area under the curve was in the range of 0.71–0.90 for all the modalities. The studies on EEG data provided the best accuracy, with the area under the curve ranging between 0.85 and 0.93. We found that the literature is rife with bias and methodological/reporting flaws. Recommendations are provided for future research to provide better studies and fill in the current knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Hormonal changes during pregnancy may act as a modifying factor in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, which is reported as a potential risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study was conducted to investigate the level of periodontal disease in pregnant women and identify the associated risk factors in a population of pregnant women in Kashan, Iran. Methods A total of 128 pregnant women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were recruited. Demographic data, oral health behaviors, and socioeconomic status (SES) were determined using a standard questionnaire. The periodontal status was evaluated using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Results The mean age of the participants was 24.35±3.4. More than half of them (53.1%) were in the second trimester of pregnancy. A quarter of pregnant women had visited a dentist within the past year, of which more than 74% visited the dentist for pain or treatment. Approximately half of the participants (50.8%) brushed their teeth daily, but only 10% had a daily flossing habit. Periodontal screening was typically done using the CPI. Calculus had the highest score (49.2%) prevailing among the subjects, while the prevalence of periodontitis (pocket depth >= 3) was 35.2%. Pocket depth >= 3mm was less frequent in women with academic education, good SES, those without a history of pain, those who brushed their teeth twice a day or more, and those who visited the dentist (P < 0.05). Conclusion The findings of the present study showed that poor perceived oral health, a history of toothache, no daily use of toothbrushes and dental floss, low education level, and poor SES were associated with periodontal disease in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: One of the most underserved populations among dental patients is the people with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (PNDs). This study aimed to explore the barriers to dental care provision for PNDs from the viewpoint of stakeholders in provision in Iran. Methods: We arranged a qualitative study based on an individual in‐depth, semi‐structured interview between October 2019 and February 2020. We interviewed 30 participants using a snowball sampling strategy with three groups: dentists who provided dental care for PNDs, dental public health professionals, and policymakers/managers in dental care provision in Iran. The interviewer used an interview framework based on Levesque's model of patient‐centered access. The main question was: "How do you assess the barriers to the provision of dental services to PNDs in Iran?" The data were analyzed by the qualitative content analysis method described by Graneheim and Lundman. Results: From the 30 interviewees (11 women), there were 11 dentists, nine dental public health professionals, and 10 participants who worked as policymakers/managers. They were aged 35–62 years and had working experience between 4 and 25 years. In the content analysis, 60 meanings units were extracted, and later classified into 14 subthemes, and four main themes. Conclusion: Four main barriers were traced regarding access, financial, competency‐related, and policy‐making aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]