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Objective: This paper describes the study protocol in an ongoing clinical trial evaluating oral screen training as part of a post‐stroke rehabilitation programme. Baseline data were related to four domains: dysphagia, lip function, masticatory performance and patient‐related outcome measures (PROM). Background: Stroke is one of the most common causes of disability‐adjusted life years, and dysphagia is a common remaining problem after stroke. Rehabilitation using oral screen training has been suggested to improve swallowing, but evidence is still insufficient. Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with stroke with persisting objective and/or subjective swallowing dysfunction after primary rehabilitation were assessed for eligibility. In total, 25 patients were included. Objective function was assessed by swallowing capacity test (SCT), lip force and masticatory performance, subjective function by EAT‐10 and NOT‐S and PROM by LiSat‐11 and ESAS. Results: Baseline data presented a heterogeneous pattern with no significant association between objective and subjective dysfunction. Most of the participants (20/25) showed impaired swallowing capacity in SCT, and 23/24 revealed orofacial dysfunction according to NOT‐S. The most common subjective item reported was chewing and swallowing problems (19/24). Conclusion: The heterogenous findings in the included tests and the lack of correlations emphasise the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to identify objective and subjective orofacial post‐stroke dysfunction in clinical practice to be able to offer evidence‐based individualised care. The included participants were representative of stroke patients with dysphagia, which supports proceeding with the planned intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The impact of weight loss surgery on oral health is not clear. The aim of the present study was to investigate its impact on the risk for dental interventions. Materials and Methods: All adults who underwent metabolic surgery in Sweden between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2018 were identified in the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg; n = 53,643). A control cohort from the general population was created, matched 10:1 on sex, age and place of residence (n = 536,430). All individuals were followed in the Swedish Dental Register regarding event rates for four types of dental intervention: restorative, endodontic and periodontal interventions, and tooth extractions. Results: The surgical cohort had increased interventional rates postoperatively regarding all studied outcomes except periodontal interventions. Dental interventions were more common in the surgical cohort both pre‐ and postoperatively. The difference between the groups increased markedly in the postoperative period. The between‐group comparison postoperatively showed increased event rates for restorations (IRR 1.8; 95% CI 1.7–1.8), extractions (1.9; 95% CI 1.9–2.0) and endodontics (2.1; 95% CI 2.0–2.1). Conclusion: The surgical intervention might cause a substantial negative impact on oral health. These results imply an important role for counselling metabolic surgery patients regarding preventive oral health measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that chewing is a mechanical and physiological contributor to swallowing, physiologic/pathologic processes of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and nutrition-related factors. A search strategy was applied to three different databases to investigate if chewing function in adults affects the swallowing, physiologic/pathologic processes of the GIT, and nutrition-related factors compared to controls with no exposure. The included studies were evaluated for methodological quality and risk of bias and certainty of evidence. The results showed 71 eligible studies. Overall, the results showed that 46 studies supported the hypothesis while 25 refuted it. However, the GRADE analysis showed low to very low certainty of the evidence to support the hypothesis that chewing is an important contributor in the swallowing process, and physiologic/pathologic processes in the GIT. The GRADE analysis also showed a moderate to very low certainty of the evidence to suggest that chewing function contributes to nutrition-related parameters. The overall results of the current study showed that a majority (64.7%) of the studies (46 out of 71) supported the hypothesis. However, robust studies with proper design, adequate sample size, and well-defined outcome parameters are needed to establish conclusive evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To analyze the effects of primary hyperparathyroidism on oral health and to investigate if the effects are linked to severity of the disease. Subjects and Methods: This prospective cohort study involved 6151 primary hyperparathyroidism patients registered in the Scandinavian Quality Registry of Thyroid, Parathyroid, and Adrenal surgery and the National Cancer Register after parathyroidectomy (exposure) during 2011–2017 (patient cohort) and 60,654 individuals without primary hyperparathyroidism (reference cohort), matched by age, gender, and county of resident at the date of parathyroidectomy. The outcomes were tooth extractions and periodontal interventions. The risk for the outcomes was assessed by Poisson regression models. Results: After adjusting for covariates, the patient cohort had a higher incidence rate of tooth extraction during the two‐year period after parathyroidectomy (IRR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.01–1.31), but a lower incidence rate of periodontal interventions during the four‐ to six‐year period after parathyroidectomy (IRR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.79–0.99). Furthermore, patients with more severe primary hyperparathyroidism were more likely to have tooth extractions and periodontal interventions after parathyroidectomy. Conclusions: The risk of tooth extraction increased slightly during the first two years after parathyroidectomy. Thereafter, the oral health effects subsided. Pre‐surgical serum ionized calcium levels and adenoma weight may indicate negative dental outcomes after parathyroidectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Periodontal disease has been proposed as a putative etiological factor for dementia. The aim of this investigation was to compare the incidence of dementia in individuals with or without deep probing pocket depths (DPPD), serving as a proxy for periodontitis.Methods: In this cohort study, conducted in Sweden, we identified 7992 individuals with DPPD and 29,182 matched individuals without DPPD (non-DPPD), using the Swedish Quality Registry for Caries and Periodontal Diseases (SKaPa). The two groups were followed for incident dementia (mean follow-up time was 7.6 years) based on data from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem). The exposure-outcome relationship was explored by applying the Royston-Parmar (RP) flexible parametric survival model.Results: The incidence of dementia in the two groups was similar. In the DPPD group 137 (1.7%) developed dementia and 470 (1.6%) in the non-DPPD group. The incidence rate of dementia was estimated to be 2.3 per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9 to 2.7) in the DPPD group and 2.1 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 1.9 to 2.3) in the non-DPPD group. The RP model disclosed no association between DPPD and dementia incidence after controlling for potential confounders (the exponentiated coefficient was estimated to 1.13 [95% CI = 0.39 to 3.24]).Conclusion: In this sample, no association was revealed between deep probing pocket depths and the incidence of dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research indicates that poor dental health increases risks for certain types of cancers, including esophageal cancer. This study aimed to investigate the association with esophageal cancer using Swedish Dental Health Register. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study. The exposures were dental diagnoses classified into healthy, caries, root canal infection, mild inflammation, and periodontitis, as well as number of remaining teeth, at baseline and during multiple visits. The outcome was the incidence of esophageal cancer, which was further divided into esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and its corresponding confidence intervals (CI). Results: A total of 5,042,303 individuals were included in the study and 1,259 EAC and 758 ESCC cases were identified. Root canal infection at baseline was associated with 41% higher risk for EAC (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.10-1.82), whereas periodontitis at baseline was linked to 32% and 45% higher risks for respective histopathological subtypes (HR for EAC, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.13-1.53; HR for ESCC, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.20-1.75). Fewer remaining teeth at baseline also increased the risks for both histopathological types of esophageal cancer, with a dose-response effect (Ptrend < 0.01). Cox regression analyses with time-varying exposures corroborated the above-mentioned results. Conclusions: Impaired dental health before cancer diagnosis is associated with excess risks for both histopathological subtypes of esophageal cancer. Impact: Our study provided corroborating evidence for the association between poor oral health and esophageal cancer risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the factors that increase the risk of discontinuing dental care utilisation after dementia is diagnosed in a population in Stockholm County, Sweden.Background: As the progression of dementia results in a deteriorating ability to maintain good oral health, it is important to identify people at risk of discontinued dental care after being diagnosed with dementia.Materials and Methods: This study is a register-based longitudinal study. Data were extracted from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem), the Swedish National Patient Register, the Dental Health Register and the Municipal Dental Care Register (Stockholm County Council). The data included people using both general public dental services and care-dependent individuals. Dental visits three years before and after dementia had been diagnosed were analysed.Results: In total, 10 444 people were included in the analysis, of which 19% did not have dental visits recorded after they were diagnosed with dementia. A logistic regression model, adjusted for relevant factors, showed that the factors associated with a greater risk for discontinued dental attendance were fewer remaining teeth (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.95, 0.97) and living alone compared to living with another adult (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.43). People with Parkinson's disease dementia had a lower risk (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.19, 0.84) than people with Alzheimer's disease.Conclusion: Patients, dental and healthcare personnel, and family members should all be aware of these risk factors so that appropriate support and oral care for people with dementia can be delivered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive method for the determination of triclosan in plasma and milk is presented. Following hydrolysis of possible conjugates, triclosan is extracted with n-hexane/ acetone, partitioned into alcoholic potassium hydroxide, and converted into its pentafluorobenzoyl ester. After sulfuric acid cleanup, sample extracts are analyzed by gas chromatography/electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry. The limit of quantification was 0.009 ng/g for a 5-g plasma sample and 0.018 ng/g for a 3-g milk sample. The coefficient of variation for the method was 6%. The method was tested on more than 70 human plasma and milk samples, of which all plasma samples and more than half of the milk samples were above the limit of quantification. The presented method has lowered the limit of quantification for triclosan in human matrixes significantly as compared to previous methods and makes possible the analysis of triclosan in humans under normal exposure conditions.

The renal activities of 10 healthy human volunteers were analyzed after exposure to inorganic mercury from amalgam fillings during dental treatment. Exposure of human subjects to inorganic mercury during amalgam removal did not produce any renal toxic effects. However, the concentrations of inorganic mercury increased in the plasma after amalgam removal but blood mercury levels and urinary excretion rate decreased two months after the treatment.

Abstract Background Some people attribute their ill health to dental filling materials, experiencing a variety of symptoms. Yet, it is not known if they continue to financially support themselves by work or become reliant on different types of social security benefits. The aim of this study was to analyse reliance on different forms of social security benefits by patients who attribute their poor health to dental filling materials. Methods A longitudinal cohort study with a 13-year follow up. The subjects included were 505 patients attributing their ill health to dental restorative materials, who applied for subsidised filling replacement. They were compared to a cohort of matched controls representing the general population (three controls per patient). Annual individual data on disability pension, sick leave, unemployment benefits, and socio-demographic factors was obtained from Statistics Sweden. Generalized estimating equations were used to test for differences between cohorts in number of days on different types of social security benefits. Results The cohort of dental filling patients had a significantly higher number of days on sick leave and disability pension than the general population. The test of an overall interaction effect between time and cohort showed a significant difference between the two cohorts regarding both sick leave and disability pension. In the replacement cohort, the highest number of sick-leave days was recorded in the year they applied for subsidised replacement of fillings. While sick leave decreased following the year of application, the number of days on disability pension increased and peaked at the end of follow-up. Conclusions Ill health related to dental materials is likely to be associated with dependence on social security benefits. Dental filling replacement does not seem to improve workforce participation.