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PurposeRacial and ethnic disparities in periodontal disease exist in the United States. This study examined the prevalence of self-reported periodontal disease, and the extent to which racial/ethnic disparities in the reported disease were reduced or eliminated after controlling for various risk factors in a multi-ethnic study population of older adults.Materials and methodsInformation from the baseline examination (July 2000-August 2002) of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) was used. Study participants (N = 6256) were age 45-84 years and identified themselves as either: white, black, Hispanic or Chinese. Periodontal disease was assessed by self-report; demographic and socioeconomic status (SES) indicators, biomedical risk factors and psychosocial stress factors were used as predictors of self-reported periodontal disease.ResultsChinese displayed the highest prevalence of self-reported periodontal disease (39.8%), followed by blacks (32.0%) and whites (26.0%), with Hispanics displaying the lowest prevalence (17.4%). Chinese and black participants had a significantly higher prevalence of disease compared to whites that persisted after adjusting for demographic and SES indicators, biomedical risk factors and psychosocial stress factors. After such adjustment, Hispanics did not differ significantly from whites in their reporting of disease.ConclusionRacial/ethnic disparities in self-reported periodontal disease persisted after adjusting for all study covariates. This study highlights the need for continued research into the determinants of racial/ethnic disparities in periodontal disease in order to better target interventions aimed at reducing the burden of disease in all segments of the U.S. population.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess Maryland physicians' knowledge and understanding of dental caries etiology and prevention, opinions related to prevention effectiveness, and their prevention practices.Methods: In 2010, a 30-item, self-administered survey questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 1,472 Maryland family physicians and pediatricians, with 294 surveys being returned and usable, yielding a 20 percent return rate. Statistical analyses in this descriptive study included distributions and cross-tabulations for the survey responses.Results: Thirty-five percent of family physicians and 45 percent of pediatricians indicated they provide caries prevention education to their patients. Approximately half of the physicians reported performing some type of caries risk assessment. Out of 10 dental caries knowledge questions, there was not a single question that the majority of physicians answered correctly with certainty. Nine percent of family physicians and 12 percent of pediatricians reported they provided fluoride varnish treatment to their three- to six-year-old patients at the time of this survey.Conclusions: This study identified specific areas, related to Maryland physicians' dental caries etiology and prevention knowledge, that continuing education and training programs could enhance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Methods Results Conclusions To assess dental utilization of resettled adult refugees in Washington (WA) state and the demographic factors associated with dental utilization.Data were collected between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015 for newly arrived adult refugees (>21 years) enrolled in Washington State dental Medicaid program. Three state agencies provided enrollment and claims data that included demographic information as well as number and types of dental claims, and time to first dental claim for the newly resettled adult refugee population.A total of 1294 adult refugees resettled in WA State in 2015. Approximately, 67% were aged 21–39 years and 32.4% White race and 93.9% without any disability. Over half (57%) of adult refugees had at least one dental claim within 12 months, and the median time to first dental utilization was 4.1 months [IQR:2.4–6.8]. Black refugees had a 74% greater chance of a first dental claim within 12 months of resettlement compared to White refugees (p < .001), and people from countries with high volume of refugees also had a 31% greater chance than those from countries with low volume of refugees (p = .005).Over half of all the adult refugees resettled in WA utilized dental services within 12 months of arrival. Understanding the mosaic of demographic backgrounds of newly resettled refugees in any given state will improve early utilization of dental care needs and therefore improve their oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a history of potentially traumatic events (PTE) and a child's behavior during dental treatment.Methods: Parents of healthy children, age four years and older and attending their initial dental appointment at a university pediatric dental clinic, were asked to complete the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory-Parent Report Revised and a demographic survey. Following the dental appointment, a pediatric dental resident reported the child's behavior using the Frankl scale.Results: A total of 170 parent-child pairs participated; 53 percent of parents indicated their child had experienced at least one PTE; 44 percent reported their child had a prior negative experience at the dentist. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression analysis showed no significant association between PTE history and poor dental behavior (P=0.994), but a significant association was observed between a previous negative dental experience and poor dental behavior (P=0.000) as well as between age (younger than five years old) and poor behavior (P=0.006).Conclusions: Children with a history of potentially traumatic events did not exhibit uncooperative behavior more often than those who did not. A previous negative dental experience and the child's young age were significantly associated with uncooperative behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess factors associated with the dental utilization of refugee children in Washington state who received oral health care. Methods: This study used Medicaid data of newly arrived children who resettled in 2015. Demographics, refugee population density groups, special care needs, dates of dental encounters, and dental claim variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression analysis, and the Cox proportional-hazard ratios (P<0.05). Results: Among 1,125 children, 78 percent had at least one dental claim. The majority were under six years (37 percent), male (55 percent), and without disabilities (98 percent). On average children started using dental care within 6.0 months (±4.0 standard deviation) of resettlement (median equals 4.4; interquartile range [IQR] equals 2.6 to 10.3). White children had the greatest mean number of dental claims, whereas Black children had the least (P<0.001). Children from the low-volume refugee population density group were significantly less likely to have a dental claim than children from the medium-volume refugee population density group (P<0.001). Compared to 13- to 21-year-olds, children aged zero to seven years and seven to 13 years had a 46.7 percent (95 percent confidence interval [95% CI] equals 24.9 to 72.3 percent) and 54.8 percent (95% CI equals 30.3 to 83.9 percent) significantly increased likelihood of having their first dental claim (P<0.001). Conclusions: A large percentage (78 percent) of children newly resettled in the state of Washington utilized at least one dental service. Age, race, and refugee population density group were significantly associated with utilization within the initial 12 months after resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a history of potentially traumatic events (PTE) and a child’s behavior during dental treatment. Methods: Parents of healthy children, age four years and older and attending their initial dental appointment at a university pediatric dental clinic, were asked to complete the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory-Parent Report Revised and a demographic survey. Following the dental appointment, a pediatric dental resident reported the child’s behavior using the Frank! scale. Results: A total of 170 parent-child pairs participated: 53 percent of parents indicated their child had experienced at least one PTE; 44 percent reported their child had a prior negative experience at the dentist. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression analysis showed no significant association between PTE history and poor dental behavior (P=0.994), but a significant association was observed between a previous negative dental experience and poor dental behavior (P=0.000) as well as between age (younger than five years old) and poor behavior (P=0.006). Conclusions: Children with a history of potentially traumatic events did not exhibit uncooperative behavior more often than those who did not. A previous negative dental experience and the child’s young age were significantly associated with uncooperative behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deadline for replacing International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD-9) code sets with the newer ICD-10 code sets, used for the reporting of medical diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures, was recently updated to occur at a date no sooner than October 1, 2015; with October 1, 2015 being the likely implementation date. The transition to ICD-10 is mandatory for all entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA). This review will provide a brief history of the development of ICD codes; provide an overview of ICD-9/ICD-9-Clinical Modification (CM) and ICD-10/ ICD-10-CM/Procedural Coding System (PCS) codes; provide information on the conversion of ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS codes; and provide information on the uses of ICD codes in dentistry in the United States.