Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology
Volume:8 Issue: 3, Summer 2019

Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a practically new but rapidly growing approach. The concept of OHRQoL can become a tool to explain and shape the state of clinical practice. This study was aimed to do a systematic review about the impacts of different dental treatments on OHRQoL. We searched the databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane, and Thomson Reuters Web of Science up to January 2018 with the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords: “Intervention”, “Management”, “Improvement”, “Impact”, “Change” in combination with “Dentistry” AND “Oral health-related quality of life”. The reviewers screened the identified publications in three steps according to title, abstract, and full text; thereafter, they extracted all the related data in screened articles and finally classified it according to the field of dental treatment. Extracted data were saved in Excel software. Finally, 22 articles were enrolled in the review and based on the type of dental treatment were categorized into three groups: implant and prosthesis, oral surgery, and periodontics and aesthetic; overall, in 72.7% of the studies, improvement of OHRQoL was considered. The majority of used dental treatments have shown improvement of OHRQoL in studied patients.

Ocular disorder like, diplopia, mydriasis, blurred vision, ptosis, exophthalmos, and blindness (permanent or temporary) are infrequent complications of an injection of local anesthetics in mouth.The main purpose of this study was to survey the dentist’s knowledge and attitude about ocular disorders due to intra-oral anesthetics injection. A three-part questionnaire including demographic data and questions on knowledge and attitude about ocular complication was distributed among 197 dentists in Kerman, Iran. Data analysis were performed using the SPSS. Of the study participants, 7.6% did not have any knowledge regarding the ocular complications after local anesthetics injection and 10.7% indicated that eye problems have not been occurred following the dental anesthesia. Among the participants who were aware of this issue expressed self-experience in the clinical practice as the major source of their information, while just 2.0% indicated that their awareness on the ocular complications was from the studies published. In addition, this lack of knowledge in general dentists was more than the specialists. The knowledge of the dentists regarding the ocular complications due to anesthesia in the present survey investigation is not satisfactory and needs enhancement. There is a necessity for precise protocol for dentists in recognizing and managing ocular complications by intra-oral anesthetics injections.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most stigmatised diseases which leads the individuals to feel alone with the social and economic anxiety. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of dental undergraduate students about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS. This study comprised pre-clinic and clinic students of School of Dentistry, Usak University, Usak, Turkey. A web-based questionnaire (WBQ) was administered to total of 280 students. The data were collected and interpreted. According to AIDS Knowledge Questionnaire and AIDS Attitude scale (AAS), there was a statistically significant difference only in the protection dimension (P ≤ 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between pre-clinic and clinic groups with respect to the AAS (P > 0.05). Despite the fact that they all had lack of information about HIV/AIDS, clinic group had better knowledge about how they could protect themselves. Also, they all had stigmatized attitudes towards this group of patients.

Individual’s learning style determines the mechanism of processing, internalization, and retention of new information. The higher education centers and professors need information and conformity to various learning styles to help students learn effectively. In addition, researchers believe that learning styles are one of the factors responsible for differences in students’ academic performance. The sample of present study consisted of all the first-year to sixth-year dental students and the postgraduate students of School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, in the second semester of 2016–2017. The subjects were included in the study using the census method (343 undergraduate and 59 postgraduate students). Data were collected using VARK questionnaire. The students’ overall mean grades were used to evaluate their academic performance. The data were analyzed with SPSS software; also descriptive statistics (frequencies, central indices, and distribution) and analytical statistics were used. The correlation between learning style and the average of the students was evaluated with analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and chi-square test was used to evaluate the relationship of learning styles with age, gender, and grades of education. 88.3% of the learners were unimodal and 11.7% used multi-modal learning style. No statistical correlation between the students’ learning style and their academic performance was found (P = 0.066). The professors should be aware of the different preferences of students in learning styles and take the necessary steps to develop effective educational techniques that fit the students’ learning styles.

Hyposalivation can cause many difficulties for patients like opportunistic infections such as candidiasis, mouth sores, and dysphagia as well as reduced quality of life (QOL). Methods such as using sugar-free chewing gum are recommended to treat this complication. Mastic is a natural substance and since it has various properties in addition to increasing salivary flow rate, it can reduce oral complications of patients suffering from xerostomia. In the present study, a comparison was made on the effect of chewing mastic and spearmint sugar-free chewing gum on saliva flow rate and pH.

This was a single blind interventional clinical study carried out on 26 healthy individuals (10 men and 16 women). Simple non-probability sampling method was used to select the subjects. Initially, unstimulating saliva was collected and then all subjects were asked to chew Parafilm, mastic, and spearmint sugar-free chewing gum with a randomized order and in a 15-minute interval. Salivary flow rate was estimated by dividing the amount of the collected saliva (weight or volume) by the sample collection period (5 minutes). Saliva pH was measured by a manual pH meter. Data were analyzed using SPSS software by t-test.

A total of 26 volunteers (10 men and 16 women) participated in this study, with a mean age of 23.5 years. The saliva flow rate and pH after chewing mastic (the main substance in this study) were not significantly different from those after consuming the chewing gum (P > 0.050). Mastic and chewing gum increased the salivary flow rate significantly compared to Parafilm (P < 0.001).

The results showed that mastic and sugar-free chewing gum could increase salivary flow rate and pH. Due to the flavor and high price of sugar-free chewing gum, mastic can be recommended instead of sugar-free chewing gums.

This study aims to determine dental health indices and their associated factors in 6-12-year-old Iranian school children. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 5620 students, living in Shahroud, northeast of Iran, participated as the participants of Shahroud School Children Eye Cohort Study (SSCECS). Children were selected through cluster sampling in urban areas and by census in rural areas. The children were examined by two trained dentists, using disposable dental mirrors and dental explorers on a dental unit. The indices of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), decayed filled teeth (dft), and Significant Caries Index (SiC Index) as well as decay percentage were estimated by age, gender, and place of residence, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The differences in mean value were investigated by independent t-test or analysis of variance (ANOVA). Dental examinations were performed for 5577 students, 3005 (53.9%) of whom were boys and 4434 (79.5%) were urban residents. The mean age of the participants was 9.7 ± 1.7 years. The overall DMFT, dft, and SiC indices were 0.97, 2.84, and 2.48, respectively. At the age of 12, DMFT and SiC indices were 1.80 and 4.07, respectively. Moreover, the mean DMFT was higher in girls and in rural areas, increasing with age. Overall, 36.2% and 38.9% of the male and female students had at least one decayed permanent tooth, respectively. Dental health status in 6-12-year-old Iranian children was not favorable in Shahroud, especially in girls and in rural areas. Therefore, preventive and therapeutic programs and access to health care services need to be expanded.

Dental caries among children is considered as a main public health concern in most of the countries over world and its prevalence is widespread in low-income countries like Iran. The aim of this study was to measure socioeconomic-related inequality in poor decayed, missing, filled (DMF) index and identify the determinants among school children in west of Iran.

A survey was carried out among school children aged 12 to 15 years in Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2018, to collect data on dental caries, demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status (SES). A total of 1457 students were included in the analysis of this cross-sectional study. Logistic regression analysis examined the association of poor DMF index with the socioeconomic and behavioral determinants. We used the relative index of inequality (RII) and the slope index of inequality (SII) to measure wealth-related inequality in poor DMF index. The Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition technique was also employed to identify the factors of the difference in poor DMF prevalence between the poorest and the richest groups.

The overall and age-adjusted prevalence of poor DMF index was 36.92% [95% confidence interval (CI): 34.48-39.43] and 37.32% (95% CI: 34.64-40.08), respectively. The SII and RII indicated that the poor DMF index was mainly prevalent among poorer children. The absolute gap (%) in the incidence of poor DMF index between children from the richest and the poorest groups was 22.50. The BO results showed that the most important factors affecting the difference in poor DMF index were mother’s education (18.23%), being girl (6.12%), and visit to dentist (2.93%).

There was a significant pro-rich distribution of poor DMF index among school children in the capital of Kermanshah Province. Interventions aimed at increasing mother’s education and good oral health behavior among poorer children could contribute to decline of the difference in poor DMF index between the highest and the lowest SES groups.

Maxillofacial defects due to malignant or benign tumors or congenital defects often result in complications such as the impairment of facial aesthetic, mastication, speech, and swallowing. Remedy of these defects, especially in a dentate patient is an important challenge in prosthodontics. Maxillectomy can lead to severe anatomical changes following tumor resection and reconstruction such as decreasing skeletal soft tissue support. The present study describes an implant-supported obturator in a dentate patient. CASE REPORT: The present study indicates an obturator prosthesis in a 58-year-old patient with hemimaxillectomy (Aramany’s Class 1 defect) undergoing the treatment of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the right palate. The research describes clinical and laboratory procedures in rehabilitation of a dentate patient with tooth, tissues, and implant-supported obturator.

In dentate patients, the maxillectomy requires careful planning for removable partial denture (RPD) framework design to achieve the best retention and soft tissue supporting. The patient was satisfied with her prosthesis in the mean aesthetic, phonetic, and swallowing aspects.