Prevalence and severity of dental caries in schoolchildren of Porto, Portugal

Objectives: To measure the prevalence and severity of dental caries in adolescents of the city of Porto, Portugal, and to assess socioeconomic and behavioural covariates of dental caries experience. Methods: A sample of 700 thirteen-year-old schoolchildren was examined. Results from the dental examination were linked to anthropometric information and to data supplied by two structured questionnaires assessing nutritional factors, socio-demographic characteristics and behaviour related to health promotion. Dental caries was measured using the DMFT index, and two dichotomous outcomes, one assessing the prevalence of dental caries (DMFT>0); the other assessing the prevalence of a high level of dental caries (DMFT=4). Results: Consuming soft drinks derived from cola (irrespective of sugared or diet) two or more times per week, attending a public school, being female and having parents with low educational attainment were identified as risk factors both for having dental caries and for having a high level of dental caries. Conclusion: Caries levels were positively associated with frequency of intake of sweetened foods and drinks.

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries - Session 3. RISD Faculty

Faculty from Rhode Island School of Design representing Interior Architecture, Industrial Design, and Textiles detail their thoughtful interactions with materials.

Projetos políticos pedagógicos dos cursos de Odontologia do RN : formação profissional e a perspectiva da atenção à terceira idade

Brazil has been undergoing major demographic change.According to IBGE, the next 20 years the country's elderly population may reach over 30 million people. This tariff provides specifics regarding the process of health / disease. It is essential that higher education institutions are committed to this demand in view of the integrated training of health needs of society. The aim of this study is to analyze the Pedagogical Political Projects (PPP) of courses in dentistry in Rio Grande do Norte (RN), according to the national curriculum guidelines (DCNS) and training from the perspective of health care for the elderly. This is an exploratory study with a qualitative approach: with records and interviews. The study subjects were an Assistant Professor in the development of PPPs for each institution. The scenario in this study were dental training institutions in the newborns. Initially, the analysis of the PPP was by using the Alceste 4.9 software. The interpretation of the contents of interviews with teachers was done through content analysis of Bardin (2010). The PPPs are based on the DCNS, meet the characteristics of regional and seek a generalist, but still strongly directed to technical and scientific aspects of professional practice. Efforts and institutional approaches, involving teachers and students of the courses are being mobilized for training with more articulated network of health services. However, the emphasis on content pertaining to the health care of the elderly, is still limited when compared to those targeted content inherent in children and adolescents in all three curricular structures. It is reasonable to conclude that the historical, political, scientific, cultural and social, present in society, influence the formation of the dental professional RN. The greater participation of society in the process of vocational training in dentistry is needed. This can be done from the involvement of universities with health councils, bodies representing the dental profession and other segments of civil society in order to induce changes that generate ideas and educational practices integrative and interdisciplinary, with emphasis on continuing education for teachers, servants, employees and students. Containing conduct this process inherent flexibility of curriculum, teaching-service integration and coordination abilities and professional skills that are essential to understanding the human being and its complexities

Dental caries prevalence in children up to 36 months of age attending daycare centers in municipalities with different water fluoride content

This study determined the prevalence of cavitated caries lesions (CCL) and early childhood caries (ECC), and the contribution of some variables in children up to 36 months of age attending daycare centers in municipalities with different fluoride levels in the water supply: AFC (adequate fluoride content) and LFC (low fluoride content). After approval of the Ethics Committee, the parents were interviewed. The children were clinically examined using the same codes and criteria established by the WHO (World Health Organization) and the ADA (American Dental Association). Fisher's exact test (p<0.05) was applied for statistical analysis of data. The dmft indices calculated in the LFC and AFC municipalities were 0.57 and 0.68, respectively. Considering all children examined, 17.6% presented CCL and 33.8% ECC. The economic classification, mother's education level and duration of breastfeeding were considered statistically significant with regards to CCL prevalence. The age group, duration of the habit of drinking milk before bedtime and age at which oral hygiene started were considered statistically significant with regards to ECC prevalence.

Sexual harassment in Dentistry: prevalence in dental school

Objective: Sexual harassment is unlawful in all work and educational environments in most nations of the world. The goals of this study were to describe the sexual harassment prevalence and to evaluate the experiences and attitudes of undergraduate students in one dental school in Brazil. Material and Methods: An 18-item questionnaire was administered to 254 dental students with a completion rate of 82% (208). Students were requested to respond to questions about their background and academic level in dental school, their personal experiences with sexual harassment and their observation of someone else being sexually harassed. Bivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results: Fifteen percent of the students reported being sexually harassed by a patient, by a relative of a patient or by a professor. Male students had 3 times higher probability of being sexually harassed than female student [OR = 2.910 (1.113-7.611)]. Additionally, 25.4% of the students reported witnessing sexual harassment at the school environment. The majority of students did not feel professionally prepared to respond to unwanted sexual behaviors. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that sexual harassment can occur in a dental school setting. There is a need for ongoing sexual harassment education programs for students and university staff. Increased knowledge of sexual harassment during graduation can better prepare dental professionals to respond to sexual harassment during their practice.

Oral health education in schools: promoting health agents

Purpose: The aim of this study was to verify the influence of preschool children participating in an oral health education programme on daily health practices of their families, through parent's perception. Methods: A sample of 119 parents of 5- to 6-year-old preschool children were selected. Data were collected using a structured open-closed questionnaire, self-administered. The questions focused on parents' knowledge about activities of oral health education conducted in school, the importance given by them to these activities, learning from their offspring and the presence of habit change at home. Results: In total, 63 (52.9%) parents agreed to participate. Ninety-eight per cent knew about educative and preventive activities developed at school and all of them affirmed that these activities were important, mainly because of knowledge, motivation and improvement in children's health. Ninety and half per cent of parents reported that they learned something about oral health from their children and, among these, almost half (47.8%) cited toothbrushing as the indicator for better learning. Besides this, 87.3% of participants revealed the change in oral health habits of their family members. Conclusion: Preschool children were able to transmit knowledge acquired at school to their parents that included change in oral health routine of their family members.

Effect of oral hygiene education and motivation on removable partial denture wearers: longitudinal study

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of two different preventive oral hygiene education and motivation programmes on the plaque and gingival index, as well as denture hygiene of patients provided with removable partial denture (RPD) during a 12-month follow-up.A total of 53 partially edentulous patients were recruited for this study. The presence or absence of plaque and gingival bleeding by gentle probing was scored on all tooth surfaces at the preliminary visit. The plaque and gingival indexes were measured using the Loe index. Following treatment, the patients were randomly divided into three groups. In Control Group I, subjects were instructed to continue their personal oral hygiene routine. In Group II, participants were given verbal instructions and a self-educational manual on oral hygiene without illustrations. In Group III, oral hygiene guidance was delivered using a combination of verbal instructions and a self-teaching manual. To evaluate the effect of the different modes of instruction, the presence or absence of plaque and gingival bleeding was scored on all tooth surfaces (day zero examination) and re-examined 7, 15 and 30 days, 3, 6 and 12 months following RPD placement. The state of denture hygiene was evaluated 7, 15 and 30 days and 3, 6 and 12 months following rehabilitation. Parametric statistics was applied to dental plaque and gingival indexes. For accumulation of plaque and calculus on the RPD, non-parametric statistic was applied.The frequency of plaque found during the preliminary visit was higher than that found in the other periods. With regard to gingival index, significant difference was found between the preliminary visit examination and other periods. There was a significant difference in the plaque accumulation on the denture surface between groups I and III.The different methods of oral hygiene instruction used in this study indicate that the type of education was not of significant importance.

Fibrin adhesive implant in wound healing repair of dental sockets with topical application of epsilon aminocaproic acid: Histological analysis

The aim of the study was to evaluate wound healing repair of dental sockets after topical application of 5% epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) and the use of fibrin adhesive implant in rats under anticoagulant therapy with warfarin. Sixty Albinus wistar rats were used, divided into three groups of 20. In Group I, the animals were given 0.1 mL/100 mg of 0.9% saline solution per day, beginning 6 days before dental extraction and continuing throughout the experimental period. In Group II, the animals received 0.03 mL of sodium warfarin daily, beginning 6 days before the surgery and continuing until the day of sacrifice; after tooth extractions, the sockets were filled with fibrin adhesive material. In Group III the animals were treated as in Group II, and after extractions, the sockets were irrigated with 5 mL of 5% EACA and filled with the same fibrin adhesive material. All groups presented biological phases of wound healing repair, the differences being evident only in the chronology. The results obtained in Group III were very similar to those of Group I in the last period of wound repair, whereas Group II presented a late chronology compared to the other groups. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of temperature on self-etching adhesive penetration.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the penetration of an aggressive self-etching adhesive system at refrigerated and room temperatures into ground and unground enamel surfaces. Thirty extracted human teeth were used to measure adhesive penetration into enamel by light microscopy analysis (x400). The unground enamel surfaces were cleaned with pumice and water using a rotary dental brush. For each specimen, part of the unground enamel was manually ground and part was kept intact. A self-etch adhesive was evaluated for its ability to penetrate ground and unground enamel surfaces at room temperature (25 degrees C), at 30 minutes after removal from the refrigerator, and immediately after removal from the refrigerator (6 degrees C). Data were analyzed using variance and the Tukey test, which revealed significant differences in length of penetration of this material when applied on ground and unground enamel surfaces and between the different temperatures used (P > .05). The self-etching system used in this study had significantly lower penetration into unground enamel and at 6 degrees C (P < .05). No statistical difference was found between the interactions of these factors. It was concluded that the self-etching system produced the best penetration into ground enamel surface at room temperature (25 degrees C) and at 30 minutes after removing the specimens from the refrigerator.

Length of resin tags in pit-and-fissure sealants: all-in-one self-etching adhesive vs phosphoric acid etching.

PURPOSE: To investigate the penetration (tags) of adhesive materials into enamel etched with phosphoric acid or treated with a self-etching adhesive, before application of a pit-and-fissure sealant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised six study groups with six specimens each. Before pit-and-fissure sealing with the materials Clinpro SealantTM (Groups I and II), Vitro Seal ALPHA (Groups III and IV) and Fuji II LC (Groups V and VI), the teeth in Groups I, III, and V were etched with 35% phosphoric acid for 30 seconds. Teeth in Groups II, IV, and VI received application of the self-etching adhesive Adper Prompt L-Pop. The treated teeth were sectioned buccolingually, ground to 100-microm thickness, decalcified, and analyzed by conventional light microscopy at 400x magnification. RESULTS: The teeth etched with phosphoric acid exhibited significantly greater penetration than specimens treated with self-etching adhesive. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: When compared with enamel treated with a self-etching adhesive, the penetration (tags) of adhesive materials into enamel was greater when applied on enamel etched with phosphoric acid.