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To cite this article: Int J Dent Hygiene 9, 2011; 250-253 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-5037.2011.00518.x da Silva RP, Pereira AC, de Castro Meneghim M, Mialhe FL. Development of an auxiliary resource for diagnosis of dental caries in epidemiological surveys. Abstract: Objective: Early dental caries diagnosis within the changing global pattern of dental caries development requires the use of auxiliary resources and adjuncts to diagnosis. The aim of this study was to introduce an alternative resource for drying teeth to enable early diagnosis of dental caries in epidemiological surveys. Methods: Polyurethane tips and three-in-one syringes were fitted to nebulizers and non-professional portable compressors for dental surface drying. The output air pressure of these sets was compared with the output pressure from the three-in-one syringe in a dental office. Results: Although the output pressure from the alternative resources was lower than the output pressure from the dental office equipment, the dental surfaces were dried satisfactorily, allowing the early diagnosis of the dental caries. Conclusion: When a dental setting is not available, these alternative resources for drying teeth can be used satisfactorily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether the characteristics of dental schools and the profiles of their deans were associated with curricular activities related to LGBTQ+ in Brazilian dental schools., Methods: A survey was mailed to the deans of all Brazilian dental schools for the purpose of assessing the development of pedagogical activities focused on the topic of oral health of the LGBTQ+ population, and the characteristics of the institutions and profiles of their deans. The data collected were analyzed with hierarchical multiple logistic regression models in order to analyze associations between variables of interest., Results: Of the deans approached, 156 (response rate of approximately 32.4%) completed and returned the survey. The majority of dental schools (67.3%) of the sample were private institutions and 39% of them developed pedagogical activities directed toward the LGBTQ+. This percentage was much lower in public institutions (18%). The results of the hierarchical multiple logistic regression demonstrated that deans who attributed high relevance to the theme "oral health of the LGBTQ+ population" were more likely to develop pedagogical activities directed toward the LGBTQ+ population (odds ratio = 4.74; 95% confidence interval: 1.65-13.48), than those who attributed low or little importance to this topic (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: A low percentage of activities aimed at the LGBTQ+ population was observed in the sample of Brazilian dental schools. Deans must be aware of the importance of the topic and be motivated to implement pedagogical activities for this population., (© 2024 American Dental Education Association.)

The aim of this study was to investigate associations of sociodemographic, lifestyle, medical conditions, and caries experience with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a large sample of adults with mental disorders. A sample of 753 adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or depression, who were users of 10 public mental health outpatient clinics located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, participated in the study. Participants provided data on sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnosis, medication use, and health behaviors. Oral examinations to evaluate dental caries (using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth ([DMFT] index) and dental plaque (using the Silness-Löe plaque index) were conducted. Oral health-related quality of life was evaluated using the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Log-Poisson regression was used to evaluate associations between the outcome and independent variables. The prevalence of one or more OHIP-14 impacts occurring fairly often/often was 72.3%. Physical pain was the OHIP domain with the highest prevalence, followed by psychological discomfort. Multivariable analysis showed that higher prevalence of the reponses 'fairly often/often' in the OHIP-14 was associated with being female, aged 35 to 54 years, having a low family income, a diagnosis of depression, a smoking habit, and fewer than 20 teeth. Adults with mental disorders had a high prevalence of impacts on their OHRQoL, which were associated with caries experience, sociodemographic characteristics, type of psychiatric diagnosis, and behavioral risk indicators., (© 2021 European Journal of Oral Sciences.)

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between oral health literacy (OHL), self-rated oral health (SROH), and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in Brazilian adults. A sample of 523 Brazilian adults completed the short-form Health Literacy in Dentistry (HeLD-14) and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) instruments that measure OHL and OHRQoL, respectively. The prevalence ratios (PRs) for outcome variables and their 95% CIs were quantified. Multivariable log-binomial regression models were applied, as the statistical models, to estimate bivariate and multivariable relationships of oral health outcomes with OHL, after adjusting for covariates. No significant association was found between poor SROH (as measured by single items) and OHL (PR = 1.28; 95% CI: 0.87-1.88); by contrast, significant associations were found between poor SROH and income (PR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04-2.21), toothbrushing frequency (PR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.11-2.58), reason for dental visiting (PR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.03-2.13), and self-rated general health (PR = 3.44; 95% CI: 2.38-4.97). The OHL level (PR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.21-2.56), educational level (PR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.41-0.93), reason for dental visiting (PR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.30-2.61), and self-rated general health (PR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.03-2.23) were associated with poor OHRQoL., (© 2020 Eur J Oral Sci.)

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dental caries treatment on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among schoolchildren and the responsiveness of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ8-10 ) instrument. Brazilian schoolchildren, 8-10 yr of age, were randomly selected and assigned to two groups--dental caries treatment (DCT) and caries-free (CF)--according to their caries experience [decayed, missing, or filled primary teeth (dmft) and decayed, missing or filled secondary teeth (DMFT) values of ≥ 0]. The CPQ8-10 instrument was administered at baseline and at 4 wk of follow-up (i.e. 4 wk after completion of dental treatment). In the DCT group, increases in CPQ8-10 scores were observed between the baseline and follow-up results. However, longitudinal evaluation of the CF group demonstrated no statistically significant difference in CPQ8-10 scores. Responsiveness of the CPQ8-10 instrument (magnitude of change in CPQ8-10 scores) in the DCT group was greater (effect size >0.7) than in the CF group. The findings of this study show that dental caries treatment has an important impact on OHRQoL of children. The CPQ8-10 was considered an acceptable instrument for longitudinal measurement of changes in OHRQoL., (© 2015 Eur J Oral Sci.)

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate whether having results available from multiple detection methods influences dentist's treatment decisions for incipient caries lesions on occlusal surfaces. The occlusal surface of 96 extracted permanent molars without frank cavitation was examined by three examiners initially by visual examination alone, following which they chose one of three treatment options: (i) no treatment, (ii) preventive or non-invasive treatment (sealants), and (iii) invasive treatment. Four weeks later the examiners again selected one of the three treatment options for the surfaces, but this time were able to refer to the results from additional caries-detection methods [bitewing radiographs, electric conductance measurement (ECM), quantitative light fluorescence (QLF), and DIAGNOdent] that had been performed in the interim time. Stereomicroscopy was used to evaluate sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for the detection methods at the D1 diagnostic threshold. Slight improvement was obtained in the percentage of sites correctly diagnosed, and in the AUC, when referring to the results obtained from all detection methods compared with visual examination alone. However, a drastic effect on the selection of treatment options was observed by having results available from multiple methods, with the choice of invasive treatment increasing substantially. In conclusion, having data available from multiple methods did not improve the accuracy of examiners in detecting early occlusal caries lesions, but it had a great influence on the number of surfaces indicated for operative treatment. The potential decrease in overall specificity while using multiple methods of detection may be of concern in populations with a low prevalence of occlusal caries lesions.