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Objective: To determine whether dental patients in Trinidad would accept smoking cessation advice from their dentist. Study Design: Patients attending General Practice clinics from twelve randomly selected public Health Centres in Trinidad were invited to answer a 28-item administered questionnaire. Study Methods: Demographic data, knowledge of effects of smoking on health and dentists' role in smoking cessation were determined. Results: 340 patients participated, with a 93% response rate. 62.6 % were female. 94.7 % said they would appreciate it, if their dentist provided smoking cessation advice. 90.3 % had good knowledge of the effects of smoking and lung cancer and 79.4 % on oral cancer. 76.3% of smokers said they would try to quit if their dentist suggested it. Conclusion: Positive views were held towards dentists' advice on smoking cessation. Dentists should inform all patients who smoke about the benefits of quitting and provide support with smoking cessation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To describe the oral health and treatment need of schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago. Design and method. Cross-sectional survey using stratified cluster sampling. Participants were children in primary (aged 6–8 years) and secondary school (aged 12 and 15 years). Main outcome measures were DMFT/dmft, treatment need, and fluorosis. Results. Examinations were completed on 1064 children. The dmft of the 6–8-year-olds was 2·54 (95% CI = 2·32, 2·76). For 12-year-olds, the DMFT was 0·61 (95% CI = 0·51, 0·71), whereas for 15-year-olds, the DMFT was 1·06 (95% CI = 0·87, 1·25). Most of the caries experience in 6–8-year-olds was from decayed teeth. Sixty-seven per cent of the sample (95% CI = 64%, 69%) had some type of treatment need. Most frequently occurring need was for fillings at 42% (95% CI = 40%, 44%) with 28% (95% CI = 26%, 31%) of the total sample needing two or more surface fillings, followed by fissure sealants at 33% (95% CI = 30%, 36%) and caries-arresting care at 12% (95% CI = 10%, 14%). Extraction of one or more teeth was needed in 13% (95% CI = 11%, 15%) of children. Rates of fluorosis were negligible. Conclusion. The caries experience of 12- and 15-year-old children were low but was high for schoolchildren aged 6–8 years, in terms of prevalence and severity. Effective oral health promotion strategies need to be implemented to improve the oral health of primary schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of the present study were to investigate the type and prevalence of dental emergencies presenting at a teaching hospital paediatric emergency clinic in Trinidad, and to describe the socio-demographic factors related to the use of the service. The authors used a prospective study of consecutive dental patients presenting to a paediatric emergency clinic. Data recorded included type of presenting emergency and socio-demographic variables.Data were available for 309 participants; 47% were male and 53% female. The average age of the participants was 8·66 years (SD = 3·75 years; range = 1–16 years). Seventy-three per cent of the participants’ parents were involved in manual work or unemployed, and 21% were in nonmanual/professional employment; the occupation was not known in 6% of cases. Caries-related problems accounted for 74% of emergencies. Dental trauma mostly affected the upper permanent incisor teeth, with concussion, subluxation and intrusion being the most common injuries.Dental emergencies presenting to this university-based clinic were predominantly related to caries and trauma. The service was more frequently utilized by children in the mixed dentition stage, children from lower socioeconomic groups and those living in the local area. The frequency of caries-related problems indicates the need for more community-based preventive strategies, including encouraging greater attendance for routine dental care and dental health education. Strategies for oral health promotion should also be developed to prevent dental trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]