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Aims: To improve knowledge, attitude, and behavior about oral health and oral cancer prevention in a population of alcohol-addicted persons involved in a residential rehabilitation program in Italy., Methods: A questionnaire was administered to obtain socioeconomic and oral risk factors data, and a complete dental examination was performed. A lecture on oral health risk factors and healthy behaviors was delivered. A pre-post test questionnaire was used to assess the short-term effectiveness of the intervention. Long-term effectiveness was assessed by a follow-up interview at 1 year from the intervention. The independent effect of several covariates on oral health at baseline and on the outcome of the intervention was evaluated., Results: Seventy-six individuals from the residential alcohol rehabilitation program participated in our study. About half had been addicted to alcohol for more than 10 years; 81.6% smoked at the time of survey; 31.0% declared that they never used toothbrushes or that they brushed less than once/day. We found an improvement of 25.0% in exact answers between the pre-post test questionnaire. At 1 year from the intervention, the 42 participants who reached follow up showed a great improvement in knowledge and attitude towards oral health. In particular, toothbrushing had become a daily routine after every meal for 67.1% of participants., Conclusions: Education of alcohol-dependent individuals in a rehabilitation setting may contribute to their attention to oral health and willingness to change habits.

The improvement of the dentition of children starting in the seventies of last century has come to a halt. There are indications that the interest of children and young parents in dental health is declining. The government shows fewer activities to inform the public on dental health issue by mass communication. The future of dental health education by child care organisations or school medical services is uncertain. A great deal of dental health education has to be given in the dental office. In spite of all the preventive efforts in the past, there is a group of children still at high risk for dental caries. Older people may all become at risk when the interest in dental health or the ability for self care declines. New ways are to be sought to motivate these risk groups for adequate dental care. Parents, teachers, school medical services but also children of older people and volunteer and professional aid for the elderly should be involved.

In 1992 the Consumentenbond investigated which aspects patients consider to be important in the dental practice. The most important aspects were hygiene of the practice, technical skills of the dentist and the possibility to ask questions to the dentist. Internet will be more important in future communication with the consumer. At the moment, however, the quality of information from the internet is insufficient.

Lecture by the President of the Landeszahnärztekammer (Regional Chamber of Dental Surgeons) Baden Wuerttemberg and Chairman of the Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Zahngesundheit (Regional Task Force for Dental Health) on the occasion of the 50th scientific convention "Healthy into the Future" of the Federal Association of Doctors and Dentists in the Public Health Sector. This lecture by Dr. Rüdiger Engel highlights the planned goals of the Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Zahngesundheit (Regional Task Force for Dental Health) as well as those of the 37 associated Regional Task Forces for Dental Health up to year 2003.

Dental health education is an important part of our professional activities given we provide day-to-day treatment of caries and periodontal disease which can mostly be controlled by our patients, provided they implement relatively simple changes in their daily oral health habits. However, efforts in the field of both patient and public education are not supported by research. This is partly due to a failure to include an evaluation of these activities; enthusiasm often takes precedence over scientific assessment.

Dental ill health will not be controlled by clinical intervention, therefore, it is important to improve the efficacy of the dental profession's preventive care. This will involve a much broader perspective than has been the case in the past and is encompassed by the term health promotion. This represents an attempt by the World Health Organization to convince all interested health professionals that health has political, social and environmental dimensions.

This article discusses the historical shifts between the treatment-oriented, instructional and primary preventive approaches to oral health promotion, especially in school-based programs in New Zealand and Australia. While in the past much effort has been put into treatment-oriented and instructional programs, their impact has been limited. Among those primary preventive activities that have demonstrated clear benefits are various types of fluoridation and adhesive sealants for the occlusal surfaces of teeth. Further emphasis on primary prevention over treatment is needed to better insure the success of school-based oral health promotion programs. In addition, more effort needs to be put into policy direction, linkages within the educational system, planning, and evaluation.

Many factors contribute to a successful dental public health program. Each of these must be developed and constantly cultivated to ensure the continuation and improvement of the program. In looking to the future, dental public health must remember its commitment to the community as its patient and its long history of public/private partnership. To best serve the citizens of the state, participants in this partnership must carefully consider which activities are appropriate for the different providers of dental services.

Concurrent with an epidemiological study, 761 military recruits were questioned about their attitudes towards dentists, dental treatment and oral hygiene habits. In addition, their knowledge of periodontal diseases and their prevention was evaluated, as were their smoking and snacking habits. Such recruits had been similarly questioned 11 years previously. Both the present and the previous studies showed that the recruits had a very positive attitude towards their dentitions, expressing a defined desire for good oral health. Oral hygiene habits, particularly daily toothbrushing, improved during the decade and were graded as acceptable. However, the recruits generally had a poor impression of dentists and their individual treatments. The number of recruits presenting for the emergency treatment of pain increased by 20%. Of this group, recruits who only sought dental checkups sporadically increased four times compared to the previous study. Confirming results of the previous study, knowledge of periodontal diseases and its prevention were poor. This may indicate a lack of clearly explained information by the dental teams which previously and presently treated these recruits. The development of a consumer society was expressed by the increased snacking habits. In contrast to what was expected, the information about dental diseases and the motivation of recruits by dental personnel and in the schools to better dental health should be improved.

Experience at the Heidelberg Health Authority has shown that youth dental care without the intervention of a dental officer does not possess the necessary efficiency. The percentage of pupils not in the permanent care of a dental practitioner is increasing yearly. Hence, early preventive care is hampered. During the course of follow-up investigations by a professional dentist motivation is possible which cannot be achieved by collective motivation within the school class. In order to cope with "problem children", who generally belong to the lower social groups, it is desirable to place these under the supervision of dentists of the regional authorities. Thus this social class will also receive the necessary dental care and education.