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Background: Dental surgery under general anesthesia (GA) is a common treatment for severe childhood caries and thus may serve as an event to motivate behavior change. The frequency of recurrent caries, however, indicates opportunities within current practice to change a child's oral health behaviors. Aim: To assess caregiver experiences related to their child's dental surgery to inform development of a behavioral intervention. Design: Semi‐structured interviews with caregivers of children receiving GA for dental surgery. Transcripts (n = 19) were analyzed using qualitative thematic methods. Results: Children were 2–5 years of age, mean 3.8 years. Limited access to GA services was a source of caregiver frustration and a barrier to caries treatment. Surgical events elicited emotional reactions including guilt, anxiety, and a sense of caregiver accountability for development of severe caries. There was variation in caregiver awareness and/or motivation to change oral health behaviors. Conclusions: A child's dental surgery under GA is an emotionally challenging event yet may inspire hope and expectations for improvement. Surgery offers an opportunity to implement interventions at a time when caregivers may be open to assistance with behavior change, though stress and anxiety may create barriers. Behavioral interventions should be tailored to individual caregiver needs/barriers and stage of developmental readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify factors that influence oral health behaviors in the pediatric population treated for caries under general anesthesia (GA). Methods: Nineteen semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with caregivers while their children received comprehensive dental care under GA. Interviews were recorded on audio and professionally transcribed. Transcripts were coded using an inductive approach, with codes categorized and themes identified in an iterative process among four investigators. Results: Data from 14 English and five Spanish interviews were reported. Factors that impacted accessing dental services, toothbrushing, and sugar intake were related to experiences living with severe caries and family dynamics. Many caregivers found the process of accessing care challenging, with barriers ranging from a caregiver's denial of disease severity to insurance status and provider availability. Discordant dynamics between parents and their children hindered efforts to change oral health behaviors. Stress of daily life impacted the ability for some caregivers to prioritize oral health. Conclusion: Our findings provide a better understanding of how a family's experiences and dynamics prior to dental care under GA can serve as barriers to changing oral health behaviors within an urban, Medicaid-enrolled population. Future work should address the complexity and context of familial interactions in efforts to improve surgical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores new methods for assessing in greater detail what dentists do when they perform oral cancer early detection examinations. It clarifies practice behaviors and opens opportunities to identify factors that facilitate thorough early detection examinations by clinicians and to assess the relative effectiveness of different examination procedures. A 38-item survey instrument was e-mailed to dentists in a western US, multistate dental practice group. Questionnaires were received by 241 dentists, and 102 responded. An Oral Cancer Knowledge scale (0 to 14) was generated from correct responses on oral cancer general knowledge. An Oral Cancer Examination Thoroughness scale was calculated from the two dimensions of reported and of procedures in oral cancer examinations. Nearly all responding dentists were in general practice (90%), with a median year of graduation from dental school of 1994. The Oral Cancer Knowledge scores ranged from 5 to 14 with a mean of 10.4. The mean Thoroughness of Examination score was 11.34 (range 0 to 20). The two scales were not statistically correlated ( r = −0.015, P = 0.883). Statistically, recency of continuing education was significantly associated with knowledge ( P = 0.0284) and appears to be marginally associated with thoroughness ( P = 0.075). This study documents considerable variability in dentists' knowledge and thoroughness of examinations. The scales provide tools for future studies for improving understanding of early detection of oral cancer in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine adolescents' knowledge regarding e-cigarettes and e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), and (2) describe common misconceptions regarding e-cigarette use. Methods: Adolescents aged 13 to 19 years were recruited in pediatric dental clinics and completed a survey questionnaire regarding their knowledge of e-cigarettes. Results: A total of 66 adolescents participated. Forty-seven adolescents indicated knowledge of e-cigarettes. Forty adolescents recognized that most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and 49 adolescents reported knowledge of EVALI cases. Adolescents had knowledge of possible lung damage from e-cigarette use. Adolescents also had misconceptions about e-cigarettes containing nicotine and them being less addictive than other tobacco products. Conclusions: Adolescents were aware of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury cases, and the majority of them viewed e-cigarette use as harmful to their health. However, some adolescents had misconceptions regarding the safety of e-cigarette use. Oral health providers should recognize that they play an important role in identifying risky behaviors amongst adolescents, incorporate adolescent-specific risk assessments into their clinical practice, and be comfortable providing anticipatory guidance about e-cigarette and nicotine use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine if caregivers' race and ethnicity impact their willingness to accept passive immobilization for their child's dental treatment and to determine if a detailed description of passive immobilization will make caregivers more likely to accept the technique. Methods: Caregivers of one- to 11-year-old patients were recruited in a university pediatric dental clinic. They completed two surveys and reviewed a written and pictorial description of passive immobilization. Results: A total of 266 caregivers participated. Subjects were willing to accept passive immobilization at the following percentages by race/ethnicity: Hispanic (84 percent); African American (66 percent); Asian (50 percent); and non-Hispanic Caucasian (24 percent). There was a significant association between a caregiver's race and ethnicity and the willingness to consent to passive immobilization (P=.000), and in willingness to accept passive immobilization after reviewing its detailed description (P=.000). Conclusion: Differences in acceptance of passive immobilization were observed based upon race and ethnicity. African American and Hispanic caregivers were more willing to accept the technique than their Asian and non-Hispanic Caucasian counterparts. Caregivers were more likely to accept the use of passive immobilization after they were given more information about the technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Treatment for early childhood caries may include advanced behavior manage- ment modalities, such as moderate sedation (MS) or general anesthesia (GA). The purpose of this study was to determine which factors are important to parents when considering MS or GA for their child. Methods: Parents completed a cross-sectional survey to determine which factors they considered in their decision between MS or GA for dental treatment. The relative importance of social, financial, and patient-level factors, the importance of dentists' recommendations, and the reported knowledge levels and sources of information regarding treatment modality were also assessed. Results: The majority of 130 parents surveyed reported at least a moderate amount of knowledge about GA and MS. Although most identified their dentist as the primary source of information (45 percent for GA, 51 percent for MS), many reported having no source of information about either (23 percent for GA, 16 percent for MS). For both groups, the dentist's recommendation for MS or GA was more influential than cost, risk profile, and the number of missed work and school days (P<0.001). Being well-informed about the treatment modality was more influential than the dentist's recommendation only for the parents who chose MS (P<0.001). Conclusion: Parents' self-reported knowledge regarding their treatment modality was relatively low. The choice of treatment modality for pediatric dental care relied mostly on the dentist's recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The pilot study aimed to evaluate the association between women's depression risk and their children's return for dental treatment. Methods: A total of 175 female caregivers of children's presenting for an initial dental examination between May and October 2019 at a university clinic answered demographic questions and a validated survey on depression risk. An analysis of caregiver's depression risk relative to children's attendance at the next treatment appointment was made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To describe the demographics of pediatric dentistry department chairs in the United States and Canada, characterize the skills and abilities required for the job, understand how they spent their time, and identify their professional development needs. Methods: An electronic survey was sent to 88 department chairs about personal demographics, leadership, management and personal qualities important for the job, and professional developmental needs. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The response rate was 62.5 percent. The respondents' mean age was 54.5 years (±8.9 years standard deviation); 68.2 percent of respondents were male, and 57 percent were Caucasian non-Hispanic. Most obtained their dental degree and specialty training in the USA, and 85 percent were board certified. They worked on average of 49.4 hours a week, spending a lot of time dealing with communications, teaching, and administrative materials. More than 80 percent locked clear job expectations provided to them or they were only reviewed verbally. A minority (10.8 percent) was dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the job. Conclusions: Most choirs were Caucasian, male, challenged by faculty and administrative issues and received no clear expectations for the job but were satisfied overall. Developing leadership and mentorship skills were important for the job execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine adolescents' knowledge regarding e-cigarettes and e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), and (2) describe common misconceptions regarding e-cigarette use., Methods: Adolescents aged 13 to 19 years were recruited in pediatric dental clinics and completed a survey questionnaire regarding their knowledge of e-cigarettes., Results: A total of 66 adolescents participated. Forty-seven adolescents indicated knowledge of e-cigarettes. Forty adolescents recognized that most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and 49 adolescents reported knowledge of EVALI cases. Adolescents had knowledge of possible lung damage from e-cigarette use. Adolescents also had misconceptions about e-cigarettes containing nicotine and them being less addictive than other tobacco products., Conclusions: Adolescents were aware of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury cases, and the majority of them viewed e-cigarette use as harmful to their health. However, some adolescents had misconceptions regarding the safety of e-cigarette use. Oral health providers should recognize that they play an important role in identifying risky behaviors amongst adolescents, incorporate adolescent-specific risk assessments into their clinical practice, and be comfortable providing anticipatory guidance about e-cigarette and nicotine use.

Objective: To assess the knowledge of first- (M1) and fourth- (M4) year medical students regarding head and neck cancer (HNC) risk factors, signs, symptoms, and frequency; designated oral screening recommendations; head and neck physical examination techniques; and medical school curriculum on this subject., Design: Cross-sectional cohort study using a survey questionnaire., Setting: Two metropolitan-area medical schools in Chicago, Illinois., Participants: Of 601 M1 and M4 medical students, 304 completed the survey., Main Outcome Measures: Percentage of medical students from 2 classes at 2 different universities who knew baseline knowledge about HNC., Results: The response rate was approximately 50% for each class from each university. The M1 students from the 2 institutions differed on identifying a lump in the neck and voice changes among the signs and symptoms associated with HNC and American Cancer Society examination recommendations. The M4 students did not differ between the 2 schools and were more knowledgeable than the M1 students on risk factors, signs, symptoms, most frequent histologic type, American Cancer Society recommendations, and common subsites of HNC. Curricular experiences, as expected, varied between M1 and M4 students., Conclusions: This study demonstrates an increase in knowledge about HNC in M4 students compared with M1 students. Yet, graduating students are still deficient regarding certain risk factors, oral screening guidelines, head and neck examination techniques, and medical school curriculum. Further efforts should be aimed at expanding head and neck education for medical students.