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Considerable health inequities occur among people who are incarcerated, with ripple effects into broader community health. The Indiana Peer Education Program uses the Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) model to train people who are incarcerated as peer health educators. This analysis sought to evaluate the effectiveness of this program and explore emergent themes not covered in survey instruments. Survey data for both peer educators and their students were assessed using multivariate regression. Qualitative data were used to triangulate survey findings and explore additional themes via thematic analysis. Students showed improvements in knowledge scores and postrelease behavior intentions; peer educators improved in knowledge, health attitudes, and self-efficacy. Qualitative data affirmed survey findings and pointed toward peer educators acquiring expertise in the content they teach, and how to teach it, and that positive results likely expand beyond participants to others in prison, their families, and the communities to which they return. Though preliminary, the results confirm an earlier analysis of the New Mexico Peer Education Program ECHO, adding to the evidence that training individuals who are incarcerated as peer educators on relevant public health topics increases health knowledge and behavior intentions and likely results in improvements in personal and public health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examined how Mexican and Central American immigrants' social support was associated with three selected dental outcomes among recent immigrants, prior to the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: Using baseline wave data from the 2017–2022 VidaSana study about the health and social networks of Mexican and Central American immigrants living in Indiana, this study utilized logistic and ordinal logistic regression to predict lifetime fluoride use, lifetime dental restoration and flossing frequency, across levels of social support and differences between Mexican and Central American immigrants. Results: Data from 547 respondents were included in the present analysis (68% women; mean age 34.4 years [SD 11.2]; Central American 42%; Mexican 58%). Results show a high level of social support was associated with increased probability of fluoride use, dental restoration and higher flossing frequency for Mexican immigrants. However, social support for Central American immigrants was associated with a decreased likelihood of fluoride use, more infrequent flossing, and had no significant association with dental restorations experience. What would be a negative association between Central American immigrants and dental restoration was accounted for by education level and never having been to a dentist. Conclusions: While higher social support was linked to beneficial outcomes for oral health in Mexican immigrants, the opposite was found in Central Americans. These findings highlighted the complexities of social relationships among new immigrants, and potential heterogeneity within the Hispanic population, particularly regarding social and behavioural measures as they pertain to oral health. Further research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms producing both differences in social support and oral health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To determine whether tobacco, alcohol consumption and other risk factors are associated with self-reported tooth loss. Methods: A cross-sectional study of a community-based sample of 8,467 college students was carried out in Mexico. Data were collected using questionnaires. The dependent variable was self-reported tooth loss, and any number above zero was considered positive for tooth loss. Oral hygiene, gum bleeding, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption, along with information on sociodemographic characteristics were considered as independent variables. Results: Respondents reported tobacco use (25.1%) and alcohol consumption (weekly mean 2.5 SD 5.2 units). A minority of respondents (12.8%) reported having lost at least one tooth. The multivariate analysis showed that smoking more than five cigarettes a day was associated with an increased probability of tooth loss (p < .01), while alcohol intake did not (p > .05). Older age and female sex were associated with tooth loss. Conversely, good oral hygiene and absence of gum bleeding were protective factors against self-reported tooth loss. Conclusions: We confirmed that smoking is a factor associated with tooth loss in a sample of communitydwelling young college students. A narrow array of clinical, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic variables also showed an association with tooth loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe trends in cases and prevalence at birth rates of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in Mexico between 2003 and 2019. Design: Ecological study. Setting: Multiple data sources systematically collected into a national epidemiological surveillance data warehouse. Participants: National Live Birth Information System. Main Outcome Measure(s): Both cases and prevalence at birth rates of CL/P in Mexico within a 17-year period were used as dependent variables. Results: At the national level there were 23 184 new cases of CL/P (average of 1364 per year) in the 32 states of Mexico, with an average prevalence at birth rate of 0.53 per 1000 live births. The states with the highest prevalence at birth rates of CL/P during the period were Hidalgo (1.59) and Jalisco (1.32), while the states with the lowest rates were Nayarit (0.22) and Durango (0.29). A slight decrease in both cases (z = −2.41, P =.016) and prevalence at birth rates (z = −2.58, P =.010) of CL/P was observed at the national level. States such as Durango, Puebla, Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Mexico City, State of Mexico, Coahuila and Jalisco showed a clear downward trend (P <.05) in their prevalence at birth of CL/P between 2003 and 2019, while in Hidalgo its trend was upward (P =.05). Significant differences by sex and region were observed (P <.05). Conclusion: Some states consistently had the highest or lowest prevalence of CL/P. Decreasing trends in the overall prevalence at birth rates were observed. More detailed, epidemiological studies are necessary to adequately characterize CL/P in the Mexican population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prefabricated metal crowns (PMCs) have been widely used in pediatric dentistry due to their great success in various clinical situations. However, it is important to know the local effects, such as changes in pH in the oral environment.Objective: To evaluate the pH variations before and after placement of PMCs.Methods: A quasi-experimental study (before and after) was performed with 32 pediatric patients who needed rehabilitation with PMCs at a pediatric dentistry clinic in a public university. Measurements were made using a pH potentiometer before PMC placement, one week after, and one month after placement. ANOVA and Pearson correlation were performed in SPSS.Results: The average age of the participants was 5.9 ± 1.6 years, and 53.1% were female. The average pH before, one week after, and one month after crown placement was 7.46 ± 0.37, 7.00 ± 0.32, and 7.1 ± 0.19, respectively. Significant differences (p< 0.05) were observed between the three pH measurements. We found differences when comparing the basal pH values to those at one week (p= 0.001) and one month (p= 0.002).Conclusion: Although there were statistically significant differences in the pH change values before and after the placement of crowns, these differences may not have a clinical impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]