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Purpose: In 2017 the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) introduced a new system of classifying periodontal and peri-implant diseases and conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the amount of training clinical dental hygiene faculty have received on this system in addition to their perceived confidence in its understanding, application with students, and the accuracy of the classification selections. Methods: A convenience sample of 336 dental hygiene program directors and an unspecified number of clinical dental hygiene faculty were invited to participate in an online survey. The instrument consisted of 24 multiple choice and open-ended questions addressing demographics, training, and confidence. Descriptive statistics with confidence intervals and bivariate analysis, including Chi Square and Cochran- Mantel-Haenszel tests were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 186 individuals participated. Most (78.5%) reported receiving formal training on the 2017 system. Self-reported confidence in understanding the system indicated 30.2% of participants were at least somewhat confident, 48.9% were confident, and 20.9% were very confident. In applying the system for use with students in clinic, 34.1% were at least somewhat confident, 44.5% were confident, and 21.4% were very confident. In accurately selecting the correct classification, 33.0% were at least somewhat confident, 47.8% were confident, and 19.2% were very confident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The risk for the continuation or recurrence of neuropathic pain following trigeminal nerve repair has never been examined. The objective of this study was to determine which risk factors might be associated with the continuation or recurrence of neuropathic pain following trigeminal nerve microneurosurgery. Patients and Methods An ambispective study design was used to assess subjects who underwent trigeminal nerve repair of the inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve between 2000 and 2010. The primary outcome was the presence or absence of neuropathic pain at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Explanatory variables, including age at surgery, gender, presence of neuropathic pain before surgery, site of nerve injury, etiology of nerve injury, classification of nerve injury, duration of nerve injury, and type of repair performed, were abstracted from patient charts. Fisher exact tests were used to compare the demographic and injury characteristics of patients who presented with pain before surgery and those who did not. The McNemar test was used to assess whether there was a significant change in neuropathic pain report from before to after surgery. The level of significance was set at .50. Results Of the 65 patients analyzed, two-thirds were women; the average age was 36 ± 16.1 years, and the median time between the injury and surgery was 6.4 months (interquartile range, 6.7 months). Lingual nerve injury type was the most frequent (62%). There was no statistically significant change in pain status from before to after surgery ( P = .104). Only 1 patient had pain after surgery who had not had pain before surgery, while 67% of those with pain before surgery continued to have pain after surgery. Pain prior to surgery as a predictor of pain after had sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 88%, positive predictive value of 67%, and negative predictive value 97%. Conclusions The presence of neuropathic pain prior to trigeminal microneurosurgery is the major risk factor for the continuation or recurrence of postoperative neuropathic pain. These findings suggest that trigeminal nerve surgery is not a risk factor for developing neuropathic pain in the absence of neuropathic pain before surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentiles and the frequency of decayed, missing, and filled primary teeth (dmft) in a retrospective cohort of 3- to 5- year-old children. Methods: Data was collected from 215 3- to 5-year old children with an American Society of Anesthesiologists class I or II physical status who had received dental treatment under general anesthesia at a university hospital between 2007 and 2008. The diagnosis of dental caries and dmft scores were confirmed by oral and radiographic examination. Results: BMI percentile was a statistically significant explanatory variable for dmft after controlling for race, gender, and age (P<.001). When BMI percentile increased by 10 units, the dmft score increased by an estimated 1.1 after adjusting for the other covariates. Conclusions: Young children with elevated BMI percentiles who have caries may be at risk for an increased number of carious teeth in the future. Providing nutritional and weight counseling may potentially lower the risk for dental caries in young children while improving their general health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease that includes behavioral and cultural components. The study's purpose was to determine the caries experienced (as measured by dmft) in a group of 2-5 y/o children, assess their family and home environment including consumption of fluoridated drinking water, use of a fluoride containing dentifrice, and level of caregiver formal education. Parents of children referred for dental treatment under general anesthesia and who either spoke and read English or Spanish were recruited and consent obtained. Selected information on the family home, parental education and selected fluoride contact data was obtained. An oral clinical examination of the child assisted by intraoral radiographs was completed and the number of decayed, missing, filled primary teeth (dmft) recorded for each child. Bitewings were obtained if posterior or anterior teeth contacts were closed but only periapical radiographs were obtained if contacts were open. Children of English speaking caregivers had statistically more dmft after controlling for the effect of the child's age and years of parental education (p=0.04). English speaking families had lived in their current home longer and the parent had more formal education than did the Spanish speaking parent. When available, the English children drank municipal tap water more often than did the Spanish children. Spanish speaking parents often chose bottled drinking water. No difference between the two groups was found in the use of tap water for cooking or the use of fluoridated dentifrice. In conclusion, increased parent education, language spoken by the parents and time living in the current home were not associated with lower dmft. Drinking fluoridated drinking water did not affect the dmft. However, using fluoridated water when available to cook and using fluoride containing dentifrice by both groups may have been mutually beneficial.