Dental public health

2021 ◽  
pp. 113-128
Author(s):  
Amira S. Mohamed ◽  
Peter G. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Dental Public Health ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Dental Services ◽  
Oral Neoplasms

Dental public health is concerned with preventing oral disease, promoting oral health, and improving the quality of life through the organized efforts of society. Oral diseases including dental caries, periodontal disease, oral neoplasms, and dentofacial trauma are common, have a significant impact on individuals and wider society, and are largely preventable. While the prevalence and severity of these most common and costly dental diseases have fallen in most developed countries, oral health inequalities exist in relation to socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or region. The links between oral and general health indicate that strategies to improve both sets of problems and reduce inequalities should be integrated within the framework advocated by the Commission for the Social Determinants of Health. Of particular relevance to oral health are increasing the availability of fluoride and ensuring universal access to quality dental services. Factors influencing oral health in the future include tighter financial pressures, changes in disease prevalence, the deprofessionalization of dentistry, the role of consumerism in oral health, and the need for a better evidence base.

Statistics, Epidemiology, and Dental Public Health

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Longridge ◽  
Pete Clarke ◽  
Raheel Aftab ◽  
Tariq Ali
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Study Design ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Dental Public Health ◽  
Dental Services ◽  
Policy And Strategy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Monitoring Quality

The content of this subject is frequently overlooked, as it is often ‘not seen as pertinent’ to practitioners’ day- to- day work. However, the impact of dental public health (DPH) as a discipline can be far reaching. DPH is concerned with improving the oral health of the population, rather than the individual. It has been described as the science and art of preventing oral disease, promoting oral health, and improving quality of life through the organized efforts of society. DPH teams have numerous responsibilities, including oral health sur­veillance, developing and monitoring quality dental services, oral health improvement, policy and strategy development and implementation, and strategic leadership and collaborative working for health. As such, the impact of DPH can frequently been seen at a local level, e.g. through health promotion campaigns or provision of new/ redistribution of ser­vices (in conjunction with commissioners) to meet local needs. DPH is predominantly a postgraduate subject, and although the undergraduate curriculum does not cover the whole topic, some core knowledge is valuable. In particular, understanding research method­ology and basic statistics is a useful skill to help interpret the dental lit­erature appropriately. This is ever more necessary in the modern era of evidence- based dentistry. The questions in this chapter will predominantly cover the fundamen­tals of statistics relevant to medical research, along with the basics of study design. Additional questions will touch on the concepts of health promotion and epidemiology, with further reading suggested to supple­ment the content. Key topics include: ● Study design ● Data analysis ● Critical appraisal ● Epidemiology ● Health promotion ● Strategic working and collaboration ● Assessing evidence on oral health and dental interventions, pro­grammes, and services ● Developing and monitoring quality dental services.

scholarly journals Oral health for healthy aging

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyh Poh Teo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Primary Care Settings

During the 74th World Health Assembly, a resolution was passed aiming to achieve better oral health as part of universal health coverage, with plans to draft a global strategy and action plan. Oral diseases are a significant problem globally, with implications for older people’s health and quality of life. Oral health is important for healthy aging. Integration of oral health into primary care settings and use of a life-course approach have been shown to be effective in the 8020 campaign in Japan. Accurate data on prevalence of oral disease is required to monitor effectiveness of public health approaches, which should be segregated based on setting, sociodemographic status, and comorbidities. These public health approaches should also be adapted and tailored for implementation during the current COVID-19 pandemic. These considerations are essential to progress the agenda of oral health for healthy aging.

Differently Abled – A Dental Public Health Challenge

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Gaurav Gupta ◽  
Manu Narayan ◽  
Navin A Ingle ◽  
Sabyasachi Saha ◽  
Sahana Shivkumar
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Dental Public Health ◽  
Critical Levels ◽  
Dental Services ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Significant Disability ◽  
Public Health Challenge

ABSTRACT Oral health care for children and adults with disabilities is a health care area that has received scant attention. It is seen that most persons with a significant disability cannot find a professional resource to provide appropriate and necessary dental care. Lack of access to dental services for this growing segment of our population is reaching critical levels and is a national dilemma.

Oral Health

2019 ◽  
pp. 413-438
Author(s):  
Myron Allukian ◽  
Alice M. Horowitz
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Health State ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Dental Services ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
School Programs ◽  
State And Local

Oral diseases are often called a neglected or silent epidemic. They are largely due to social injustice in which private wealth overrides the public’s health. Although oral diseases affect almost everyone, prevention of them and access to dental services have not been high priorities in the United States. This chapter, after defining oral health, describes the neglected epidemic of oral diseases and then discusses the roles that the food and tobacco industries play in contributing to oral disease and poor oral health. Although organized dentistry has done much to improve oral health, it also has limited access to dental care for millions of Americans. The chapter discusses health literacy and social inequality, national issues concerning oral health, state and local issues, school programs, the dental public health infrastructure, and the dental workforce. It discusses what needs to be done. A text box addresses oral health in low- and middle-income countries.

Introduction to the principles of public health

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blánaid Daly ◽  
Paul Batchelor ◽  
Elizabeth Treasure ◽  
Richard Watt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Dental Public Health ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Traditional System ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Broad Subject

Public health is now recognized as being a core component of the undergraduate medical and dental curricula in many parts of the world (Association for Dental Education in Europe 2010; General Dental Council 2011; General Medical Council 2009). This recognition acknowledges that public health is an important subject relevant to the practice of medicine and dentistry. This chapter will outline what is meant by public health and, in particular, its relevance to clinical dental practice. The philosophical and historical background of public health will be reviewed and the limitations of the traditional system of health care highlighted. Finally, a dental public health framework will be outlined to highlight the central importance of public health to the future development of dentistry. Dental public health can be defined as the science and practice of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health, and improving quality of life through the organized efforts of society. The science of dental public health is concerned with making a diagnosis of a population’s oral health problems, establishing the causes and effects of those problems, and planning effective interventions. The practice of dental public health is to create and use opportunities to implement effective solutions to population oral health and health care problems (Chappel et al. 1996). Dental public health is concerned with promoting the health of the population and therefore focuses action at a community level. This is in contrast to clinical practice which operates at an individual level. However, the different stages of clinical and public health practice are broadly similar. Dental public health is a broad subject that seeks to expand the focus and understanding of the dental profession on the range of factors that influence oral health and the most effective means of preventing and treating oral health problems. Dental public health is underpinned by a range of related disciplines and sciences that collectively enrich the value and relevance of the subject (Box 1.1) The practice of dentistry is undergoing a period of rapid change due to a wide range of factors in society ( Box 1.2 ).

scholarly journals Oral Health of Children and Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatme Al Anouti ◽  
Myriam Abboud ◽  
Dimitrios Papandreou ◽  
Suzan Haidar ◽  
Nadine Mahboub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Dental Services

Oral diseases are a universal public health problem with serious health and economic burdens. These diseases are a major concern in the pediatric population specifically. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among all the diseases that affect children, oral diseases, particularly early childhood caries, are the most common despite improvement in the provision of oral health services. Enhancing oral health status is one of the key public health goals in the country. This current systematic review aims to summarize the available data on oral health among children and adolescents in the UAE over the past decade (2011–2021). The review was conducted following a predefined protocol and in concordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) via EBSCO, EMBASE via Ovid, the Cochrane Library, and the Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR) databases, and the gray literature were searched for original studies reporting on oral health in the pediatric population in the UAE, without applying any language restriction. Twenty-nine studies were included reporting on a total of 43,916 participants; they were mostly cross-sectional, and emirate-based; they were mostly limited by their setting and convenient sampling. Among the general pediatric population, results showed a high prevalence of dental caries across different emirates. Nevertheless, it was difficult to provide a predictable profile of caries, as risk factors were not well-explored and inconsistent across studies. Suboptimal oral hygiene practices were also prevalent, in addition to a low utilization of dental services. Furthermore, included studies showed a high level of oral problems in children with different disease (down syndrome, cerebral palsy, thalassemia, autism…) and special conditions (children in prison nurseries); yet, in general, treatment indices were lower than their healthy counterparts. This review suggests that dental caries is a major pediatric health problem in the UAE. Risk factors included higher consumption of snacks, being in public schools, lower maternal education level, and socioeconomic status. Nevertheless, risk factors were not well-explored and inconsistent across studies. Suboptimal oral hygiene practices and a low utilization of dental services were also identified, in addition to a high level of oral problems in children with different disease coupled with lower treatment indices in comparison with their healthy counterparts. This systematic review provides crucial information for planning and evaluating effective oral health programs, identifies gaps in the recent research in this field, and paves the way for preventive and interventional studies targeting oral health in pediatrics in the UAE. Immediate oral health promotion strategies are needed to address this public health problem early in its course by creating conditions that promote oral health, and increasing uptake of dental services. Intensifying research to draw temporal trends, understand the profile of childhood caries in the UAE, and explore cost-effective national community prevention programs are also needed.

Advances in Dental Public Health

2001 ◽  
Vol os8 (3) ◽  
pp. 99-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth D Holt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Public Health ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Oral Health Promotion ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Science And Art ◽  
Dental Practitioners ◽  
Health Action

Dental public health has been defined as ‘the science and art of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life through the organised efforts of society’.1 Dental practitioners most often have the oral health of individual patients as their primary focus but the aim of public health is to benefit populations.2 Early developments in dental public health were concerned largely with demonstrating levels of disease and with treatment services. With greater appreciation of the nature of oral health and disease, and of their determinants has come recognition of the need for wider public health action if the effects of prevention and oral health promotion are to be maximised.

Oral health diseases among the older people: a general health perspective

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.

Evaluation of Salivary Interleukin-1ß Levels and Oral Health in Pakistani Male Smokers

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1158-1163
Author(s):  
S. A. Hamza ◽  
S. Asif ◽  
S. A. H. Bokhari
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Saliva Sample ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Missing Teeth ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Inflammatory Biomarker

Aim: Smoking induces changes in salivary inflammatory biomarker levels associated with oral diseases. This study status and explored association among salivary Interleukin-1β, oral diseases and smoking. Methods: Data of male smokers of a private institute recruited for a randomized clinical trial is analyzed for this paper. Demographic and systemic information were collected. Oral disease status was examined and saliva sample collected for IL-1β levels. IL-1β levels and other study variables were analyzed with respect to smoking status categorized into smoking years and cigarettes per day. The student's t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis using SPSS version 22) with significance level of p≤0.050. Results: Analysis of baseline data of seventy-eight smokers showed elevated levels of IL-1β with increasing smoking, higher BMI. Smoking was higher among aged, married and low-income individuals. Pearson partial correlation analysis, after controlling age, marital status, education, income, and BMI, demonstrated a positive significant relationship of smoking per day with smoking years; dental caries with missing teeth and calculus; gingivitis with missing teeth and calculus; periodontitis with dental caries, calculus and gingivitis. Conclusion: This analysis demonstrates that levels of IL-1β were raised in smokers, however; there was no association with oral disease parameters. Large studies may be conducted to observe status and association of smoking, oral disease and salivary biomarkers. Keywords: Smoking, Oral Health, IL-1β, Males

Oral Health and Nutrition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole. A. Palmer ◽  
Zhangmuge Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Caries ◽  
Periodontal Diseases ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Oral Infections ◽  
Surgeon General ◽  
Optimal Health ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Oral Conditions

Oral diseases are among the most prevalent diseases affecting global health. In his report on the crisis in oral disease in America, the Surgeon General warned that one cannot be truly healthy without oral health. Oral health means freedom from all oral health problems; tooth decay (dental caries), periodontal diseases, tooth loss, oral-facial pain, oral cancer and the effects of its treatment, oral infections, craniofacial birth defects and more. The relationships between oral conditions and systemic health and disease are many and synergistic, and most involve dietary and/or systemic nutritional factors. Diet and nutrition can play important roles in the etiology, prevention, and/or management of oral conditions, as they do in overall health and disease. Today, all health professionals and educators need to be aware of and consider oral issues and their possible diet/nutritional implications as a component of optimal health care and education. This review article provides a brief overview of how diet and nutrition impact and are impacted by oral conditions, and offers general guidelines and resources for providing meaningful interventions throughout the life cycle. This review contains 3 figures, 3 tables, and 57 references Key Words: biofilm, cariogenic, dental caries, dental plaque, ECC-early childhood caries, lactobacillus, mucositis, non-cariogenic, periodontal disease, Streptococcus mutans

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