International Journal of Community Dentistry

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Oral diseases are one of the most common diseases found in humans. They can produce serious problems such as pain and discomfort leading to disability, impairment and handicap. Researchers suggest that poor oral health may be associated with medical conditions such as diabetes, pneumonia, and stroke. Some medical conditions do have oral manifestations as well. Despite their high social and economic burdens, oral diseases receive little attention in many countries and remain neglected. Children are especially at higher risk for being in the group of neglect in case of treatment of oral diseases are considered. To overcome this situation in our country, various oral health care programs have been implemented by both central as well as state government for the children. Various community-level programs, Anganwadi programs and school-level programs were developed like mid-day meal scheme, fluoride programs, tooth brushing programs, nutrition programs, health-promoting schools, tobacco-free schools, and oral health care program for special children like special smiles project. Seal-it, Arogya Jagratha and Ardram mission are some of the programs developed by state governments through primary health centers and through accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers. Still disparities are present in the quality of pediatric dental care. This review article highlights various oral health care programs for children in India.

The Dental Home is a concept that comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics' “medical home.” A “medical home” is a pediatrician's practice where a child has a relationship with that care provider. It is well-established that children that have a medical home are healthier, have fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits. They also have better managed chronic illnesses. This is because of the “patient centered / family centered” approach of the medical home where doctors are accountable to developing sustained partnerships with patients and families to address a majority of their healthcare needs. Similar to the medical home, the dental home offers the patients comprehensive, continuous, prevention-based care that is accessible, family-centered, compassionate, and culturally competent. Citing strong clinical evidence that early preventive dental care promotes oral health, the AAPD declared that “the establishment of a dental home may follow the medical home model as a cost-effective and higher quality health care alternative to emergency care situations”.

Introduction: Dentists need to have adequate knowledge regarding diet and nutrition and its effects on oral health. Students should be trained to implement the dental nutrition knowledge, so they provide holistic care for their patients. Yet, not many studies were found to have been conducted among dental students for the assessment of their knowledge regarding diet and nutrition. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of nutrition among undergraduate dental students and also the association between the knowledge of nutrition based on the year of study. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire consisting 15 questions related to knowledge and attitude toward dental nutrition was distributed to 175 dental undergraduate dental students via online social platform. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. Responses were analyzed using Chi-square test based on three groups (3^rd-year students, final-year students, and interns). Results: About 49.7% of students were aware that Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, and iron deficiency anemia manifest as oral symptoms, and majority of these respondents were interns (P > 0.005). More number of the participants studying in the 3^rd- and final-year students (74.2% and 70.4%, respectively) agreed that bulimia and anorexia affect nutritional status and oral health of an individual (P > 0.01). About 20.5% of interns felt that nutrition was not given enough importance during dental education. Conclusion: For most responses, there was no significant difference in the dental nutrition knowledge between the 3^rd-year students, final-year students, and interns. However, there is a need to reinforce the education of nutritional counseling to bring about prevention of oral diseases.

Background: The increased usage of mobile technology has provided a previously unrealized ability to move information around quickly and efficiently in a readily available format. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the usage of mobile technologies by undergraduate dental students. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was made and distributed to undergraduate dental students from 1^st year to interns, and the responses were collected at Asan Memorial Dental College and Hospital, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu. Results: 92.8% of the total undergraduate dental students opted smartphones as thin first choice to access the internet. 57.6% of the students used the internet most often for both dental course and personal reasons. 90.4% of the preclinical students used smartphones to connect the internet, and 80.4% of the clinical students used smartphones to access the internet more frequently. Conclusion: Dental students use smart phones with various learning apps to enhance their learning online.

Objective: Dental care may improve oral health behavior because of its potential to influence oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and self-perception. The study objective was to examine the impact of dental care on OHRQoL and self-perception and their consequent effect on oral health behavior in rural dwelling adults. Methods: Randomly selected 403 participants were examined pre- and post-uptake of dental care in Udo rural community. Information on oral health behavior was obtained with questionnaires. Global rating of oral health and General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) were used to measure self-perceived oral health and OHRQoL. Normative assessment was done according to the World Health Organization Oral Health Survey criteria. Data were analyzed using SPSS (IBM) version 21.0 at 95% confidence interval (CI) and test for significance set at (P < 0.05). Findings: The mean age (±standard deviation) of the study participants was 36.1 ± 15.8 with males 258 (52.7%) and females 232 (47.3%). Only 28.4% cleaned their teeth ≥2 daily, and 15.3% consumed refined sugar <1 daily. A total of 200 (40.8%) participants rated their oral health as good. Low OHRQoL was noted in 256 (52.2%) participants. Postdental care, better oral health self-rating was noted in 335 (83.1%) participants. Mean GOHAI scores rose from 29.42 ± 4.96 to 35.39 ± 1.32 (△effect size = 1.2). Participants who reported better oral health perception and OHRQoL were more likely to improve on their tooth cleaning habits (odds ratio [OR] =1.875, 95% CI: 1.09–3.22, P = 0.023) and reduce the frequency in daily refined sugar consumption (OR = 2.170, 95% CI: 1.10–4.27, P = 0.025). Conclusion: Dental care improved self-perceived oral health and OHRQoL. Improvements in self-perceived oral health and OHRQoL can be used as the predictors of behavioral change in the study population.

Online since 26^th May,2016