Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology
Volume:8 Issue: 1, Winter 2019

 Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the most common infections which still affects individuals worldwide. The main route for transmission of H. pylori infection is the oral route and this microorganism has been detected in dental plaque. In past decades, there have been a number of controversies about the station of dental plaque in the recurrence of gastric H. pylori Infection after eradication by triple therapy. In this study, attempts have been made to illustrate the current body of high quality evidence in this field.  All relevant studies published between 2000 and 2017 were included in this review. The creditable databases were searched for relevant key words. The cross-sectional, experimental, and interventional investigations assessing the existence of H. pylori in the plaque, the state of plaque in gastric re-infection, the presence of co-infection between the oral cavity and stomach, the influence of triple therapy on the plaque, and the impression of periodontal treatments on prevention of recurrent gastric H. pylori infection were included.  Science metric review of literature demonstrated considerable disagreement with no definite conclusion. Due to the existing diversity in methodology and population groups, wide variation in results was reported.  Further homogenous studies are required to more clarify the “H. pylori in dental plaque” theory.

 In a normal non-diseased person, the throat condition is favorable for the growth of different germs. This investigation intended to assess the impression of mouthwash obtained from green tea and chlorhexidine on the oral sanitation in intubated subjects in the intensive care unit (ICU).  In this clinical trial study, 46 subjects, who were being carried out mechanical ventilation in the ICU, were recruited. For the first group, mouthwashing was implemented with chlorhexidine solution for four days and then with green tea solution for another four days. In the second group, we first mouthwashed the cases with green tea solution, followed by another four days of mouthwashing with chlorhexidine solution. Ultimately, checklist of oral health evaluation was filled and compared between the studied groups.  On the first day, no statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups. Nonetheless, the amount of food leftover in teeth showed significant difference (P = 0.020). Furthermore, we found no difference in the mucosal and plaque score criteria at the beginning of the study between the two groups. On the other side, no significant difference was observed in the oral health settings between the groups after conducting mouthwashing. However, the two groups had statistically significant difference with respect to the plaque scoring criteria (P = 0.029).  It can be postulated that both green tea and chlorhexidine mouthwash possess similar impressions on the oral sanitation. Nonetheless, since green tea is obtained from natural compounds and is easily available, it is suggested to be utilized instead of a chemical compound, namely chlorhexidine.

 In this study, the awareness and knowledge level of oral cancer (OC) was assessed among a group of patients with dental problems in Turkey.  509 individuals at the ages of ≥18 years, who attended to School of Dentistry of the Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey, were included in the study. To assess the respondents’ awareness and knowledge of OC, a self-administered questionnaire with 30 items was used. Some socio-demographic characteristics and smoking/alcohol habits of respondents were also asked. The data were analyzed by calculating percentages, frequency distributions, and chi-square test to assess significance. The statistical significance level was set at P < 0.050.  In total, 61.9% of the respondents were informed of OC with no significant differences by sex (P = 0.660). Only 31.6% of the respondents reported knowledge on OC. The respondents who claimed to have some knowledge about OC, identified non-healing ulcer as early sign and smoking as risk factor as 35.4% and 48.4%, respectively.  The present study indicated an overall insufficiency of awareness and knowledge concerning OC among the subjects among a group of Turkish people with dental problems. It is recommended that effective health education programs be emphasized for the recognition of OC in Turkey.

 The questionnaire includes a category of questions that has been prepared based on some certain principles and dentists are requested to complete this form. The aim of this study was the investigation of dentists’ opinions about researches based on questionnaires.  The present investigation was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. The questionnaire, which was designed by the researcher, was distributed among 400 participants of congresses by the researchers as group-performance containing personal questions including age, year of graduation, educational degree, and etcetera, general questions, and questions related to dentists' comments about questionnaire researches. The results obtained from this research were analyzed using t-test and chi-square test in SPSS software.  In this evaluation, 400 questionnaires were distributed among 400 dentists; of this number, 305 questionnaires were returned (Response rate = 76.25). Of the participants, 125 people were male (40.9%) and 180 people were female (59.1%) (Ratio of male to female = 0.69). This research indicated that 100% of the participants had previously participated in a research in which the data collection tool was a questionnaire. Moreover, 290 dentists (95.0%) announced that the number of questions in the questionnaire affects their responsiveness. This research showed that there is a significant relation between questions of attitude and age (P = 0.01), gender (P = 0.02), and educational degree (P = 0.01). Furthermore, from the viewpoint of women (P = 0.02) and younger people (P = 0.01), the number of questions in the questionnaire and the person who provides the questionnaire affect their responsiveness.  The present research revealed that more than half of the participants believed that using a questionnaire in research studies is a suitable method; however, 72.0% of participants had a contrary opinion. In addition, 32.7% of participants had very inclination toward participation in such investigations.

The purpose of this study was assessing oral health status and dental anxiety differences between the freshman and senior dental students and the effect of awareness on dental practices. Freshman (n = 71) and senior dental students (n = 41) were included in this study. All participants were applied Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (C-DAS) and asked for the frequency of dental visits in a year. Gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index were recorded. Number Cruncher Statistical System (NCSS) program and Shapiro-Wilk, t, Mann-Whitney U, Pearson chi-square, and Fisher-Freeman-Halton tests were used for statistical analysis (P < 0.0500). C-DAS score of the freshman students was found significantly higher than the senior students (P < 0.0500). There was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of dental visits between freshman and senior students (P < 0.0010). GI, PI, and BOP values of the freshman students were significantly higher than the senior students (P < 0.0010). There was no statistical differences between PD and CAL measurements (P > 0.0500). It was found that the DMFT index of freshman students was significantly higher than the senior students (P < 0.0010). This study has shown that dental anxiety decreases as awareness and consciousness increase in terms of dental practice. More anxious participants’ oral health is weak, individuals with high dental anxiety make fewer visits to the dentists and need more dental practices.

 Drug addiction causes severe oral damage and the socio-economic problems. Prevention and treatment of oral and dental diseases among substance abusers may facilitate their rehabilitation procedure and recovery from drug dependence. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between drug abuse and oral health status and behavior in drug abusers in Kerman, Iran.  This study was carried out on 204 addicts admitted to rehabilitation centers and 197 healthy controls referred to the urban health centers in Kerman City. Multistage random sampling method was applied. Data were collected including demographic data, questions related to oral health behavior, clinical examination for assessment of decayed, missed, and filled teeth (DMFT), Gingival Index (GI), and presence of oral lesions according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi-square test were used. P < 0.050 was considered as statistical significance.  193 patients (94.6%) were men and the rest were women with mean age of 37.72 ± 11.89 years. Opium was the most common drug (89.2%). Age of first use of narcotic material in 45.1% was 18-24 years old. Duration of narcotic drugs use in 35.3% was between 6-10 years. There was significant difference between addicted and healthy participants in oral health behavior, oral lesions, and mean scores of GI and DMFT.  The results of the present study showed that there was statistically significant difference between addicted and healthy groups in using dental floss, attendance to dentist, having oral lesions, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) problems, and dental hypersensitivity.

 Poor oral health is known as a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth. Few studies have evaluated the knowledge and behaviors of healthcare professionals about oral health during pregnancy and the possible role of periodontal diseases in adverse pregnancy outcomes. The present study aimed to compare the knowledge and practice behaviors of obstetricians and midwives about oral health.  In this cross-sectional study, a self-structured questionnaire was randomly distributed among 80 obstetricians and midwives in Yazd, Iran. For analyzing data, chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA, and Spearman correlation test were used.  80 women with an average age of 47 years participated in the study. 70.0% of the subjects selected the reversible gingival inflammation as the definition of gingivitis and 43.8% of them considered dental plaque as the main cause of periodontal diseases. 58.8% of the subjects believed that gingivitis occurs during pregnancy. 90.0% considered the second trimester of pregnancy as the safest time for dental treatments. Only 38.8% of the participants explained to their patients about the importance of oral health. There was no relationship between age and the knowledge level and behavior, but the attitude about the oral health improved as the age increased (r = 0.294). The relationship between the field of study and marital status with knowledge, attitude, and practice behavior was not significant. Academic sources were chosen as the first knowledge source (41.3%).  The level of knowledge and practice behaviors of participants were undesirable, but their attitude was acceptable. Updating the information of participants about oral health by inclusion of the oral health issues in their academic textbooks can improve their awareness and practice behaviors.

 Economic sanctions on Iran cause parlous civilian hardship and important economic and social problems. Evidence regarding the impact of economic crisis on dental public health is very rare. This paper reviews the experience of other countries regarding this issue and the plausible solutions.  In this paper, the outcomes of studies that investigated the impact of economic crisis on different countries of the world were summarized and their experiences in coping with such situations were reviewed.  One of the reasons for unfavorable health outcomes among the population is economic recession. Reduced income is associated with less health services utilization and reduced use of preventive care in general. Adoption of high-risk behaviors and increased physical and psychologic stress can be considered as secondary outcomes in such cases.  One of the best ways to deal with oral public health problems at the first months of financial crisis is focusing on the prevention of disease. The health policy makers in Iran should immediately organize the public health system through preventive oral health care.