ABSTRACT
Human development is a direct function of human capability, understood through the different facets of the human development index. The impact of gender inequality, women empowerment, environmental and socioeconomic sustainability has also been described in this review. It brings forth and reinforces that national development is an assessment of not only per capita income but by other influential factors which affect development comprehensively, such as educational achievements and health. A thorough primary screening was done for articles on human development index using the data bases of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar using the key words human development, United Nations, measures, indicators and index, followed by a secondary screening, with due concern to avoid overlap of information. The articles were categorized based on the subject of Human Development with due prioritization. Human development index has evolved periodically taking into consideration the developments, limitations and criticisms. It has become an important indicator of human progress and serves as a guide to state, societal, community and individual developments. India currently holds a rank of 130 denoting medium human development.
ABSTRACT
Across the world, the segment of the elderly in populations is seen to be increasing at a rapid rate. There also exists a trend in which more teeth are retained as age increases due to effective dental public health measures like fluoridation. This inevitably places an increased need for dental healthcare among the geriatric populations. Since oral health greatly affects the systemic health of aged individuals, it is imperative for dentists and physicians to work together as a team to impart treatment to the best of one’s abilities for geriatric patients. It is therefore, necessary to first assess the oral health concerns surrounding the geriatric population from the perspective of public health dentistry. Relationship of the elderly with periodontal disease, dental caries, salivary hyposalivation and xerostomia, cognitive changes, and simultaneous usage of diverse medications was discussed. This paper reviewed the literature and then examined and discussed the various problems mentioned in depth and suggested recommendations for a plan of action. Knowledge about the specific oral health concerns and issues will help to better position us in developing strategies for providing better oral healthcare to the geriatric population in addition to the existing systemic healthcare. In the future, the elderly will make up a huge portion of the demographic visiting dentist regularly for a myriad of oral health problems. Dental health professionals therefore, must have adequate training and competency to deal with the predicament of this geriatric population. Preventive and treatment services can ensure healthy aging which will improve the quality of life.
ABSTRACT
Background: The consumption of soft-drinks has been associated with dental caries development. Objective: The aim was to evaluate dental caries experience amongst the workers working in soft-drink industries located in South India and compare it with other factory workers. To evaluate the validity of specific caries index (SCI), which is newer index for caries diagnosis. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 420 workers (210 in soft-drinks factory and 210 in other factories), in the age group of 20-45 years of Udupi district, Karnataka, India. Index used for clinical examination was decayed, missing, filled surfaces (DMFS) index and SCI. Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of decayed surface (5.8 ± 1.8), missing surface (4.3 ± 2) and filled surface (1.94 ± 1.95) and total DMFS score (12.11 ± 3.8) in soft-drinks factory workers were found to be significantly higher than the other factory workers. The total SCI score (mean and SD) was found to be significantly higher in soft-drinks factory workers (5.83 ± 1.80) compared with other factory workers (4.56 ± 1.45). There was a high correlation obtained between SCI score and DMFS score. The regression equation given by DMFS = 1.178 + 1.866 (SCI scores). Conclusion: The caries experience was higher in workers working in soft-drinks factory and this study also showed that specific caries index can be used as a valid index for assessing dental caries experience.