Association between gingivitis severity and lifestyle habits in young Saudi Arabian males

Background: Gingivitis is a risk factor for periodontitis, which is associated with several systemic disorders. Adolescence provides an opportunity to establish good oral health practices but there are few studies on gingivitis in adolescents.

Aims: This study assessed the association between lifestyle habits and gingivitis severity in young Saudi Arabian males.

Methods: A sample of Saudi Arabian males [n = 685] aged 13–15 years from Dammam and Khobar were included in a cross-sectional study in 2016. A questionnaire assessed socioeconomic background and daily lifestyle habits – tooth-brushing, current smoking and consumption of sugary drinks and foods. Clinical examinations recorded plaque and gingival indices on 6 index teeth. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of gingivitis severity with tooth-brushing and smoking adjusted for sugary drinks and foods, socioeconomic factors and dental plaque.

Results: The response rate was 96.2%. Only 38% of the respondents brushed their teeth twice daily, 10.2% smoked, and 82.8% and 68.3% consumed sugary drinks and sugary foods respectively. The prevalence of plaque and gingivitis was 87.9% and 73.9% respectively. Tooth-brushing was not significantly associated with more severe gingivitis [regression coefficient = 0.17; 95% CI: –0.16 to 0.49]. Current smoking was significantly associated with more severe gingivitis only when consuming sugary drinks [regression coefficient = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.04 to 1.22].

Conclusions: Gingivitis severity was not associated with tooth-brushing but significantly increased with smoking when sugary drinks were used, indicating the effect of unhealthy lifestyle on gingival health, and the need to promote healthy lifestyle habits in this age group

Dentists' perception of primary health care services in family health and mother and child health clinics in Alexandria, Egypt

This study compared dentists' perceptions of provided services in Family Health [FH] and Mother and Child Health [MCH] clinics. A questionnaire was distributed to 120 dentists in 7 FH and 4 MCH clinics in Alexandria, Egypt in 2012. The questionnaire assessed personal and professional background, perceptions of primary health care [PHC] role, types of services provided, patient recall and referral systems and perception of service quality. The response rate was 100%. More FH dentists perceived their role to include providing care for children and pregnant women. Restorations and scaling were provided by 90% of all dentists. More FH dentists reported providing simple extractions, paediatric extractions and multi-rooted endodontic treatment [P = 0.03, 0.001 and 0.001]. In FH clinics, where the performance-based incentive system was implemented, a greater number of patients was served and there was a shift in the type of services provided although dentists had a less positive perception of quality aspects. Thus, there is a need for the establishment of a mission and clear guidelines for the FH clinics to guide service provision

Academic advising and student support: help-seeking behaviors among Saudi dental undergraduate students

The purpose of this study was to assess the use of and satisfaction with the academic-advising and student-support systems available to undergraduate students in the College of Dentistry at the University of Dammam. In addition, the study aimed to also identify factors that explained the help-seeking behavior of students which they used to solve academic issues. Students enrolled in the five-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery [BDS] program in 2012-13 and 2013-14 first-year students were invited to respond to a self-administered questionnaire. The showed that 66.2% of students had discussed academic issues with their advisor at least once, with a frequency ranging from zero to six times. Most students reported that their advisors were readily available, listened intently to their needs and questions, and helped them solve their problems. However, only 7.6% of students relied primarily on advisors for help with academic issues, whereas 51% depended first on colleagues and 13.8% did not seek help and relied on themselves. In total, 17.2% of students were very or somewhat satisfied with the academic advising system. Males had lower odds of discussing issues with their advisors, and the odds were higher with advisors who were more available [OR = 0.25 and 3.74, respectively]. Alerting students to important dates in the academic calendar significantly increased the odds that a student would depend primarily on academic advisors for advice related to academic issues [OR = 6.53]. Few students were satisfied with the academic support system. We need to train advisors to help them develop their skills and knowledge and to enable them to provide the support needed by the students

Evaluation of restorative procedures in children following dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia

The present study was carried out to assess the success of oral rehabilitation performed under general anesthesia [GA] in the "Special Care Unit", in the Department of Pediatric and Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, in terms of restoration survival and absence of new/recurrent caries. The study involved 93 healthy patients who had previously received oral rehabilitation under GA in 2002-2003 and who were recalled for follow up examinations after a time period ranging from 20-42 months. The mean age of the children was 3.79 +/- 1.23 years. Data were collected from the children and their families through clinical examination to assess the success of the restorations previously inserted under GA and the presence of new caries. Background information about the education and occupation of parents as well as dietary and oral hygiene habits and visits to dentists were also collected through a questionnaire. Kaplan Meier survival analysis was performed to determine the mean survival time in months of the different restorations. Cox regression model was used to examine the effect of different variables on the time to restoration failure. Logistic regression was used to study the effect of different variables on presence of new caries in different surfaces. The failure rate for anterior restorations was 49.3% and 12.7% for posterior restorations with a total number of restorations failing = 207 out of 746 initially inserted. The longest and shortest survival times were for strip crowns and anterior glass ionomer for anterior restorations [38 and 32 months respectively] and for posterior restorations stainless steel crowns and amalgam [40 and 36 months respectively]. Not visiting the dentist increased the hazards of failure of both anterior and posterior restorations [hazards ratio = 1.54 and 1.89 respectively]. Out of 42 subjects who had new caries lesions, 29 had proximal lesions with a total number of new caries lesions on any surface = 53. Not eating snacks significantly lowered the risk of new caries on any surface [odds ratio = 0.05, CI= 0.01, 0.19]. Strip crown and stainless steel crown had the longest survival times among anterior and posterior restorations. In spite of the radical treatment delivered to these children, they will need further treatment mostly to replace failed restorations

focus group assessment of a community out reach dental health education program

Community outreach extra mural programs are increasingly used in dental education to achieve several outcomes such as providing services for the underserved, preparing students to practice in the real world and to decrease the costs of maintaining clinical education. The Dental Public Health Department in the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University introduced a pilot school-based community outreach dental health education program to investigate the possibility of using this approach in education. This study explores the attitudes and impressions of fourth year students towards this outreach program using focus groups assessment, which is a data collection technique used in qualitative research to explore perceptions and attitudes of participants. Content analysis and framework analysis were used for data analysis. Findings of the focus groups proved that students had a favorable impression of the program. Positive outcomes were gained by the program such as increased confidence, awareness of the denlist role as a community educator and improved communication skills. Areas identified by the focus groups that need to be addressed in future planning of such programs are: need for curriculum change, improving student supervision, credit points awarded for the procedures performed in these programs , defining the nature of the relationship between the extra mural site and the educational institution in addition to financial support of these programs. The outreach program proved to be a successful experience as perceived by the students. Plans for such programs need to address the issues identified in the study and to involve stake holders so that community outreach programs can be a part of the curriculum