Prevalence of preschool caries among 6-year-old school children from different socioeconomic backgrounds in Amman, Jordan

The objectives of the present study were to describe the dental health status among 6-year-old schoolchildren in Amman, Jordan, and to investigate the association between selected sociodemographic, oral health behaviour and attitude variables and the presence of dental caries. A cross-sectional sample of 838 [Male = 436, Female - 402] children were examined in primary schools; the prevalence and severity of dental caries were measured using World Health Organization criteria. A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used. Sociodemographic factors and oral health behaviours and attitudes were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. The prevalence of dental caries in the primary dentition was 41.6%. The mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth [dmft] was 2.59 [SD=2.67]. The decayed component [d] constituted 67% of the total number of decayed, missing [19%] and filled teeth [14%]. The chi-square association test demonstrated that the variables: mother education and employment, type of dental care, type of school, tooth brushing, presence of dental plaque and family size were statistically significant in relation to the presence or absence of dental caries [P<0.05]. However, there was no significant difference between caries prevalence of children who attended private and public schools and those who had never been to a dentist. The caries experience was lower in females [dmft=2.51] than in males [dmft=2.68], but the difference was not statistically significant [P>0.05]. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the number of children who had dental plaque on their teeth and others who did not [P>0.05]. The present study showed that dental caries level was higher than that of children in industrialized countries and lower than that in children of the Middle Eastern Arab countries. However, the early caries development seen in children from the lower socio-econo mic classes reinforces the need for preventive programs. Dental caries can be largely prevented or controlled in its early stages of development by simple and relatively cheap methods of personal care, involving attention to general nutrition, diet and oral hygiene. Dental care information and oral hygiene instructions should be given as early as possible to the expectant mothers at prenatal counselling. Access to dental care must be improved to enable any preventive care to be implemented

comparison between a new 2-dimensional digital on-screen tooth measurement method with direct measurements

To compare the accuracy and reproducibility of tooth measurements using newly developed software that gives 2-dimensional scanned images of dental setups with direct measurements using digital calipers. This experimental study was performed at the Dental Laboratories of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan from September 2010 to December 2010. Ten sets of acrylic teeth [10 upper and 10 lower arches] were used. The mesiodistal width of each individual tooth was measured using a digital caliper [method I], which was considered the gold standard. The teeth were set to create 20 dental setups. The mesiodistal widths of teeth on the created setups were then measured by using a digital caliper [method II]. The dental setups were then scanned using a flatbed computer scanner and tooth width measurements were performed using a special computer program [method III]. Tooth measurements were divided into 6 groups, and the 3 methods were compared. There was a statistical significant difference between the 3 measurement methods in most of the measured tooth groups. Methods I and II exhibited significant differences for most of tooth groups [ranged from 0.02 to 0.22 mm] while no significant difference was found between methods I and III [ranged from 0.03 to 0.11 mm]. Tooth width measurement with onscreen 2-dimensional scanned images of dental casts is comparable to measurements obtained using direct digital caliper

arabic version of the modified dental anxiety scale. psychometrics and normative data for 15-16 year olds

To prepare an Arabic version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale [MDAS] and provide normative information including evidence to support the validity of the measure. The MDAS was translated into Arabic and back-translated into English. Data collection took place in Amman, Jordan from March 2009 to March 2010. One thousand and six hundred two 10th grade students took part in the study [15-16 years of age] sampled from 32 schools. Questionnaire consisted not only of the MDAS, but also [i] a single global question on dental anxiety to test concurrent validity, [ii] a question on helplessness in the dental surgery to test construct validity and [iii] demographic profile. The level of missing data was minimal for the translated scale. The internal consistency for this sample using the Arabic MDAS was 0.87 [95% confidence interval was 0.86-0.88]. The measure was a one-dimensional scale. The proportion of the sample that was highly dentally anxious was 22% [>/= 19 cut-off score]. Expected differences between gender and self-reported dental attendance were observed. There were clear significant relationships as predicted between the Arabic MDAS and [i] a single item measure of dental anxiety and [ii] feeling helpless in the dental chair on a previous occasion. The Arabic version of the MDAS can be employed for brief assessment of dental anxiety