Seroprevalence and risk factors of toxoplasmosis among University of Kirkuk female students.

The study was conducted in the College of Education/Hawija, University of Kirkuk from September 1st, 2018 until the period February 28th, 2019. The first part included determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, which involved collecting blood from the female students from different stages in the different colleges of the University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk province (northeastern Iraq), ranged ˂20-24 years old. All necessary information was recorded using a questionnaire prepared for this purpose. In the current cross-sectional study, 210 blood specimens were collected from participants. Blood specimens were examined for evaluated the levels of specific anti-toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies using the protocol of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results revealed that the total infection of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies was 9.05% for IgG via 3.33% for IgM with significant difference at p<0.05. According to risk factors, the univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only increase in domestic cats' owners and directly contact with the soil (gardening in the house) had a corresponding increase with distribution of the infection (p<0.05). Data in the present study revealed that the toxoplasmosis seroprevalence ratio among participants was 12.38%. It was observed that all of the risk factors in the present study had no statistically association with the toxoplasmosis seroprevalence, except cat ownership and house gardening once, where they were showed a highest odd ratio.

Level of Recall between Verbal and Written Information about Orthodontic Treatment

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to compare patients’ level of recall on verbal and written information about orthodontic treatment. Participants were the patients and par-ents attending the orthodontic screening clinic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Participation was voluntary. Participants were placed into two groups. One group was given only written information in the form of an information leaflet, while another group was given only verbal information. The information content comprising of 13 items was based on the Patient Information Leaflet published by the British Orthodontic Society. Both groups received similar content of information in their preferred languages. Self administered close-ended questionnaire forms were given to the subjects after 15 mi-nutes to assess the level of recall. The answers from both groups were compared. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. Chi-square test (p=0.05) was con-ducted to determine the effect of the method of information on the percentage of recall. A total of 79 subjects volunteered to participate in the study. There were more females than males. The majority were found to have achieved secondary level formal education. Comparison of each question item showed no significant difference between those who were provided with verbal or written information. Both groups showed a high proportion of correct responses. In conclusion, there was no difference in the patients’ level of recall whether the orthodontic patient was given verbal or written information.

Self-disclosure of HIV status: perception of malaysian HIV-positive subjects towards attitude of dental personnel in providing oral care.

The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of Malaysian HIV-positive subjects towards the attitude of dental personnel in providing oral care to them. The study design was cross-sectional with the sampling frame comprising of 27 Government Drug Rehabilitation Centres throughout Malaysia. A convenience sample was then taken from 20 centres with the highest enrolment of HIV-positive subjects. A self-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on the perception of HIV-positive subjects towards the attitude of dental personnel in providing oral care to the patient with HIV-positive. The study sample consisted of 509 HIV-positive individuals with a mean age of 31.3+/-12.9 years old. Of these, only 15.1% attended a dental clinic after confirmation of HIV-positive status. The study demonstrated that 67.5% of the HIV-positive subjects disclosed their status voluntarily to the dentists and majority of the dentists (76.9%) did not show any negative reaction on knowing their HIV positive status. There was also no difference in the attitude of auxiliary staff toward the above disclosure. In conclusion, the study showed that oral health care personnel are more receptive to the HIV-positive subjects receiving dental care and treatment.

Knowledge and attitudes of parents of children with nursing bottle syndrome in Serdang, Malaysia.

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the parents' level of knowledge, and their attitudes to nursing bottle syndrome. Of 284 children aged 2-6 years clinically examined, 153 were diagnosed as having nursing bottle syndrome based on the criterion that at least one upper maxillary incisor was affected by caries. The parents of the 153 affected children were then interviewed by questionnaire. The findings suggested that parents had adequate knowledge and a positive attitude towards maintaining satisfactory dental care for their children. However, these attitudes were not reflected in the dental health of their children. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Periodontal profile of 15- to 19-year-old West Malaysian secondary school students.

A cross-sectional exploratory survey was conducted in six West Malaysian schools involving 762 fifteen- to eighteen-year-old secondary school students. Periodontal health status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN), utilizing six index teeth to represent the six sextants of the mouth. The results indicated that 66.8% of the students examined had healthy gingiva (Score 0), 2.6% had bleeding of the gingiva on gentle probing, while 30.6% had calculus on their teeth. In terms of treatment needs, 35.0% of those examined needed oral hygiene education, 34.4%, on the other hand, required scaling. No student was found to require complex treatment. Sex-specific comparison revealed a slightly higher prevalence of calculus formation in male students. In terms of race, the Malays had a higher prevalence of calculus formation than either Chinese or Indians.

Assessment of periodontal diseases in epidemiological investigations: a critical review.

Like dental caries, epidemiological assessment of periodontal disease is important for purposes of recognizing the extent of the disease in the population as well as a basis for planning and evaluating preventive and treatment programmes. while present day measurement methods for dental caries are excellent such is not true for periodontal diseases. This paper reviews the development and usefulness of different indices for the assessment of periodontal disease and treatment needs in epidemiological investigations.

Periodontal status (CPITN) of six-to fifteen-year-old west Malaysian aborigines (Proto-Malays).

A survey of 303 six- to fifteen-year-old Proto-Malay children was carried out in Selangor, West Malaysia. The examinations were carried out using a chair-table and natural daylight. Periodontal status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN). The findings revealed a generally low prevalence of periodontal disease affecting only 25.08% of the sample examined. Of these, 15.72% were found to have a score of 1 (bleeding of the gingiva), while 9.36% had calculus on the tooth surface. In terms of treatment needs, 24.75% required dental health education. The relationship between these findings and the possible causes are discussed.

Dental caries experience of 7 to 12-year old West Malaysian aborigines (Temuan tribe).

A preliminary survey on sixty-nine 7 to 12 year old Temuan tribe school children living some 30 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur was conducted. The examinations were carried out using a chair-table set up with natural daylight as the source of light. The DMF index of klein, Palmer and Knutson was used to assess the dental caries status. In spite of low fluoride content in their water supply, the findings revealed a generally low prevalence of caries experience (DMFT 1.26). The highest DMFT was in the 11 year olds. The relationship between these findings and their possible causes are discussed.

Permanent dentition occlusion in Chinese, Indian and Malay groups in Malaysia.

This survey outlines the proportion of the various features of occlusion in the permanent dentition of the three ethnic races, Chinese, Malay and Indian in Malaysia. The mean age of the high school children surveyed was 16.4 years. The Chinese and Malays had almost similar distribution of the different types of occlusion. There was a significantly higher prevalence of Class III occlusion among the Chinese and Malays as compared to the Indians. In addition, an edge to edge incisor relationship seemed to be a norm in the Chinese (54%) and Malays (50%) whilst the overjet of between 2-4 mm and the overbite of between 1/3 to 2/3 was more normal to Indians (50%). A crowded dentition was also a norm for the three races.