Career choice and attitudes towards dental education amongst dental students in Japan and Sweden.

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the perspectives of dental students towards their career choice and dental education in Japan and Sweden. One hundred and fourteen dental students from the Nippon Dental University, Japan and 43 dental students from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden participated in this study. Information was derived from a self-answered questionnaire consisting of five items for career choice and six items for dental education. Chi-square test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for comparison. Significant differences were detected for 10 questionnaire items between the two countries. Regarding motivation towards the career choice, 44% of Swedish students indicated interpersonal motives related to helping other people, whereas 32% of Japanese students indicated expectations of their family in the dental profession. As future career options, 64% of Japanese and 47% of Swedish students planned to work as general dentists. More Swedish students (37%) preferred specialisation than Japanese students (17%). Nearly three-quarters of the Swedish students were satisfied with the teaching faculty of their school, whilst only 32% of the Japanese students indicated content. The perspectives of dental students were different in Japan and Sweden. This study provides a description of the perspectives of Japanese and Swedish dental students and enables better understanding of career decision and dental curriculum issues.

Changes of periodontal status in patients with Down syndrome during a 7-year period.

The development of periodontal disease in Down syndrome adolescents (n = 34) was studied clinically and on intraoral radiographs during a 7-yr period. The occurrence of gingival inflammation (GBI), pathological periodontal pockets (>4 mm), sub- and supragingival calculus, alveolar bone height, alveolar bone loss, and the occurrence of the periodontal pathogens Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Capnocytophaga, and Porphyromonas gingivalis in subgingival plaque were determined. Of the subjects, 41% had one or more pathological periodontal pockets at baseline compared to 65% at follow-up. At the baseline examination, 35% of the individuals exhibited alveolar bone loss compared to 74% at the follow-up. The median value of sites with alveolar bone loss increased from 0 to 1, the new lesions mainly being located in the incisor region. The estimated annual reduction of alveolar bone height in each subject was 0.04 mm on average. The occurrence of the periodontal pathogens A. actinomycetemcomitans, Capnocytophaga, and P. gingivalis in subgingival plaque did not differ between baseline and follow-up. The results of the present study indicate that the frequency of periodontitis, mainly located on the lower incisors, markedly increased during a 7-yr period in Down syndrome individuals, although the severity and progression was limited compared to what has previously been described.