Using Standardised International Oral Health-Related Datasets in 6 Countries.

INTRODUCTION: Oral diseases affect a significant proportion of the world's population, yet international comparisons involving oral health outcomes have often been limited due to differences in the way country-level primary data are collected. In response to this, the World Dental Federation (FDI) Oral Health Observatory project was launched with the goal of collecting and producing standardised international data on oral health across countries. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to examine associations between self-reported general health and a range of factors (sociodemographics, oral health-related behaviours, oral impacts, clinical variables) using these standardised international datasets. METHODS: Dentists within FDI member National Dental Associations who chose to take part in the project were selected using a multistage sampling method. The number of dentists in each cluster was set according to the proportion of the national population living in the area, and 50 patients per dentist were systematically approached to take part. Patients and dentists completed 2 separate questionnaires on a mobile app. Ordinal logistic regression (conducted in December 2022) was used to analyse the linked patient and dentist data from 6 countries: China (n = 2242); Colombia (n = 1029); India (n = 999); Italy (n = 711); Japan (n = 1271); and Lebanon (n = 798). Self-reported general health was the dependent variable, with age, sex, education, self-reported oral health-related behaviours, self-reported oral impacts, and clinical variables acting as the independent variables. RESULTS: The results demonstrated a different pattern of associations in the different countries. Better self-reported general health was associated with degree-level education in all 6 countries and with reporting no oral impact and no sensitive teeth in 4 countries. Several country-specific patterns were also found, including the importance of tooth brushing in Colombia, periodontal health in Italy, and differing associations with sugary drinks consumption in India and Japan. CONCLUSIONS: These descriptive findings provide a basis for further research and, importantly, for advocacy in identifying patient oral health care needs according to both person-reported and clinical aspects. This can facilitate optimisation of service provision and potentially influence policy and investments.

A bibliometric analysis of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology: Fifty years of publications.

OBJECTIVES: In celebration of the journal's 50th anniversary, the aim of the study was to review the whole collection of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (CDOE) publications from 1973 to 2022 and provide a complete overview of the main publication characteristics. METHODS: The study used bibliometric techniques such as performance and science mapping analysis of 3428 articles extracted from the Scopus database. The data were analysed using the 'Bibliometrix' package in R. The journal's scientific production was examined, along with the yearly citation count, the distribution of publications based on authors, the corresponding author's country and affiliation and citation count, citing source and keywords. Bibliometric network maps were constructed to determine the conceptual, intellectual and social collaborative structure over the past 50 years. The trending research topics and themes were identified. RESULTS: The total number of articles and average citations has increased over the years. D Locker, AJ Spencer, A Sheiham and WM Thomson were the most frequently published authors, and PE Petersen, GD Slade and AI Ismail published papers with the highest citations. The most published countries were the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Canada, frequently engaging in collaborative efforts. The most common keywords used were 'dental caries', 'oral epidemiology' and 'oral health'. The trending topics were healthcare and health disparities, social determinants of health, systematic review and health inequalities. Epidemiology, oral health and disparities were highly researched areas. CONCLUSION: This bibliometric study reviews CDOE's significant contribution to dental public health by identifying key research trends, themes, influential authors and collaborations. The findings provide insights into the need to increase publications from developing countries, improve gender diversity in authorship and broaden the scope of research themes.

Oral health knowledge among brazilian preschoolers and their carers receiving and not receiving health promotion / Conhecimento sobre saúde bucal entre pré-escolares e seus cuidadores que receberam e que não receberam promoção de saúde

Few studies have evaluated oral health promotion (OHP) programs in nursery schools. This research aimed to assess whether there were differences in oral health knowledge between preschoolers and carers who received or did not receive an OHP program in nursery schools. A post-intervention observational study involving 5-6 years-old preschoolers and 169 carers was carried out in 10 nursery schools. The preschoolers in the OHP program group (N=93) received information on oral health and recreational activities relating to oral health, whereas in the control group (N=90), no OHP activity was provided. Children's age and sex, carer's age, child kinship, education and family income were collected via questionnaire. Children and carer's oral health knowledge scores were assessed through structured interviews. Independent variables were compared between groups by t-test, Chi-square and Mann-Whitney test. The association between children and carer's oral health knowledge and the OHP program group was tested using multivariate Poisson regression. Children's oral health knowledge was significantly associated with the OHP program group. Carer's oral health knowledge did not differ between intervention and control groups. Children attending nursery schools provided with OHP programs had greater oral health knowledge than those attending nursery schools without OHP activities.

Introdução. Poucos estudos avaliaram os programas de promoção em saúde bucal (PSB) em préescolas. Objetivo. Essa pesquisa objetivou avaliar se houve diferenças no conhecimento de saúde bucal entre pré-escolares e seus cuidadores que receberam e que não receberam o programa de PSB no ambiente escolar. Métodos. Este estudo observacional retrospectivo envolveu pré-escolares, de 5 a 6 anos, e 169 cuidadores, pertencentes a 10 Escolas Municipais de Educação Básica. Os pré-escolares pertencentes ao grupo do programa de PSB (n = 93) receberam informações e atividades recreativas relacionadas à saúde bucal, enquanto que, no grupo controle (n = 90), nenhuma atividade de promoção em saúde foi fornecida. As informações sobre idade, sexo, idade dos cuidadores, grau de parentesco, escolaridade, renda familiar foram coletadas através de questionário. O conhecimento sobre saúde bucal das crianças e cuidadores foram colhidos por meio de entrevistas estruturadas. As variáveis independentes foram comparadas entre grupos através do teste-T, Qui-quadrado e Mann-Whitney. Foi utilizado o modelo multivariado de regressão de Poisson com a finalidade de identificar a associação da aplicação do programa de PSB com o conhecimento de saúde bucal dos pré-escolares e seus cuidadores. Resultados. O conhecimento em saúde bucal das crianças foi significativamente maior no grupo que recebeu as atividades do programa. O conhecimento em saúde bucal dos cuidadores não diferiu entre os grupos intervenção e controle. Conclusões. As crianças que pertenciam às escolas que receberam o programa de PSB possuíam maior conhecimento em saúde bucal do que aquelas alocadas em escolas sem as atividades do programa.