SOS teeth with advanced caries and sociodemographic indicators, health-related habits and dental attendance patterns: data from the Dental, Oral, Medical Epidemiological (DOME) nationwide records-based study.

BACKGROUND: "SOS teeth" are teeth that need to be treated first, and represent dental teeth with deep caries seen clinically and radiographically which may require root canal treatment or extraction. The aims of the present research were to study the associations of SOS teeth with: socio-demographic parameters, dental attendance patterns, health-related habits among young to middle-aged adults. METHODS: This cross-sectional records-based research analyzed data from the Dental, Oral, Medical Epidemiological (DOME) repository that captures comprehensive socio-demographic, medical, and dental databases of a nationwide sample of 132,529 records of dental attendees to military dental clinics for 1 year aged 18 to 50 years. RESULTS: SOS teeth had a significant positive association in the multivariate analysis with male sex [OR 1.137, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.079-1.199], rural versus urban Jewish locality [OR 1.748 (1.082-2.825)], and consumption of sweetened beverages [OR 1.415 (1.337-1.496)]. SOS teeth retained significant negative associations (protective parameter) with academic [OR 0.647 (0.592-0.708)] and technicians (OR 0.616 (0.556-0.682)] compared to high school education, high [OR 0.437 (0.401-0.476)], and medium (OR 0.648 (0.598-0.702)] versus low socio-economic status, urban non-Jewish versus urban Jewish locality [OR 0.746 (0.693-0.802)], Asia (OR 0.658 (0.452-0.959)], North America (OR 0.539 (0.442-0.658)] and Israel [OR 0.735 (0.686-0.788)] versus western Europe birth countries. CONCLUSIONS: Health authorities should be familiar with this profile of the patient who is vulnerable to SOS teeth and formulate policies and allow the appropriate implementation of strategies in those in high-risk populations.

SOS Teeth: First Priority Teeth with Advanced Caries and Its Associations with Metabolic Syndrome among a National Representative Sample of Young and Middle-Aged Adults.

"SOS teeth" are defined as the first priority teeth for treatment, that have distinct cavitation reaching the pulp chamber or only root fragments are present. These are teeth with severe morbidity, that may require pulp capping, root canal treatment, or extraction, and therefore should be treated first. The study aims to explore whether or not a metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with SOS teeth. To that end, we performed across-sectional records-based study of a nationally representative sample of 132,529 military personnel aged 18-50 years, who attended the military dental clinics for one year. The mean number of SOS had no statistically significant association with: smoking (p = 0.858), alcohol consumption (p = 0.878), hypertension (p = 0.429), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.866), impaired glucose tolerance (p = 0.909), hyperlipidemia (p = 0.246), ischemic heart disease (p = 0.694), S/P myocardial infarction (p = 0.957), obstructive sleep apnea (p = 0.395), fatty liver (p = 0.074), S/P stroke (p = 0.589), and S/P transient ischemic attack (p = 0.095) and with parental history of: diabetes (p = 0.396)], cardiovascular disease (p = 0.360), stroke (p = 0.368), and sudden death (p = 0.063) as well as with any of the medical auxiliary examinations (p > 0.05). Cariogenic diet was positively associated with SOS teeth (p < 0.001). We conclude that SOS teeth had no statistically significant association with MetS components or with conditions that are consequences or associated with MetS. The only statistically significant parameter was a cariogenic diet, a well-known risk factor for caries and MetS.

SOS Teeth: Age and Sex Differences in the Prevalence of First Priority Teeth among a National Representative Sample of Young and Middle-Aged Adults.

BACKGROUND: "SOS teeth" are defined as the first priority teeth for treatment, that have distinct cavitation reaching the pulp chamber or only root fragments are present. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence and distribution of SOS teeth with regard to age and sex difference among young to middle-aged adults. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional records-based study of a nationally representative sample, consisting of young to middle-aged military personnel, who attended the military dental clinics of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for one year. SOS teeth definition corresponds to code number 6 of the "Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST)" as an instrument to assess dental caries. Data pertaining to age and sex were drawn from the central demographic database and that of SOS teeth were obtained from the Dental Patient Record (DPR). RESULTS: The study included 132,529 dental records. The prevalence of patients with SOS teeth was 9.18 % (12,146/132,323). The number of teeth that were found to be SOS teeth was 18,300, i.e., 1.5 SOS teeth per "diseased" patient (18,300/12,146). The mean number of SOS teeth per the whole study population was 0.14 ± 0.52 and the range was 0-20. The mean number of SOS teeth per patient had a statistically significant negative correlation with age (p < 0.001; Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.997; 95% confidence interval: 0.997-0.998) and with male sex compared to females (p < 0.001; OR = 1.029 confidence interval: 1.023-1.036). CONCLUSION: Assessment of first priority SOS teeth may be part of the dentist's work-up. It provides dentists and health authorities with useful information regarding urgent dental care needs to plan dental services.

Oral hygiene instructions provided by dental hygienists: results from a self-report cohort study and a suggested protocol for oral hygiene education.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the extent to which dental hygienists target their efforts toward patients' oral hygiene instruction. METHOD AND MATERIALS: A population of 179 dental hygienists who attended an annual meeting were given a structured anonymous questionnaire to assess information regarding their habits of instructing patients about oral hygiene measures. RESULTS: The dental hygienists were females aged 21 to 68 years (mean age 39.05 ± 18.18); 49.7% worked in private practice, 21.7% in public practice, and 28.57% in both. Overall, 70.9% reported that they provided oral hygiene instruction to all their patients; 28.5% to most of their patients; and 0.6% reported that they never provided oral hygiene instruction. Among the participants, 54.5% reported giving instruction at every treatment, 41% at every periodic treatment, and 4.5% only on first meeting. The reasons for not instructing their patients included: lack of time (21.7%), the patients know how to brush (61.5%), and the patient appears uninterested (23.6%). Most of the participants (77.7%) reported giving the same hygiene instructions for patients at high and low risk for caries and/or periodontal disease. CONCLUSION: Participants did not use enough demonstration methods in order to improve their patients' performance. Dental hygienists should pay more attention to instruction and education regarding oral hygiene preventive measures. Dental practitioners employing hygienists should encourage oral hygiene instruction programs in their clinics. Those programs should include repetitious demonstrations and reinforcement in order to improve overall outcome and prevention of future disease.

Cigarette smoking and the alveolar bone around teeth and dental implants.

Tobacco is one of the most popular habits among the general population. Tobacco is also an important risk factor for oral cancer, oral mucosal lesions and periodontal diseases. There is substantial evidence suggesting that the risk of oral diseases increases with intensity and duration of tobacco smoking and that smoking cessation results in risk reduction. In this article, the influence of cigarette smoking in the periodontium as well as the alveolar bone will be discussed, highlighting the negative effects on dental implants and implant-related surgery.