Ethnic Disparities in Dental Caries among Adolescents in China.

Comprehensive research on ethnic disparities in dental caries in China is limited. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to compare the levels of dental caries in adolescents between the Han ethnic group and ethnic minority groups in China and to explore the risk indicators for dental caries within ethnic subgroups. Data from the Fourth National Oral Health Survey in 2015, which covered all 31 province-level administrative divisions in mainland China, were used. The dental caries status in the permanent dentition of adolescents aged 12, 13, 14, and 15 y was measured using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DFMT) score, and sociodemographic characteristics and oral health-related behaviors were also collected. A total of 118,601 adolescents were included, with ethnic minority groups accounting for 13.15%. Of the Han and minority groups, the standardized prevalence of dental caries experience was 40.58% and 47.67%, and the mean DMFT scores were 0.97 and 1.28, respectively. According to the multivariate zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis, the caries status of minorities was more severe than Han adolescents (adjusted prevalence rate ratio [PRR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.18). This disparity was greater among adolescents who lived in rural areas, had mid-level economic status, and frequently consumed sugary beverages. After propensity score matchings, Uygur (PRR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.25-1.67), Tibetan (PRR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.3-1.48), and Yi (PRR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.04-1.48) adolescents were significantly more likely to have caries than Han adolescents. Subgroup analyses revealed that gender, age, location of residence, economic status, region, consumption of sweet snacks and sugary beverages, and dental visit pattern were significantly associated with dental caries within ethnic minorities.

[Caries prevention effectiveness of aresin based sealant and a glass ionomer sealants: a report of 5-year-follow-up].

Objective: To evaluate and compare the caries prevention effectiveness of a resin-based sealant and a glass ionomer sealant on permanent first molars in 7- to 9-years-old school children. Methods: A randomized controlled, examiner-blinded, 5-year clinical trial was conducted in 19 primary schools in Dalian, Liaoning province. Totally 419 children (with 664 first molars) who had at least one sound permanent first molar with deep fissures or fissures with signs of non-cavitated lesions were recruited and stratified and allocated randomly into three parallel groups. A resin-based sealant was used in Group R (136 children with 219 first molars) and a glass ionomer sealant was used in Group G (130 children with 218 first molars). The third group (Group N, 153 children with 227 first molars) with none of the two sealants applied was served as blank control. Follow-up examinations were conducted at 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 years after sealing in order to assess the retention of the sealants and the incidence of caries occurrence. Chi-square test was adopted to compare the differences of caries incidence among the 3 groups. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to analyze the effective factors of caries incidence. Results: During the 5-year follow-up period, 13.4% (23/172) of the teeth in Group R, 22.5% (40/178) of the teeth in Group G and 34.5% (57/165) of the teeth in Group N were diagnosed as having developed cavitated lesions. And the differences in the incidence of caries among the three groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). According to GEE, the resin-based sealant and the glass ionomer sealant were found to be the protection factors and the non-cavitated lesion before sealing was found to be the risk factor. The resin-based sealant was found to be the protection factor to the glass ionomer sealant when the blank control group was removed. Conclusions: Both resin-based sealant and glass ionomer sealant could effectively prevent the permanent first molars from the occurrence of carious lesions in 5 years. The resin-based sealant was superior to the glass ionomer sealant in caries prevention.

Attitudes of dental and medical students in their first and final years of undergraduate study to oral health behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: To compare differences in attitude to oral health behaviour amongst medical and dental students when they were in years 1 and 5 of University study respectively. METHODS: Medical and dental students of Peking University in Beijing, China were invited to take part in this study. The original version of the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) was written in Japanese. After testing the validity of both English and Chinese versions, the revised Chinese version of the HU-DBI was administered to new medical and dental students. In their final year of University study, the same questionnaire was again administered. RESULTS: Significant differences were found for 13 of 21 items, reflecting an improvement in oral health attitudes and behaviour in final year dental students when compared with the time they were entrants. This difference was not found to be significant in the sample of medical students. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant differences in oral health attitudes and behaviours in dental students between entrance to University and the final year of their study. The same was not found to be true for medical students.

Evaluating the social impact and effectiveness of four-year "Love Teeth Day" campaign in China.

A massive campaign on "Love Teeth Day" (LTD) has been celebrated nationwide each year in China since 1989. As announced in an official document, nine government and non-government organizations have jointly issued a circular designating that the 20th of September of each year be kept for the Love Teeth Festival in this country. The main activities were planned and conducted by the National Committee for Oral Health, which was set up in 1988. It aims to motivate the people's awareness of dental self-care, participation, and to promote community involvement in oral health education programs. For feedback, two types of questionnaires were designed and sent to the public and the organizers, respectively, after each campaign, and then returned to the office for data processing. The findings from a four-year study indicated that: (1) The activities started from three municipalities, 29 capitals of provinces, and some large cities (1989), and spread to most cities in the urban area, and about 300 counties in the rural area (1992); (2) 14,000 dental professionals and health workers participated in 1989 as information providers, and increased to 40,000 in 1992; (3) oral health knowledge has increased to 76.2% (1992) from 37% (1989); and (4) the people's will in dental prevention was strengthened.