[Caries free smile: a dental health educational programme]. / "Souris sans carie": une campagne d'éducation bucco-dentaire pluridisciplinaire.

UNLABELLED: A multidisciplinary team associating members from the hospital, national education and local council sectors prepared, and led, a carie-free smile educational campaign in Toulouse. OBJECTIVES: The aim was two-fold: to teach children how to manage their routine oral hygiene while giving a positive image to health care-hence the carie-free smile theme chosen by the team; secondly, to promote an awareness campaign targeting professionals in the education sector (public health sector, independent paediatricians and odontologists) who together constitute the transmitters of our initiative. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The action involved 12,000 children in the 5-8-year age group from 76 public and private schools, 36 kindergarten and primary school leisure centres, six holiday centres together with infant patients from the children's hospital, all of whom were volunteers in the scheme. The team produced back-up material in the form of posters, booklets and stickers; there was also a website dealing with oral hygiene themes, caries and their treatment. Those taking part included practising dentists and students of dentistry. Before the presentation, posters were sent to teachers and other educational partners so as to prepare the children; this included an interactive phase in the presence of the teacher, and a brushing session. Each child was given a booklet, a sticker and a toothbrush. RESULTS: By means of a poll organised among the partners the impact of the campaign could be assessed: firstly, on teachers and children by evaluating their motivation in the setting up of the toothbrushing session in 17 classes following the midday meal, thus appraising their appreciation of the visual material, and secondly, to the dentistry students: the future dentists had noted disparities in oral hygiene practices according to residential area, and thus could appreciate the importance of early provision in the school curriculum, as well as the value of accomplishing this health education task in the daily exercise of their profession.

Regression of bronchial epidermoid metaplasia in heavy smokers with etretinate treatment.

Forty heavy-smoker (over 15 packets per year) volunteers were selected for and have completed a 6-month etretinate treatment on the basis of an index of metaplasia (IM) greater than 15% determined according to the following procedure: bronchoscopy with systematic biopsies in ten sites of the bronchial tree. Each biopsy was cut into ten sections and an IM was calculated: IM = number of sections with epidermoid metaplasia/number of sections examined X 100. Etretinate, a retinoid derivative, was given orally at the daily dose of 25 mg, at the end of which patients underwent a second fibroscopy protocol. A highly significant reduction of IM (P = 10(-5)) was observed after 6 months of treatment for those of the patients who maintained their smoking habits during treatment. Besides, the four patients who stopped smoking while under treatment and are excluded from the statistical analysis all had a complete regression of metaplasia at the second fibroscopy. No morbidity was due to etretinate or fibroscopy. Etretinate significantly reduces potentially precancerous bronchial epidermoid metaplasia in heavy smokers. Its association with smoking arrest may induce a rapid restoration of bronchial epithelium to normal.

Correlation of bronchial epidermoid metaplasia with level of tobacco consumption in heavy smokers.

One hundred forty-four heavy-smoker (125 males, 19 females) volunteers with at least 15 packet-year of smoking experience (number of daily packets of cigarettes X number of years of smoking) underwent bronchoscopy with systematic biopsies in ten sites of the bronchial tree. No morbidity was related to the fibroscopy procedure. Each biopsy was cut into ten sections and an index of metaplasia (IM) was calculated: IM = number of sections with epidermoid metaplasia/number of sections examined X 100. A highly significant statistical correlation was observed (P = 10(-4)) between the IM and the amount of cigarettes smoked (slope of the curve: 0.23). Sex appeared to play an important role in the incidence of metaplasia, since 84% of the examined females had an IM less than 15% versus 48% of the males (P adjusted for individual tobacco consumption in packet-years less than 0.01). Early study of HLA phenotype (locus A) failed to detect a link between HLA and risk of tobacco-induced epidermoid metaplasia.

Regression of bronchial epidermoid metaplasia in heavy smokers with etretinate treatment.

40 voluntary heavy smokers (over 15 packets-years) were selected for and have completed a six months etretinate treatment on the basis of an index of metaplasia (IM) greater than 15% determined according to the following procedure: bronchoscopy with systematic biopsies in 10 sites of the bronchial tree. Each biopsy was cut into 10 sections and an IM was calculated: (Formula: see text). Etretinate, a retinoid derivative, was given orally at the daily dose of 25 mg, at the end of which they underwent a second fibroscopy protocol. A highly significant reduction of IM (p = 10(-5)) was observed after 6 months of treatment for those of the patients who maintained their smoking habits during treatment. Besides, the 4 patients who stopped smoking while under treatment and are excluded from the statistical analysis, all had a complete regression of metaplasia at the second fibroscopy. No morbidity was due to etretinate or fibroscopy. Etretinate significantly reduces potentially precancerous bronchial epidermoid metaplasia in heavy smokers. Its association with smoking arrest may induce a rapid restoration of bronchial epithelium to normal.