Periodontal disease and related factors among Vietnamese dental patients.

PURPOSE: Periodontal diseases have a multifactorial etiology and their risk factors are influenced by modifiable and nonmodifiable factors. The information on periodontal disease and associated risk factors in the Vietnamese population is sparse. Vietnamese dental patients are specific groups with high dental needs and often have greater overall oral health problems. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of periodontal disease to sociodemographic, health-behavioural, and biological characteristics in Vietnamese dental patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 243 subjects was selected from the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology in Hochiminh City. The sociodemographic and health-behavioural characteristics were investigated by a questionnaire. Oral examination including dental and periodontal conditions was conducted. Bacterial load in tongue coating and hemoglobin in saliva were assessed using the BANA test and Perioscreen test. RESULTS: The Perioscreen test showed moderate sensitivity (0.752) and specificity (0.746) to periodontal disease. The binary logistic regression analyses indicated that older subjects (OR = 2.5), or those who did not frequently visit a dentist (OR = 4.1), brushed their teeth only once a day (OR = 2.5), did not use dental floss (OR = 2.9), were past smokers (OR = 3.1), current smokers (OR = 4.1), or had positive BANA test results (OR = 12.0) were more likely to have periodontal disease. CONCLUSION: The results revealed the periodontal disease was related to age, dental visit behaviour, smoking behaviour, frequency of tooth brushing, use of dental floss, bacterial load in the tongue coating, and hemoglobin in saliva.

Category of functional tooth units in relation to the number of teeth and masticatory ability in Japanese adults.

The purposes of this study were (1) to examine differences in dental status among various age groups, particularly, focusing on whether subjects retained 20 or more natural teeth, and (2) to investigate the relationship among dental status, the number and categories of functional tooth units (FTUs), and masticatory ability. A dental examination and self-administered questionnaire were conducted in a total of 2,164 residents aged 40 to 75 years who dwelt in Japan. The percentage of subjects with 20 and more natural teeth and their number of posterior teeth decreased with age. There was not much difference in the mean number of FTUs in subjects with and without 20 or more natural teeth, but those with 20 natural teeth had fewer numbers of FTUs than those with more than 20 natural teeth. The categories of the FTUs were extremely different. Subjects with 20 or more natural teeth had FTUs consisting mostly of natural to natural teeth. Subjects with 19 or fewer natural teeth had many FTUs consisting of removable prosthetic teeth. The subjective chewing ability test was significantly correlated with the number of natural teeth. Subjects could chew the higher number of test foods as the number of natural teeth increased. Not only the number of natural teeth but the categories of FTUs appear to be key factors of chewing ability. It is important to keep as many natural teeth as possible so that the person's categories of FTUs are mainly composed of natural to natural teeth to maintain better oral function.

[Health information on oral malodor in Japanese newspaper articles].

OBJECTIVES: Mass media is an important source for the general public to obtain health information. Newspapers especially have the advantages of providing a variety of information to a broad range of age groups, with wide regional coverage of both urban and rural areas. The purposes of this study were to review the oral malodor information in Japanese newspapers and to investigate peoples' knowledge on the causes of oral malodor. METHODS: The Nikkei Database was used to select articles published in five major newspapers over a period of 12 years from 1993 to 2004. "Oral malodor" was used as a key search word. A total of 386 articles which contained oral malodor information were identified and used for the analysis. A questionnaire survey was conducted for the patients who visited a fresh breath clinic (n=295). RESULTS: The average number of articles per year was 32.2 +/- 7.3 and there was not a significant difference among years and months. There were only 25 articles (6.5%) with the central theme of oral malodor. More than half of the articles introduced anti-oral malodor products. The causes of oral malodor were described in 35% of the articles (n=134). Periodontal disease (n=57), tongue coating (n=35), otorhinolaryngological diseases (n=19), stomach problems (n=14) and psychological factors (n=21) were described as the causes of malodor. Only 35 articles (26%) described the treatment and prevention of halitosis. According to the questionnaire survey, 39% of the patients answered that they did not know the causes of malodor. Less than half knew that oral problems were related with malodor. DISCUSSION: It was revealed that the information about oral malodor in newspapers was not enough both quantitatively and qualitatively; people had little information about oral malodor. It is suggested that dental professionals should be aware of the importance of media advocacy to provide appropriate oral health information to the public.

[The questionnaire survey on oral malodor and teeth stains of male high school students].

This study investigated the oral health awareness of aesthetic problems among adolescents. In 2002, a questionnaire survey on oral malodor and teeth stains was conducted at a junior and senior high school for males in Tokyo. The subjects were 783 students. The following results were obtained. (1) The rate of students who were concerned about other persons' oral malodor was significantly higher for the students in the senior high school than in the junior high school. The attitudes toward oral malodor varied depending on whether the target was family or friends. (2) Forty percent of junior high school students and first-year senior high school students answered that they had been conscious about their oral malodor. The rate was 60% for second- and third-year senior high school students. There was a significant difference between the two groups. (3) Thirty-five percent of the students who were conscious about their oral malodor felt some difficulties in daily life such as communication with other persons. (4) Fifty percent of the students replied that they had been conscious about their teeth stains. However, most of them felt no difficulties in daily life. From these results, it was revealed that almost half of the junior and senior high school students had been concerned about oral malodor and teeth stains. It is necessary to provide adequate dental health education on oral malodor and teeth stains for students through school oral health promotion activities as well as in dental clinics.