Relationship between self-assessment and clinical evaluation of dental plaque and gingival condition in Japanese adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To apply a self-administered assessment form about dental plaque level and gingival condition to Japanese adolescents and to examine the extent to which they can evaluate their own dental plaque and gingivae by comparing with dentists' clinical evaluation. METHODS: Participants were 151 senior high school students (adolescents) who observed their own mouths and recorded dental plaque seen on their 12 anterior teeth, and gingival inflammation condition of 10 anterior interdental papillae, on a self-assessment form. Dentists clinically evaluated dental plaque using the, modified Debris Index (modified DI) and gingival condition, modified PMA index (P-index). "Recognition score" of dental plaque and gingival condition was the total number of agreement between the adolescents' self-assessment and dentists' evaluation. RESULTS: Proportion of agreement on dental plaque between the adolescents' self-assessment and dentists' evaluation with modified DI was 37.4%, and agreement on modified DI score 1, 2 or 3 was significantly lower than that on score 0 (P<.01). Agreement on gingivae was 47.3% in total, and agreement was significantly lower on gingival condition with inflammation than gingivae without inflammation (P<.01). Recognition scores of dental plaque or gingival condition were significantly lower in adolescents with fair or poor modified DI or P-index than in those with good condition (P<.01). CONCLUSION: Most adolescents could not recognize their dental plaque and gingival condition. Adolescents with poorer dental plaque level or gingival condition had lower recognition scores compared to those with better oral health. Improving oral health self-assessment skills could help adolescents achieve better oral health.

Oral malodour among adolescents and its association with health behaviour and oral health status.

OBJECTIVE: To assess oral malodour level and its association with health behaviour, oral health behaviour and oral health status among adolescents. METHOD: A questionnaire survey and clinical examination that included tongue coating and oral malodour status were conducted on 665 senior high school students in Saitama, Japan. Analyses of Pearson chi-square, independent samples t-test and logistic regression were conducted using SPSS 19.0 with the significance level set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: There were 173 (26.0%) subjects who had oral malodour and 54.7% of subjects reported they were conscious of their own oral malodour. Logistic regression analysis showed that subjects who skipped breakfast were 1.7 times more likely to have oral malodour than those who had breakfast. Subjects who did not have the habit of cleaning their tongue daily were also 1.7 times more likely to have oral malodour compared to those who had the habit. The odds of having oral malodour increased as the area of tongue coating widened. CONCLUSION: Tongue coating, daily tongue cleaning and breakfast are significant factors for oral malodour among adolescents. Proper tongue coating management together with other healthy lifestyle behaviours, especially having breakfast, should be advocated in adolescents' health education.

Association of oral health literacy with oral health behaviour and oral health status in Belarus.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the level of oral health literacy among adults in Belarus, a former part of the Soviet Union, and to analyse the associations between oral health literacy, socio-demographics, health behaviour and oral health status. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. Participants: 281 adult (18-60 years old) dental patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire collecting information about socio-demographics and health behaviours, and oral health literacy test (the R-OHLI). Clinical oral examination followed the questionnaire survey. RESULTS: Among participants, 68.7% had adequate, 18.9% had marginal and 12.4% inadequate oral health literacy levels. Females and those with higher education were more likely to have adequate oral health literacy (p<0.05 and p<0.001). Participants with adequate oral health literacy had fewer missing and more filled teeth than those with inadequate literacy (p<0.001). This association remained significant after adjusting for socio-demographics, behavioural characteristics and oral hygiene status (p<0.05 and p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Adequate oral health literacy was strongly related with better oral health status. Improvement of oral health literacy should be addressed when developing community oral health promotions.

Association of hyposalivation with oral function, nutrition and oral health in community-dwelling elderly Thai.

OBJECTIVES: This study was to analyze the association of hyposalivation with oral function, nutritional status and oral health in community-dwelling elderly Thai. METHOD: The subjects were 612 elderly people (mean age = 68.8, SD 5.9 years). Oral function (tasting, speaking, swallowing and chewing) and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) were evaluated. Oral examination investigated teeth and periodontal status. Both unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva were collected for 5 minutes. RESULTS: Among all subjects, 14.4 % were classified within the hyposalivation. Hyposalivation was associated with gender, systemic disease, medication, and smoking. Subjects within the hyposalivation group had a higher number of decayed teeth and a higher prevalence of periodontitis than the normal salivation group (p < 0.05). The hyposalivation group also had a lower number of teeth present and a lower mean MNA score than the normal salivation group (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that hyposalivation in both dentate and edentulous subjects was significantly associated with tasting, speaking, swallowing and chewing. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that hyposalivation is a risk factor not only for dental caries and periodontal disease but also for taste disturbances, speaking problems, swallowing problems, poor chewing ability and malnutrition. Monitoring salivary flow is an important measure in the care of older people.

Clinical trial of oral malodor treatment in patients with periodontal diseases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Only a few clinical research studies have assessed different therapeutic approaches to oral malodor in subjects affected by periodontal diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of periodontal treatment and tongue cleaning on oral malodor parameters in periodontitis and gingivitis patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The subjects were 102 periodontitis and 116 gingivitis patients with oral malodor. Oral malodor was measured by organoleptic test and Oral Chroma™. Oral health status, including tooth conditions, periodontal health, tongue coating and proteolytic activity of the BANA test in tongue coating were assessed. Subjects in each periodontal disease group were randomly assigned into two subgroups depending on the sequence of treatment: periodontal treatment and tongue cleaning. Oral malodor and oral health parameters were compared by groups and sequence of treatment. RESULTS: For subjects in the periodontitis group, there were statistically significant reductions in oral malodor after periodontitis treatment or tongue cleaning; however, major reductions were found after periodontitis treatment. For those in the gingivitis group, there were also statistically significant reductions in oral malodor after gingivitis treatment or tongue cleaning, but the most marked reductions were observed after tongue cleaning. At the completion of treatment, all oral malodor parameters fell below the threshold levels in all subgroups. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that periodontal treatment played an important role and tongue cleaning contributed to a lesser extent to reduction in oral malodor in periodontitis patients. In contrast, tongue cleaning alone can be the primary approach to reduce oral malodor in gingivitis patients.

Association of clinical oral health status with self-rated oral health and GOHAI in Japanese adults.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate clinical oral health status relationships that affect quality of life (using the 12-item General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI)) and self-rated oral health in a community of Japanese residents. METHODS: 459 residents of Yokote City, Japan aged 40-55 years had oral health examinations and completed self-administered questionnaires collecting data on age, gender, GOHAI items and self-rated oral health. Linear regression analysis was performed with GOHAI or self-rated oral health as a dependent variable and gender, age and indicators of oral health status as independent variables. RESULTS: The GOHAI indicated 42.7% of subjects were concerned about the appearance of their teeth, 30.1% were worried about teeth problems and 27.5% concerned about sensitive teeth. Analyses showed that gender, decayed teeth, oral dryness and missing teeth were significantly associated with variation in GOHAI scores, and that gender, decayed teeth, oral dryness and oral hygiene were significantly associated with variation in self-rated oral health. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that in this sample of Japanese adults aged 40-55 years, decayed teeth and oral dryness affected both GOHAI and self-rated oral health, whereas missing teeth affected GOHAI and oral hygiene affected self-rated oral health. Subjects did not recognise periodontal disease as a quality of life impacting condition or as a health problem.