ABSTRACT
No comprehensive national study has ever been completed on the oral health status of people with disabilities, their patterns of use of oral health services and access-to-care barriers. The authors describe the Special Olympics, Special Smiles program, conducted as part of the New Jersey Summer Special Olympics Games, and assess a pilot-tested model for collecting epidemiologic data. The results of this initial data collection are also compared with the goals of the U.S. Public Health Service, as outlined in the Healthy People 2000 publication.
Subject(s)
Intellectual Disability , Mouth Diseases/epidemiology , Sports , Tooth Diseases/epidemiology , Adult , Child , Data Collection , Dental Care for Disabled/statistics & numerical data , Dental Health Services/statistics & numerical data , Dental Records , Epidemiologic Methods , Feasibility Studies , Female , Forms and Records Control , Health Promotion , Health Services Accessibility/statistics & numerical data , Health Status , Humans , Male , Mouth Protectors , New Jersey/epidemiology , Oral Health , Oral Hygiene , Organizational Objectives , Patient Education as Topic , Pilot Projects , United States , United States Public Health Service/organization & administrationABSTRACT
Urinary mercury levels and excretion rates were measured to determine the effect of dental amalgam restoration on the mercury body burden. No consistent increase in urinary mercury concentrations was found among subjects who had a single restoration, but a continuously increasing statistically significant (P < 0.05) trend, that was 33% above background levels, was detected between 9 and 12 days after restoration, in the subject with four restorations in a single day. The current findings suggested that even though amalgam restorations can cause an increase in mercury body burden, the elevation above background levels is small and thus the risks associated with the use of this material are considered minimal for the general population.
Subject(s)
Dental Alloys/pharmacokinetics , Dental Amalgam/pharmacokinetics , Mercury/urine , Analysis of Variance , Dental Restoration, Permanent/adverse effects , HumansABSTRACT
This study compares the evaluation of periodontal health using bone levels measured on periapical and bitewing radiographs with clinical parameters, such as periodontal screening and recording, gingival indexes, probing depths and attachment levels. The authors found that bitewing radiographs taken within six months of the clinical examination correlated better with the clinical data than older radiographs. However, they concluded that, overall, radiographs are not highly reflective of periodontal status. PSR scores, by contrast, showed significant associations with probing depths and attachment levels. The results support use of PSR as a screening tool for periodontal diseases.
Subject(s)
Periodontal Diseases/diagnosis , Periodontal Index , Radiography, Bitewing , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Alveolar Bone Loss/diagnostic imaging , Analysis of Variance , Gingiva/pathology , Humans , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Periodontal Attachment Loss/diagnosis , Periodontal Attachment Loss/pathology , Periodontal Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Periodontal Pocket/diagnosis , Periodontal Pocket/pathology , Periodontics/instrumentation , Regression Analysis , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The system of peridontal screening and recording was developed by the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology to simplify early detection of periodontal pathology. The authors evaluated the results of PSR against those of a conventional periodontal examination in 24 subjects, each of whom had a minimum of 18 natural teeth. The results of this study suggest that the PSR examination, while a useful screening tool, could be improved to further enhance its identification of patients with peridontal diseases.
