Advocating for Oral Health Through Fluoridation.

Eight school nurses attended the American Academy of Pediatrics' Campaign for Dental Health meeting in March 2018, which focused on community water fluoridation programs. Because of aging infrastructure and antifluoridation community activists, some communities are considering stopping fluoridation programs. The benefits of water fluoridation have been demonstrated since the 1950s. School nurses can play a vital role in advocating for evidence-based fluoridation programs within their community. This article informs the school nurse on the benefits of water fluoridation for promoting community health and methods to advocate for those measures-key practice components of the leadership and community/public health principles of "Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice™."

Developing an integrated resource to promote oral health in nursing homes.

Public health is the responsibility of every nurse and nursing practice should adopt a life course approach to the promotion of health and well-being. This approach requires a renewed focus on health promotion interventions aimed at older people, including those resident in nursing homes. The oral health status of older people in nursing homes has been reported as suboptimal, predisposing them to poorer health-related quality of life. Interventions focusing on knowledge and behaviours related to oral health management for nurses, other caregivers and older people have the potential to improve the provision of oral care. This article discusses a project undertaken by a team of preregistration nursing students to plan and develop an integrated oral health promotion resource for older people in nursing homes. Healthy Smile, Healthy Me comprises a poster called five steps for oral hygiene and an oral health box. Initial feedback from a pilot of the resource in a nursing home is encouraging and research is planned to explore the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of the resource.

Maintaining oral health across the life span.

Oral health is directly related to systemic health, yet many Americans have limited to no access to dental health professionals. Nurse practitioners are in an excellent position to fill this void by providing caries risk assessments, chemical therapy to prevent progression of caries, and appropriate patient education to prevent caries.

Oral health promotion: knowledge, confidence, and practices in preventing early-severe childhood caries of Virginia WIC program personnel.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the oral health knowledge, confidence and practices of Virginia personnel in the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). METHODS: In 2009, 257 WIC personnel were electronically emailed via an investigator-designed 22-item Survey Monkey® questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fishers Exact tests compared personnel demographics and oral health knowledge, confidence and practices at the p≤0.01 and 0.05 significance level. RESULTS: Response rate was 68%. WIC personnel were knowledgeable about basic oral health concepts. More than half of those reporting were not confident assessing for visual signs of dental decay and do not routinely assess for visual signs of decay. Only 4% of personnel apply fluoride therapy. CONCLUSION: Findings support the need for health promotion/disease prevention at WIC.

Barriers to adopting and implementing an oral health programme for managing early childhood caries through primary health care providers in Lima, Peru.

BACKGROUND: To identify barriers to participation in a primary oral health care programme aimed at preventing early childhood caries, as perceived by nurses. METHODS: Of a total of 140 randomly selected nurses employed in 40 government health centres in Lima, 123 completed a pre-tested questionnaire. Background variables were districts' 'socio-economic status' (SES) and 'years of experience'. Factor analysis was performed. ANOVA was applied for testing the influence of the background variables on the barrier factors. Chi-square test was applied to test for differences between single item barriers and the background variables. The Likert-scale (1-4) was used. RESULTS: There was no statistical significant effect of 'SES' or of 'years of experience' of nurses on any of the 7 barrier factors, nor on the 11 single item barrier factors. The highest mean score (3.81) was obtained for the barrier factor 'importance of oral health', followed by 'perceived responsibility' (3.44). The lowest mean score was (1.70) for 'knowledge on caries prevention'. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses consider oral health very important and are willing to participate actively in programmes aimed at reducing Early Childhood Caries, provided that they will be trained well and that the director and dentists of the health centre give their consent.

Performing oral health screenings on children.

This article describes ways to elicit the cooperation of a young patient while limiting fear and/or alarm, provides steps for performing a complete oral exam to evaluate the oral health of a child, and discusses reimbursement for the application of fluoride varnish.

Marfan syndrome teaching algorithm: does it make a difference?

Marfan Syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant, connective tissue disorder that is due to a deficiency in the structural protein, fibrillin. MFS patients are more likely to experience aortic aneurysms and dissections, dislocated lens, and/or severe musculoskeletal deformities than non-MFS patients. Attainment of a longer lifespan in MFS patients is directly dependent on vigilant blood pressure (BP) control, frequent cardiology surveillance, annual eye exams and frequent dental hygiene visits. This study evaluated the effect of a Marfan Syndrome Teaching algorithm (MFSTA) on 20 MFS patients, with regard to BP management, cardiovascular medication adherence; adherence to activity restrictions; and attendance at scheduled eye, cardiology and dental exams. This study demonstrated adherence improvement in the attendance at scheduled cardiology, ophthalmology, and dental exams from 50%, 55% and 70% prior to the study, respectively, to 95%, 90% and 100% post study. Furthermore, subject adherence with self-administration of ordered cardiovascular medications increased from 50% (pre-study) to 93.3% (93.3%), and subject adherence with activity restrictions escalated from 70% (pre-study) to 95% (post study). All subjects demonstrated proficiency in regular testing and recording of their blood pressure. There was no significant change in the mean systolic BP (SBP) for 13 of the subjects who had both pre- and post-intervention BP recording, although the post intervention SBP was slightly higher (p = 0.30). However all subjects in the intervention period demonstrated a mean SBP of 124.7 mm Hg, with standard deviation (SD) of 12.9 mm Hg. Limited pre-intervention BP readings of 7 subjects prevented a pre- and post-SBP comparison. The MFSTA model should be considered for other patient populations involving chronic cardiovascular healthcare conditions.

Nursing strategies to reduce the incidence of early childhood caries in culturally diverse populations.

In the United States, early childhood caries (ECC) is a major unmet health care need adversely affecting the overall health of young children from diverse ethnic populations. Nurses who work in the newborn nursery, pediatrics, public, and community health centers have a unique opportunity to positively influence a change in this epidemic of ECC. Guided by Leininger's theory of cultural care, these authors describe ways to implement a comprehensive culturally sensitive oral health education program for parents of newborns and infants. Interventions based on the best available evidence for oral health education, a culturally sensitive caries risk assessment, recommendations for fluoride varnish treatments, and ways for parents to establish a dental home for the infant by 12 months old are presented.

Early childhood caries: determining the risk factors and assessing the prevention strategies for nursing intervention.

Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease condition in childhood and involves the presence of one or more decayed (noncavitated or cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries), or filled teeth in children under 72 months of age (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, 2010a). ECC is a multifactorial disease that is preventable and requires intervention by the nurse. When teeth are discolored and damaged by dental caries, children may be reluctant to smile, have difficulty talking, miss school, or be unable to focus on studies due to dental pain. This "state of the science" article reviews the literature to determine the risk factors for ECC, assess the prevention strategies, and apply that information to enhance nursing practice. Computerized searches from MEDLINE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were used.

Rampant caries.

Although dental caries in the pediatric and adolescent population has consistently declined in the United States, it is still the most common childhood disease. Dental problems are the number one reason for missing school next to the common cold. Dental caries are an infectious, communicable disease resulting in destruction of tooth structure by acid-forming bacteria found in dental plaque, an intraoral biofilm, in the presence of sugar. The etiology of rampant disease is very complex. It is multifactorial and has a close relationship to a number of risk factors. It is important that school nurses identify patients at risk for dental caries early to determine their risk and refer them for disease prevention and control.

Salud bucal en pacientes asmáticos / Oral Health on asthmatic patients

Fundamento: La salud bucal como parte integrante y determinante de la salud general del hombre, nos obliga cada vez con mayor rigor y nivel científico a la búsqueda de diferentes vías y métodos para elevar la calidad de vida de la población. Objetivo: Establecer el riesgo de padecer caries dentales de los pacientes asmáticos. Métodos: Estudio de casos y controles no pareados, en el que los casos estuvieron constituidos por 100 niños seleccionados al azar simple del universo de niños asmáticos pertenecientes a los consultorios 7, 9, 10, 11, 43 y 44 del área II del municipio de Cienfuegos y los controles fueron seleccionados de igual forma del universo de niños no asmáticos de estos consultorios. Ambos grupos tenían edades de entre 6 y 15 años. Se realizaron visitas a las viviendas de los niños para el registro de la información mediante encuestas de salud bucodental y de conocimientos de salud bucal. Resultados: El índice cariados - perdidos -obturados en dientes permanentes de pacientes asmáticos es mayor (3,28) que el del grupo control (0,44). Los índices de higiene bucal y el nivel de conocimientos en ambos grupos no mostraron diferencias significativas. Los medicamentos más usados en la terapéutica del asma fueron el salbutamol y el ketotifeno, los cuales alteran el medio bucal. La razón de productos cruzados entre pacientes asmáticos y no asmáticos dio como resultado 4,9 veces más riesgo de presentar caries en el primer grupo. Todo lo anterior demuestra el riesgo de padecer caries dental que tiene el paciente asmático y la necesidad de realizar un programa de educación para la salud bucal de estos pacientes

DIVERSAS APLICACIONES CLINICAS DE LOS SELLANTES FOTOPOLIMERIZABLES

Con estas técnicas se restauran pequeñas o mínimas caries,. si en profundidad abarcan sólo el esmalte, se utiliza como material restaurador el sellante(finalidad restaurativa); las zonas adyacentes a la restauración, fisuras, surcos, puntos y fosas, también se previenen de futuras caries(finalidad preventiva).La lesiones cariosas dentinarias, que abarcan un área pequeña en extensión y profundidad, se restauran con una resina compuesta(Heliomolar) y las zonas que rodean dicha cavidad se previenen de caries secundarias con el uso del sellante.Es importante la selección del caso para realizar el tratamiento indicado.Antes de comenzar con el tratamiento debemos examinar muy bien la pieza en cuanto a tamaño y localización de la caries, porque lesiones grandes o de multisuperficies deben restaurarsepor métodos convencionales; las indicadas, son lesiones con superficie suplementaria

LEVANTAMIENTO ESTADISTICO DE CARIES EN NIÑOS DE EDAD ESCOLAR, YAMPARAEZ ZONA II

Se ha determinado, que los dientes permanentes más afectados por caries son:en el sexo masculino el segundo molar inferior izquierdo con el 37,0 por ciento.En el sexo femenino corresponde el primer molar inferior izquierdo con el 22,3 por ciento, Los dientes temporarios más vulnerables a la caries son:sexo masculino, el incisivo central superior derecho con el 42,5 por ciento, en el sexo femenino corresponde al incisivo central superior izquierdo con el 54,0 por ciento, En Molle puncu, se ha registrado el más elevado indice C P O con 2,4; mientras que el menor corresponde a sajphaya con 0,5, El indice c e o, más elevado corresponde a karama con 3,2; mientras que el más bajo corresponde a Sotomayor con 1,0