Dental attendance patterns and oral hygiene habits of 5-year-old children in Athens and in south London.

This study compared the dental attendance patterns and oral hygiene habits of 5-year-old children in the London boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark with those in the municipality of Athens in the light of differing provision of oral health education. Questionnaires were sent to the parents of 384 children in London and 318 children in Athens who took part in a survey of dental health. Response rates of 51% and 53% respectively were obtained. More children visit the dentist in South London than in Athens, the difference being highly significant. In South London the majority of children visit every 6 months, whereas in Athens they only visit when they have toothache. More London children brush their teeth than Athens children, the difference being significant. Of those brushing in London, most brush twice daily. The above findings indicate marked differences in dental attendance patterns and oral hygiene habits, and this may be partly attributable to differences in the delivery of dental care and oral health education in the two countries.

Sociodemographic and dietary factors in relation to dental health among Greek adolescents.

In the context of a project aiming to assess risk factors affecting health status of Greek adolescents, 380 adolescents aged 12-17 years were randomly selected from two rural high schools of similar socioeconomic status, and from two urban schools of different socioeconomic level, namely urban/lower and urban/ higher. Dental examinations were carried out according to WHO diagnostic criteria; oral hygiene habits were recorded through personal interviews; and diet was assessed through interviewer-administered, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires. The percentage of caries-free adolescents varied from 24.3 in the age group of 12-13 years to 13.2 in the age group 16-17 years; mean (SE) DMFT values were 3.7 (0.3) in the younger age group and 5.9 (0.4) in the older age group whereas mean (SE) DMFS values were respectively 5.6 (0.5) and 9.9 (0.9). Multiple regression analysis-derived results showed that dental health, measured through either DMFT or DMFS indices, was significantly better among younger and male adolescents; among higher socioeconomic class urban residents; among those brushing their teeth at least once per day; and among those who had better school performance. There was evidence that intake of vegetables and milk products was associated with lower DMFS and DMFT indices, whereas there was a non-significant tendency for sugar intake to be associated with higher values of these indices. In contemporary Greek society there are substantial social inequalities with respect to dental health; these are due, in part, to differences in oral hygiene habits and patterns of dietary intakes. High risk groups should be identified among the underprivileged for targeted health education efforts and delivery of more intensive dental care services.

Caries prevalence of 5-year-old children in Athens and in South London.

This study compared the dental health of 5-year-old children in the London boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark with that in the municipality of Athens, Greece. Three hundred and eighty-four children were examined in London, and 318 in Athens; both samples had a mean age of 5 years 6 months. The proportion of London children who were caries free was 56%, and of Athens children 57.5%, and the mean dmft was 1.63 and 1.48, respectively; these differences were not statistically significant. However, excluding caries-free children from the analysis, the London children had significantly fewer decayed teeth (mean 2.35 compared with 2.93 in Athens) and significantly more missing teeth (mean 0.63 compared with 0.02), indicating marked differences in treatment patterns.

Oral health status of adult population in Athens, Greece.

An epidemiological study of dental caries, periodontal disease, and oral hygiene status in 736 employed adults aged 19-64 yr, was conducted in Athens, Greece. Dental caries was found to be prevalent, affecting almost the entire population examined. The mean DMFT values varied from 8.99 +/- 5.98 to 17.05 +/- 6.58 in different age groups. No difference was found in the mean DMFT values between sexes. Periodontal disease affected the 92.7% of the examined sample. The PI scores increased with age from 1.08 +/- 0.84 in the age group 19-24 yr to 3.7 +/- 1.84 in the age group 55-64 yr. Women showed lower PI index values than men but this difference was not statistically significant. The mean values of oral hygiene index varied from 1.60 +/- 1.05 to 1.97 +/- 1.42 in different age groups. Women presented better oral hygiene status than men and this difference was statistically significant for the younger age groups. Data concerning the toothbrushing frequency of the examined population are also presented. The results of this baseline study indicate that effective dental care is needed for the improvement of oral health status of the adult population.

[Oral health status and dental care of the elderly population]. / E katastase tes stomatikes ygeias kai e odontiatrike phrontida ton elikiomenon atomon.

There is a growing interest in the oral health status of older persons 65+ years as the size of this population increases and the percentage of edentulous persons decreases as a result of the prevention in younger ages. The provision of dental care in the elderly patient is basically the same as the care provided to other segments of the population. Yet there are problems related to their mental and physical health which should be taken into account. In this paper some information was given about the dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral mucosa diseases and tooth loss in the elderly population as well as about the dental treatment and prevention of dental services and the factors that affect it are referred. Further, some recommendations for the improvement of oral health of the elderly in Greece were done.

Dental caries prevalence in the permanent teeth in Greek schoolchildren related to age, sex, urbanization and social status.

An epidemiological study of caries experience in permanent teeth of 1739 schoolchildren aged 6-17 years was conducted in Epirus, a northwestern region of Greece. Dental caries was found to be prevalent in the population examined and to increase with age. The mean DMFT values at the ages of 6, 12 and 17 years were 0.53 +/- 1.13, 4.93 +/- 4.04 and 8.88 +/- 6.19 respectively, while the average DMFT value for the total population examined was 4.96 +/- 4.83. The percentages of the children with caries-free permanent dentitions were 80 per cent at the age of 6 years, 24 per cent at 12 years and 7 per cent at 17 years. The total percentage of caries-free children was 20 per cent. Girls were found to have a higher caries prevalence than boys in all age groups. Small differences in the caries prevalence were found between rural and urban children population. Children of lower socioeconomic levels exhibited slightly higher caries prevalence than children of higher levels. The results of this baseline study indicate that dental caries is a major problem in this region of Greece and therefore an active and effective programme of dental care is necessary for the child population.

Potential benefits of toothpaste advertising on dental health.

This paper considers the effect of advertising on the sales of various brands of toothpaste. It has attempted to investigate the relationship between the level of sales of a brand and those of its competitors. Econometric estimations of the demand-function for toothpaste have been made and the authors have tried to determine the interrelationships between advertisement and toothpaste sales. The findings cast doubt upon the efficiency of the present system of competitive advertisement and suggest a possible alternative approach to the marketing of toothpaste which could increase sales and, at the same time, beneficially influence dental health.

Patterns of fluoride distribution on the surface of a tooth fragment after clinical treatment with fluoride gel.

This paper describes site-to-site variations in fluoride concentration in the surface region of a tooth fragment sent from a patient who, following radiation therapy, had been repeatedly treated with fluoride gel. The fluoride content of the tooth surface was determined with the intention of establishing the extent to which the treatment had enhanced the fluoride content of the tooth surface. The work illustrates the difficulties in the choice of a suitable sampling site and the importance of adopting a suitable sampling technique. It highlights, once again, some of the problems encountered in attempting to interpret analytical data about fluoride levels in tooth surfaces.

Dental caries and strontium concentration in drinking water and surface enamel.

We investigated the possible cariostatic effect of strontium in the absence of effective amounts of fluoride by relating the DMFT index of the population to the strontium and fluoride concentrations in drinking water and enamel surfaces. The epidemiological survey was conducted in two neighboring districts in the northwest part of Greece, involving 582 children ranging in age from 11 to 14. The average DMFT values were 5.26 in the high-strontium (2.9-7 ppm Sr) area and 6.95 in the low-strontium (0.2-1.3 ppm Sr) area, while fluoride was low (less than 0.06 ppm) in both districts. Further, the average strontium concentration in surface enamel was higher in the high-strontium area.

A study of in vivo fluoride uptake by dental tissues from fluoride-containing silver amalgams.

Teeth to be extracted for orthodontic reasons were filled in vivo with regular and fine-cut silver amalgams containing 1% and 5% SnF2. The teeth were extracted after 15 or 30 d, and the in vivo fluoride release and uptake by the dental tissues were studied using an electron microprobe analysis technique. The obtained results show that the use of SnF2 silver amalgams can be of potential value for minimizing caries adjacent to dental restorations.

A laboratory evaluation of fluoride dentifrices used in Greece.

A laboratory investigation of the fluoride dentifrices commonly used in Greece was done in order to evaluate their caries-preventive potential. The evaluation was based on the determination of the free ionic fluoride and the total soluble fluoride present by a potentiometric fluoride electrode technique. Dentifrices containing MFP, NaF and AlF3 were analyzed. The measured total soluble and free ionic fluoride content were discussed in conjunction with the various dentifrice components. Most of the examined dentifrices were MFP type and the free ionic fluoride was found to vary from 130 to 180 parts/10(6) F-.