Advancing women, parity, and gender equity.

For centuries, society has called out for transformations to lift all of its members. While it may seem ordinary in our time for women to be dentists or dental educators, the path was neither always easy, nor has true equity been achieved. The modern transformation of dental education and dentistry creates the need for leaders to propose and develop concrete initiatives to advance the profession and benefit society. Areas to address that could lead to increased equity for women include career advancement, leadership opportunities, compensation, career satisfaction, research, and scholarly activity. Our analysis demonstrates that even though the number of full-time female faculty has increased during recent years, most positions (59.5%) at dental schools in the US are held by men (2018-2019). Males were also compensated at higher rates than their female counterparts, and female deans made 7% less in total compensation. Because disparities are evident in pay and academic pathways, new directions and strategies must be employed to ensure parity and gender equity. Facilitating the progress of women in organized dentistry requires efforts of dental academic institutions to invest resources and provide nurturing environments that promote professional performances and leadership skills for women, with these being priorities-considering the current trends that anticipate increased numbers of women in dental academia. All dentists bring their own experiences to the profession, making for rich depth and diversity. As a collective voice, we have a bright future. We can and will move forward together.

One-year effects of vitamin D and calcium supplementation on chronic periodontitis.

BACKGROUND: A previous study reported by this group found that patients in periodontal maintenance programs taking vitamin D and calcium supplementation had a trend for better periodontal health compared to patients not taking supplementation. The objective of the present study is to determine, for the same cohort of subjects, whether such differences persist over a 1-year period. METHODS: Fifty-one patients enrolled in maintenance programs from two dental clinics were recruited. Of these, 23 were taking vitamin D (≥400 IU/day) and calcium (≥1,000 mg/day) supplementation, and 28 were not. All subjects had at least two interproximal sites with ≥3 mm clinical attachment loss. For mandibular-posterior teeth, gingival index, plaque index, probing depth, attachment loss, bleeding on probing, calculus index, and furcation involvement were evaluated. Photostimulable-phosphor, posterior bitewing radiographs were taken to assess alveolar bone. Daily vitamin D and calcium intakes were estimated by nutritional analysis. Data were collected at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. RESULTS: Total daily calcium and vitamin D intakes were 1,769 mg (95% confidence interval, 1,606 to 1,933) and 1,049 IU (781 to 1,317) in the taker group, and 642 mg (505 to 779) and 156 IU (117 to 195) in the non-taker group, respectively (P <0.001 for both). Clinical parameters of periodontal health improved with time in both groups (P <0.001). When clinical measures were considered collectively, the differences between supplement takers and non-takers had the following P values: baseline (P = 0.061); 6 months (P = 0.049); and 12 months (P = 0.114). After adjusting for covariates, the P values for the effect of supplementation were as follows: baseline (P = 0.028); 6 months (P = 0.034); and 12 months (P = 0.058). CONCLUSIONS: Calcium and vitamin D supplementation (≤1,000 IU/day) had a modest positive effect on periodontal health, and consistent dental care improved clinical parameters of periodontal disease regardless of such supplements. Our findings support the possibility that vitamin D may positively impact periodontal health and confirm the need for randomized clinical trials on the effects of vitamin D on periodontitis.

Cross-sectional study of vitamin D and calcium supplementation effects on chronic periodontitis.

BACKGROUND: A low dietary intake of vitamin D and calcium hastens bone loss and osteoporosis. Because vitamin D metabolites may also alter the inflammatory response and have antimicrobial effects, we studied whether the use of vitamin D and calcium supplements affects periodontal disease status. METHODS: A cohort of 51 subjects receiving periodontal maintenance therapy was recruited from two dental clinics; 23 were taking vitamin D (>or=400 IU/day) and calcium (>or=1,000 mg/day) supplementation, and 28 were not taking such supplementation. All subjects had at least two interproximal sites with >or=3 mm clinical attachment loss. Daily calcium and vitamin D intake (from food and supplements) were estimated by nutritional analysis. The following clinical parameters of periodontal disease were recorded for the mandibular posterior teeth: gingival index, probing depth, cemento-enamel junction-gingival margin distance (attachment loss), bleeding on probing, and furcation involvement. Posterior photostimulable-phosphor bitewing radiographs were taken to determine cemento-enamel junction-alveolar crest distances (alveolar crest height loss). Data were analyzed with a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance. RESULTS: Compared to subjects who did not take vitamin D and calcium supplementation, supplement takers had shallower probing depths, fewer bleeding sites, lower gingival index values, fewer furcation involvements, less attachment loss, and less alveolar crest height loss. The repeated-measures analysis indicated that collectively these differences were borderline significant (P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: In these subjects receiving periodontal maintenance therapy, there was a trend for better periodontal health with vitamin D and calcium supplementation. More expanded longitudinal studies are required to determine the potential of this relationship.

Attitudes of dental hygiene students toward individuals with AIDS.

This study was undertaken to gain a better understanding of dental hygiene students' attitudes toward AIDS and homosexuals. Each respondent received a 500-word patient case vignette and two scales for recording impressions of the person described in the vignette. There were four vignettes, identical except that the portrayed individual's illness was identified as either AIDS or leukemia, and sexual preference as either homosexual or heterosexual. No differences in overall ratings on either scale were noted based on the patient's disease status or sexual preference or the interaction between sexual preferences with disease type. Similarly, neither scale displayed significant differences on any of the individual items based on the patient's sexual preference. There were, however, significant differences for several individual items on both scales based on the patient's disease type; students responded more negatively to individuals with AIDS. It appears, therefore, that the hygiene students displayed no bias toward homosexuals and only very minimal bias toward individuals with AIDS.

Visibility of trabecular structures in oral radiographs.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether alveolar trabecular bone is visible and quantifiable in projection radiographs. Radiographic changes in oral trabecular bone have been studied as possible indications of bone loss, but in some previous studies, observed structures have been attributed entirely to the endosteal surface. METHODS: Computed radiography (CR) images of human mandibles in molar and pre-molar regions were compared with simulations calculated from high-resolution computed-tomography (CT) and micro-CT volumes. By digitally editing the CT volumes, the simulations were separated into trabecular and cortical components. High-pass-filtered CR images revealed structural details of cortical and trabecular bone. RESULTS: Trabecular bone constitutes as much as 38% of the total alveolar bone, and accounts for most of the observed alveolar fine structure. Several morphological types of fine structure can be distinguished. The noise in filtered images appears to be a meaningful measure of trabecular bone. CONCLUSION: Trabecular bone is highly visible in intraoral radiographs.