Relationship between C-reactive protein level and periodontitis and systemic diseases.

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis affects systemic disease risk, although the relationship thereof in the context of different C-reactive protein (CRP) levels is not clear. This study investigated the association of periodontitis with systemic diseases according to high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) level and sought to identify the risk of systemic diseases in patients with periodontitis. METHODS: We used data from the seventh (2016-2018) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In a total of 16,489 subjects, the hs-CRP group was classified into the hs-CRP low-risk group and the hs-CRP high-risk group. Propensity score matching (PSM) is used for 1:1 matching of confounding variables (e.g., age, gender, income, and education) between hs-CRP low-risk and hs-CRP at-risk groups to analyze the final 5316 subjects. The association between general characteristics and prevalence of systemic diseases was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-squared test. The associations between hs-CRP level and systemic and periodontitis were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Within the hs-CRP group, the presence of periodontitis was associated with a significantly increased prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and stroke. In the hs-CRP risk group, periodontitis significantly increased the risk of hypertension and diabetes mellitus by 2.1 and 2.4 times, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of periodontitis significantly increases the prevalence of systemic diseases and more so in individuals with higher hs-CRP levels. This indicates the significance of maintaining oral health in reducing the risk of systemic diseases.

Development and evaluation of simulation-based scenario education program for professional oral hygiene care in intubated patient.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to develop a professional oral hygiene care (POHC) simulation education program for intubated patients and to evaluate the suitability of education by evaluating the performance confidence (PC), critical thinking disposition (CT), and learning satisfaction (LS) of dental hygiene students. METHODS: This study developed a POHC simulation education program (theory, skill training, scenario education, and debriefing) for intubated patients through expert validation and consisted of a single-group pre- and postexperiment design. The subjects were 3rd and 4th year students at the Department of Dental Hygiene in Wonju City, and a total of 30 people were enrolled. The collected data were analyzed using the PASW Statistics version 23.0. The content validity test was measured by the CVI (Content validity index) value, and the PC, CT, and LS of the subjects before and after participating in the program were analyzed using a paired t-test. The significance level (α) was based on .05. RESULTS: After the program, the PC improved from 4.29 ± 0.43 to 4.54 ± 0.44, and there was a significant difference (p = .004). CT improved from 3.73 ± 0.36 to 3.84 ± 0.36, but there was no significant difference (p = .062), and prudence improved from 4.21 ± 0.33 to 4.43 ± 0.27, and there was significant difference. (p = .001). LS increased from 4.66 ± 0.36 to 4.90 ± 0.16 after education, and there was a significant difference (p = .002). CONCLUSION(S): Simulation education program improved dental hygiene students' POHC performance confidence. Various scenarios will need to be developed in the future, and it is necessary to evaluate simulation education within the dental hygiene curriculum and identify areas for improvement.

Occupational hazards among dental hygienists: Risk level assessment of scaling work.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to classify occupational hazards of ultrasonic scaling by factor and to identify the distribution of occupational risk levels of the study participants according to occupational hazards. In addition, the relationship between the general characteristics of dental hygienists and the occupational risk level of scaling was investigated. METHODS: This study was conducted on 237 dental hygienists. Exposure frequency and the degree of work loss were investigated on a five-point scale for each of the 15 occupational hazards of scaling. RESULTS: Among occupational hazards, the proportion of high-risk individuals for biological hazards (32.9%) was the highest. Dental clinics (33.6%) were found to have a higher proportion of high-risk individuals than dental hospitals (16.5%) (p < 0.05). The proportion of high-risk individuals was higher in the absence of an infection control coordinator (33.9%) (p < 0.05) and infection control education in the preceding 2 years (28.6%) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: To create a safe dental work environment, appropriate measures according to the risk level and measurement of occupational risk should be discussed.

Differences in Korean adult inpatients' oral care behaviour in daily life and hospitals.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to identify the differences in oral care methods between current and past hospitalizations and to investigate the need for inpatient oral care education for South Korean adults who have been hospitalized for more than 24 h. METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional design. Between 23 December 2019 and 4 May 2020, a questionnaire was administered to 200 adult inpatients awaiting treatment and their guardians at university hospitals or clinics. Of these, the data of 195 patients were analysed. Frequency analysis, descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used for data analysis. RESULTS: In daily life, the participants reported brushing their teeth thrice a day (52.3%) for 2 min (60%). A single product was the most used (51.3%). During hospitalization, 40% of the participants brushed their teeth thrice or more a day, 84.1% brushed for <1 min, and 83.6% did not use additional oral care products. CONCLUSIONS: Differences were observed between South Korean adults' oral care behaviours in daily life and those performed in hospitals. Oral hygiene habits, the frequency and duration of tooth brushing, and the use of oral care products decreased during hospitalization. Our findings can be applied to the development of oral care interventions for inpatients, while considering changes in the hospitalization environment and physical activity levels during hospitalization.

Learning outcomes of a mobile application for dental infection control education.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to apply and verify the effectiveness of a mobile-based dental infection control education application to enable students majoring in dental hygiene to learning dental infection control education without time and space constraints. METHODS: This study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design to examine differences in learning outcomes between an experimental group that learned through the mobile application and a control group that learned with handouts. The Infection Prevention and Control Mobile Application (IPC App) and handouts were developed by referring to the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control in Dental Settings. Both the experimental and control groups were guided to perform self-regulated learning, where they independently led and managed their learning for two weeks. The study was conducted at the D university college with 42 students from the second grade in the Department of Dental Hygiene from August to October 2021. Differences in knowledge, self-efficacy, and summative evaluation were analyzed using an independent sample t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The findings confirmed that the experimental group who learned through the IPC mobile application had improved their knowledge and indicated a higher summative evaluation than the control group that learned via learning documents (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Owing to the high accessibility and repeatability of the learning content, the mobile application recommended in this study may serve as an effective self-directed learning tool for students to gain knowledge on the standard precautions for dental infection control.

The Effect of Professional Oral Care on the Oral Health Status of Critical Trauma Patients Using Ventilators.

BACKGROUND: Oral care reduces the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. In addition, it is important that critically ill patients to maintain their oral health in order to restore their quality of life and to receive adequate nutrition after recovery. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of professional oral hygiene care (POHC) on the oral health status of patients using a ventilator. METHODS: Fifty-seven ventilated trauma patients were admitted to a tertiary medical institution. For 5 days, the dental hygienist performed POHC every 24 h along with routine oral hygiene care (ROHC) every 8 h for the experimental group (Exp.) (n = 29), whereas only ROHC was provided the control group (Cont.) (n = 28). Oral health status was evaluated using a modified bedside oral exam (MBOE). RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the total MBOE score up to 48 h after admission. However, the difference between the two groups was significant for MBOE (F = 16.10, p = 0.000), gingiva (F = 6.02, p = 0.018), buccal mucosa (F = 4.21, p = 0.046), and dental plaque score after 72 h (F = 13.15, p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: This study confirms the importance of POHC in improving the oral health.

Differences in Determinants Influencing Self-Rated Oral Health in Korean and American Adults.

This study aims to identify the differences in the determinants that influence self-rated oral health (SROH) among Korean and American adults aged 20 years or older and the differences in objective oral health status between Korea and the United States. It included 13,068 Koreans and 5569 Americans who participated in the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. All analyses were conducted using the SPSS 25 program. The 39% of Koreans and 27.7% of Americans rated their oral health as "poor". The mean SROH score was lower in Korea (2.66) than in the US (3.15). Conversely, objective oral health was better among Koreans. Further, an analysis of the differences in the predictors of SROH between the two countries confirmed that there were significant differences in age, household income, education level, insurance type (none), type of smoking, self-rated health, and decayed teeth index. Government-led projects or policy-based changes that can improve objective oral health status are needed to boost SROH in Korea, and subsequent studies should examine other objective oral health indices (e.g., periodontal disease) as well as differences in sociocultural backgrounds between countries.

The influence of professional oral hygiene care on reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia in trauma intensive care unit patients.

Aim This study aimed to examine the effects of professional oral hygiene care for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and the improvement of oral hygiene among patients in the trauma intensive care unit (TICU).Materials and methods TICU patients who underwent intubation were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 29) or control group (n = 28). The developed professional oral hygiene care protocol was administered to patients in the experimental group every 24 hours. Additionally, data regarding general characteristics, medical history, oral hygiene status, Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were assessed.Results The incidence of VAP differed between the control group (10.58) and experimental group (0) post intervention. Post-admission bedside oral exam scores with significant differences in oral hygiene were observed in the experimental group (in contrast to the control group) from 48 hours onwards (10.69 ± 3.43, p = 0.06). Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited significant differences in count as professional oral hygiene care continued.Conclusions This study suggests a model in which different health care professionals can cooperate to reduce the incidence of VAP and improve oral health conditions.

Detection of nosocomial pneumonia pathogens using a fluorescence-based device.

BACKGROUND: Early detection of nosocomial pneumonia pathogens is a significant factor in hospital-acquired pneumonia care. This study aimed to determine the autofluorescence properties of five nosocomial pneumonia pathogens using a fluorescence-based device and to establish evidence for clinical guidelines. METHODS: The following bacterial strains were assessed: Acinetobacter baumannii (AB), Escherichia coli (EC), Enterococcus faecalis (EF), Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP), and Staphylococcus aureus (SA). The bacteria were cultured separately on tryptic soy agar at 37 °C under aerobic conditions for 168 h. Fluorescence photographs of each species were captured every 24 h using a fluorescence-based device with fixed camera settings. The images were analyzed by measuring the red and green values (R/G ratio) at a central point in each colony, and the R/G ratios were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. RESULTS: KP and SA showed red fluorescence with their R/G values, which were significantly higher than those of the other strains (p < 0.001). In particular, the R/G ratio of KP increased steadily until 72 h of incubation, peaking at 3.65. In addition, AB and EC showed orange fluorescence with higher red ratios than green ratios. EF and SA showed green fluorescence all through 168 h of incubation, with R/G ratio less than 1.0. CONCLUSIONS: Nosocomial pneumonia pathogens can be identified and classified via bacterial autofluorescence emission. It is possible to develop a rapid and easy-to-use identification technology based on bacterial autofluorescence for clinical applications.

Oral health status of inpatients with varying physical activity limitations in rehabilitation wards: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: Poor oral hygiene can be potentially life-threatening in inpatients. However, no basic protocol on oral hygiene customized for inpatients exists, and lack of oral care related knowledge, attitude, and skills among caregivers could be detrimental to the general health of patients. This study sought to identify the oral care practices and oral health status of inpatients with varying physical activity limitations in a rehabilitation ward.Sixty-one inpatients in a rehabilitation ward were evaluated for their medical and physical conditions and oral health status. These were assessed using the bedside oral exam, decayed, missing, filled teeth index, plaque index, gingival index, and caries activity test.In total, 40 men and 21 women (mean age, 56.6 years) were included in this study. Among them, 50.8% of the patients could brush their teeth unassisted, whereas 49.2% required assistance from an assistant for oral care. The proportion of patients receiving nasogastric tube feeding was higher in the group that could not provide oral self-care; 36.7% and 33.3% of these patients showed moderate and severe dysfunction, respectively, based on bedside oral exam. Scores for the swallowing, tongue, and total domains of bedside oral exam were poorer for patients who could not provide oral self-care (P < .01). The caries activity test indicated a moderate risk for both groups.Our findings suggest that an oral care protocol that considers the physical activity limitations in inpatients in rehabilitation wards is necessary to minimize negative influences on the systemic health of these patients.

Development of a competency for professional oral hygiene care of endotracheally-intubated patients in the intensive care unit: development and validity evidence.

BACKGROUND: Professional oral care in the intensive care unit may reduce the incidence of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, which increases the patient's mortality rate. This study aimed to develop a competency for professional oral hygiene care of endotracheally-intubated intensive-care patients. METHODS: First, we developed a competency draft by reviewing the literature on oral hygiene care of patients in the intensive care unit. Next, we developed expert validity test questionnaires using this draft and conducted expert validity tests twice on 18 experts. We determined competency as a content validity index of 0.8 or more and received expert additive opinions about competency through an open-questionnaire expert validity test paper in this methodology study. RESULTS: The content validity index ranged from 0.8 ~ 1.0 for all items. The competency of 'professionalism' comprised 2 sub-competencies with 7 behavioral indicators. 'POHC preparation' comprised 3 sub-competencies with 10 behavioral indicators. 'POHC implementation' comprised 3 sub-competencies with 6 behavioral indicators. 'POHC evaluation' comprised 2 sub-competencies with 8 behavioral indicators. Lastly 'Cooperation among experts' comprised 3 sub-competencies with 7 behavioral indicatiors. CONCLUSIONS: To provide patients with high quality oral hygiene care, these competencies should be implemented, and oral hygiene care professionals and related medical personnel should form a cooperative system.

Measuring workplace violence for clinical dental hygienists.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and assess a tool for measuring violence experienced by clinical dental hygienists in the workplace. METHODS: The basic questionnaire used in this study was created by referring to previous studies, the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) and the Workplace Bullying in Nursing-Type Inventory (WPBN-TI). The content feasibility was verified by ten experts in the field, and irrelevant questions were deleted, based on a content validity index value of 0.8. This study surveyed 205 clinical dental hygienists to test the tool's validity and reliability. Frequency analysis was conducted on items related to general characteristics and workplace violence. RESULTS: The questionnaire set was 31 questions, which, comprised five domains, were finalized through reliability verification. These domains were verbal attacks and alienation (9 questions), inappropriate work experiences (6 questions), physical threats (4 questions), workplace sexual harassment (6 questions) and verbal violence (6 questions) from patients and their family members. Among the study participants, 47.3% said they received rude signals from others, 17.9% said they were subjected to sexual evaluations regarding their appearance, and 29.4% said their abilities were ignored by patients and family members of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical dental hygienists have been exposed to various types of violence in their workplaces, such as sexual and verbal harassment, by patients and their family members. This tool can be used in the dental setting to conduct surveys on workplace violence and establish a monitoring and support system.

Association between sleep habits and symptoms of oral disease in adolescents: the 2017 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between sleep habits and oral disease symptoms in adolescents. METHODS: Among 62,276 adolescents who participated in the 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2017), we selected a total of 54,766 adolescents (age, 12-18 years; male, 49.9%) for the final analysis, after excluding those who did not report their sleep duration. The 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey data were obtained from a stratified, multistage, clustered sample. Independent variables included general characteristics, oral health behavior, sleep types, sleep duration, and sleep quality; dependent variables comprised oral disease symptoms. Sleep was categorized according to bedtime astype A (bedtime < 1 a.m.) and type B (bedtime ≥ 1 a.m.). Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: After adjusting for all covariates, adolescents with type A sleep had a higher risk of toothache on chewing (OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.15) than adolescents with type B. Adolescents who slept for 6 h or less each night had a higher risk of pain in the tongue and buccal mucosa (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.18-1.54), gingival pain, and bleeding (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.19-1.45) than those who slept for more than 8 h. Adolescents with low quality of sleep had a higher risk of toothache or throbbing (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.60-1.81), toothache on chewing (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.65-1.82), and halitosis (OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.41-1.59) than those with high quality of sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that some oral symptoms are related to sleep duration and quality. It is essential to inculcate good sleeping habits in adolescents by emphasizing the effects of inadequate sleep duration and quality.

Oral health care provided by nurses for hospitalized patients in Korea.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate registered nurses' awareness and implementation of oral health care in patients who are hospitalized in general wards or intensive care units (ICUs) in South Korea. METHODS: This research was performed as a descriptive survey of 149 nurses working in nine general hospitals with at least 100 beds in major Korean cities. RESULTS: Approximately half (40.9%) of the survey respondents reported providing oral health care for hospitalized patients but that relevant protocols were not available at most hospitals or wards (89.5%). Nurses working in an ICU were significantly more likely to provide oral health care than those working in general wards (83.9% vs 15.1%; P < .001). Most respondents (83.2%) were aware of the importance of providing oral health care for hospitalized patients; however, the proportion considering that such care should be provided by dental hygienists was greater than that considering it should be provided by nurses (36.4% vs 26.0%; P < .001). Agreement that oral health care should be provided for hospitalized patients by dental hygienists was highest in nurses working in ICUs (53.3%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: According to this survey, oral healthcare provision is generally low in hospitalized patients and differs between ICUs and general wards. Most respondents considered that dental hygienists should provide oral health care for hospitalized patients. There is an opportunity for nurses and dental hygienists to work collaboratively towards development of an evidence-based protocol for oral health care in hospitalized patients.

Relationships between dental hygienists' work environment and patient safety culture.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety culture is a core factor in increasing patient safety, is related to the quality of medical service, and can lower the risk of patient safety accidents. However, in dentistry, research has previously focused mostly on reporting of patient safety accidents. Dental professionals' patient safety culture must therefore first be assessed, and related factors analyzed to improve patient safety. METHODS: This cross-sectional study completed a survey on 377 dental hygienists working in dental settings. To assess patient safety culture, we used a survey with proven validity and reliability by translating the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS) developed by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) into Korean. Response options on all of the items were on 5-point Likert-type scales. SPSS v21 was used for statistical analysis. The relationships between workplace factors and patient safety culture were examined using t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests(p < 0.05). RESULTS: The work environment of dental hygienists has a close relationship with patient safety. Dental hygienists working ≥40 h/week in Korea had a significantly lower for patient safety grade than those working < 40 h/week. When the number of patients per day was less than 8, the safety level of patients was significantly higher. And significant differences were found depending on institution type, institution size. CONCLUSIONS: In order to establish high-quality care and patient safety system practical policies must be enacted. In particular, assurance in the quality of work environment such as sufficient staffing, appropriate work hours, and enough rest must first be realized before patient safety culture can easily be formed.

Differences in plantar pressure by REBA scores in dental hygienists.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to analyse the effects of working posture, physical balance and work accumulation on shifts in plantar pressure in dental hygienists, by measuring REBA, which evaluates working posture, and plantar pressure, which evaluates physical balance. METHODS: This study was conducted on 24 dental hygienists currently working in dental clinics. The ergonomic assessment method of the Rapid Entire Body Assessment was used to evaluate working posture in the dental hygienists, and a Gait Analyzer was used to measure plantar pressure. RESULTS: The subjects' mean REBA score was 4.96 ± 1.04 points, and 87.5% of the subjects showed poor working posture, with a REBA score of at least four points. Among subjects with a REBA score of four points or more, seven of the eight parts of the sole of the foot showed significant differences in plantar pressure between the right and left feet (P < 0.05). When we examined changes in plantar pressure over a week, pressure increased on the left side, and in particular, for subjects with a REBA score of four points or higher, pressure increased in the left foot and in the anterior right foot. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the dental hygienists in this study showed poor posture during working. Subjects with poor posture at a level requiring intervention showed differences in plantar pressure between the right and left feet. Inappropriate posture can cause musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, it will be necessary to prepare internal and external measures to maintain proper working posture in dental hygienists, including education, exercise, improvement of the working environment and improvement of ergonomic equipment and devices.