Dental health issues in child-care centers.

In 1996, the privately owned licensed child day-care facilities in West Virginia were surveyed by mail to determine the level of compliance with the oral health regulations set by the State Board of Health. The number of children enrolled in the 119 responding facilities ranged from three to 218. Of these, 63 percent included tooth-brushing in the children's daily schedule. The majority of respondents (72%) reported inviting dental health care providers to discuss dental health with the enrollees. However, it was less commor (29%) for dental care providers to address the child-care staff regarding children's dental health. Forty percent of respondents reported that children had sustained dental injuries while at their facility. Nearly one-half (46%) maintained a record of each child's dentist. These findings support the need for establishing partnerships between dental health care providers and child-care centers to initiate continuous dental health programs for enrollees and to develop periodic staff educational workshops that focus on children's dental health. This study was funded by the West Virginia University Dental Corporation.

Body piercing involving oral sites.

The authors present a case report on body piercing involving oral sites. Common locations and types of oral jewelry and piercing techniques are discussed. Oral considerations of intraoral piercing are emphasized.

Trends in continuing dental education: what's happening in the northeast region?

Historically, dentists have assumed the individual responsibility for staying abreast of innovations in the profession. Prior to 1985, only twelve U.S. dental licensing boards regulated or monitored the continuing education activities of dentists. Today, however, this number has more than doubled. This article examines continuing education regulations that are mandated by the state licensing boards which participate in the Northeast Regional Dental Board. Continuing dental education standards for dentists are examined with respect to minimum credit requirements, qualifying sources of credit, and methods of reporting and monitoring continuing education activity.

Minority female dentists: a synopsis.

This pilot study identified a group of minority female dentists who are relatively young to the dental profession. In general, these individuals are enthusiastic about a career in dentistry. Career contentment is evinced by the reported level of satisfaction with the dental profession, irrespective of educational indebtedness or annual income. Of those who are dissatisfied, it seems as if income and debt are not the primary areas of concern. These findings provide an impetus for a more comprehensive investigation of this emerging population of dentists.

A profile of women dentists.

This investigation examines female dentists' employment status, practice characteristics, annual income, job satisfaction, familial status, and relationships with colleagues and staff. A questionnaire was constructed using a yes/no response, short answer, and multiple choice format. The instrument was mailed to a random sample of 2,000 female dentists in September 1988. Fifty-four percent (1,086) of the sample population responded to the single mailing. More than 80% are satisfied with their dental career and current practice arrangement. The majority of these women described their working relationship with male and female colleagues and staff as excellent.

A nicked form of kinetoplast DNA in Leishmania tarentolae.

The mitochondrial DNA of the protozoan Leishmania tarentolae, known as kinetoplast DNA, contains thousands of minicircles linked in a two-dimensional network. When kinetoplast DNA from exponentially growing cells is centrifuged to equilibrium in a CsCl/ethidium bromide gradient, it is resolved into two discrete components, Form I and Form II. Nearly all of the minicircles in Form I networks are covalently closed and all of those in Form II networks are open. These forms are indistinguishable from each other when examined by electron microscopy and they appear identical when analyzed by gel electrophoresis after digestion with the restriction enzymes Hae III or Hpa II. However, Form II networks sediment roughly 50% faster than Form I networks on a neutral sucrose gradient, indicating that Form II networks are larger in size or more compact in conformation, or both. Analysis of denatured Form II DNA by sedimentation or electron microscopy indicates that nearly all of its minicircles have one or more interruptions in both strands. Since the majority of the Form II minicircles can be closed by DNA ligase, most of these interruptions must be nicks. Experiments with S1 nuclease indicate that some small gaps may also exist in Form II minicircles. 5'-Terminal nucleotide analysis of Form II kinetoplast DNA does not suggest that the interruptions are at specific locations in the minicircles. The significance of the two forms of kinetoplast DNA has not yet been determined, but it is possible that Form II is an intermediate in replication of this DNA.