Paediatric periodontal screening methods in undergraduate dental schools.

Introduction: Many forms of periodontal diseases affect children and adolescents. The simplified basic periodontal examination (BPE) is a screening tool for children aged seven to 17, which enables early recognition of such diseases. This study aims to investigate and compare methods of periodontal health assessments in the 'under-18s' across dental schools in the UK. Materials and method: A web-based questionnaire was issued via email to teaching members of staff in each of the 16 undergraduate dental universities across the UK. Results: Out of the 16 correspondents, ten universities completed the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 63%. All respondents were aware of methods of periodontal screening for children and adolescents such as the simplified BPE. All universities taught and used the 'simplified BPE'. The majority of universities started paediatric clinics in year three and carried out practical periodontal assessments in children aged seven and above, at first visit and at recall. Discussion and conclusion: All UK dental schools were aware of, taught and used the simplified BPE as a method of periodontal assessment. Most universities seemed to comply with the guidelines being implemented.

External nasal dilator strips do not affect treadmill performance in subjects wearing mouthguards.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of the Breathe Right (BR) external nasal dilator strip on treadmill exercise performed while wearing an upper maxillary mouthguard. DESIGN AND SETTING: Two-way repeated-measures design with subjects acting as their own controls. Subjects performed 2 randomly assigned bouts of incremental treadmill exercise (with and without the BR strip) while wearing upper maxillary mouthguards. SUBJECTS: Nineteen young, healthy, recreationally active men. MEASUREMENTS: we assessed subjective nasal patency levels at rest. We also recorded heart rate, dyspnea rating, and treadmill speed at 2 submaximal exercise levels and at volitional fatigue. RESULTS: Subjective nasal patency was significantly increased with the strip. Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed a significant main effect of the BR strip on dyspnea ratings during exercise, but there was no effect of the strip on test duration, heart rate, or running speed during the tests. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the BR nasal dilator strip does not affect treadmill exercise performance in subjects wearing mouthguards.