Family's socioeconomic and demographic factors on elements of children's dental and oral health: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Family plays a significant role in children's dental and oral health (DOH) elements, such as children's DOH knowledge and practice, the development of children's dental fear and anxiety (DFA), children's dental visits, and children's DOH status. The study aims to address the interrelationship of these elements based on individual and familial socioeconomic and demographic (SED) attributes. METHODS: Given the possibility that the COVID-19 epidemic might alter oral health and disrupt dental care, a systematic literature search from the Scopus and Web of Science library database was limited to the 2017-2019 peer-reviewed published literature, which includes quantitative studies that investigated at whether SED status contributed to children's DOH elements. Four sets of keywords are combined in both library database literature searches. Using the PRISMA-ScR Checklist as a reference, we conduct this scoping review. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies were included. Studies were from Brazil, Iran, China, India, Indonesia, Peru, Portugal, and UK. The socioeconomic characteristics include parental education, income, employment, assets and home ownership, type of residence, and health insurance coverage. The demographic characteristics include parent's age, children's age, the number of family members, and family type. There were 13 studies observing parent's education, seven examining family income, four identifying parental employment, three measuring family assets, six assessing the type of residence, and one recording health insurance coverage. Few studies assessed socioeconomic proxies such as school type, free school lunches, and social networks. In addition, race, the number of household members, the number of children, and family type were measured in at least one of the literature. CONCLUSION: Family SED characteristics may define a pathway to children's DOH elements.

Integrating New Prehistoric Palaeopathological Finds from Hungary.

Eight newly identified pathological animal remains identified in two Middle Neolithic assemblages (ca 5330-4940 calBC) in northern and western Hungary were placed within the broader context of relevant prehistoric finds. The aim was to understand the underrepresented Middle Neolithic finds in light of the better-known cases from other prehistoric periods. The newly reported cases include arthritic and inflammatory lesions, as well as dental disorders, such as linear enamel hypoplasia, recognized for the first time in the Hungarian Neolithic. Identifications were based on bone macromorphology. When large samples are available, the frequencies of pathological bone specimens reflect the taxonomic composition. Along with the increasing number of cases, longevity related to exploitation for secondary products also became manifest. Therefore, the effects of assemblage size, disease classification and differences between authors (related to training and the time of publication) need to be considered before pathological lesions can be interpreted in terms of diachronic changes in animal husbandry.

Primary oral manifestation of Langerhans cell histiocytosis refractory to conventional therapy but susceptible to BRAF-specific treatment: a case report and review of the literature.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We report on a rare case of its primary oral manifestation that was treated successfully with the BRAF-specific agent, vemurafenib, after insufficient standard LCH treatment. This case underlines the importance of proper diagnosis and the evaluation of targeted therapy as a valuable tool in LCH treatment. Furthermore, the close collaboration of surgeons, oncologists, and dentists is mandatory to ensure adequate treatment, restore the stomatognathic system in debilitating post-treatment situations, improve quality of life, and ensure effective disease control in infants and young patients.

Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of educational interventions on dental and oral health promotion in Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Dental and oral health is a core component of general health and well-being. Few aspects of health are as accessible to personal control as oral hygiene which can be improved by simple behavioral changes. In recent years, dentists in the field of oral and dental health improvement have been research doing for measurement of validity and efficiency of available educational interventions. In this regard, meta-analysis integrates the results of different studies then determines the effect size of educational interventions. This study seeks to investigate the effective educational interventions on improving oral and dental health improvement in Iran by following the meta-analysis model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present research was a meta-analysis study. This research by using the technique of meta-analysis to integrate the results of different studies, to determine the effect size of an educational intervention on improving oral and dental health improvement in Iran. Seventeen studies accepted in methodology were collected in Iran during 2001-2018, and analyzed through meta-analysis. The research tool was meta-analysis checklist. Effect size for each study was manually calculated. RESULTS: The study findings showed that the rate of the effect size of educational intervention on Improving Oral and Dental Health Improvement in Iran was 0.62 (P ≤ 0.008) which according to Cohen's table was intermediate. CONCLUSION: Findings of this meta-analysis support of the effectiveness of educational interventions on improving oral and dental health improvement in Iran. It seems that the educational interventions on improving dental and oral health can be used as a method for improving oral and dental health in Iran.

Medically important biofilms and non-thermal plasma.

In recent decades, the non-thermal plasma, i.e. partially or completely ionized gas produced by electric discharges at ambient temperature, has become of interest for its microbiocidal properties with potential of use in the food industry or medicine. Recently, this interest focuses not only on the planktonic forms of microorganisms but also on their biofilms. The works in this interdisciplinary field are summarized in this review. The wide range of biofilm-plasma interactions is divided into studies of general plasma action on bacteria, on biofilm and on its oral and dental application; a short overview of plasma instrumentation is also included. In addition, not only biofilm combating but also an important area of biofilm prevention is discussed. Various DC discharges of the point-to-plane type. Author's photograph, published in Khun et al. (Plasma Sources Sci Technol 27:065002, 2018).

Knowledge and Practices Related to Hepatitis B Infection among Dental and Oral Hygiene Students at a University in Pretoria.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and practices of dental and oral hygiene (OH) students related to the transmission and prevention of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical design was used and all dental and OH students registered at a university in Pretoria in 2017 were asked to participate. Students were classified as either clinical (senior students who were treating patients) or nonclinical (junior students who had not yet started treating patients) depending on their year of study. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire consisting of 16 closed-ended and 4 open-ended questions relating to the students' knowledge and practice concerning HBV infection was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. All data were confidential and anonymity was ensured. RESULTS: A total of 292 (78%) students agreed to participate, and of these, 70% were female. The average age was 21.78 years (±2.7) and almost two-thirds (61%) were classified as clinical students. A significant number of nonclinical students reported that the HBV could be transmitted through saliva (P < 0.01), through shaking hands (P < 0.01) and from sharing a toothbrush (P = 0.02) with an infected person. Clinical students correctly reported that HBV could be spread during the birth process from mother to child (P = 0.03). A significant number of nonclinical students stated that they would use antibiotics to prevent the spread of HBV infection (P < 0.01). The majority of respondents (94%) stated that vaccinations should be taken to prevent infection with HBV and >90% of students reported having completed the vaccination schedule. CONCLUSION: Although both the knowledge on the virus and the modes of transmission were very good, more than half did not know that HBV infection can be transmitted through piercing and more than half of the nonclinical students wrongly reported that antibiotics can be used to prevent infection after exposure. The vast majority were vaccinated against HBV.