Understanding the dental need and care during pregnancy: a review.
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This paper reviews the oral and dental lesions that are seen during pregnancy. Trimester approach should be adopted in the management of the pregnant patients. A good dental preventive programme is essential. The significance of prescribing fluoride supplements and the use of dental radiography during pregnancy is also briefly reviewed. (+info)
Controlling the cost of dental care.
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Methods for controlling dental care expenditures are taking on greater importance with the rapid increase in prepaid dental plans. The use of regulatory systems to monitor provider performance are necessary to prevent gross over-utilization but are unlikely to result in net savings of more than five per cent of total gross premiums. Theoretically, prepaid group dental practice (PGDP) may reduce expenditures by changing the mix of services patients receive. The modest estimated savings and the small number of PGDPs presently in operation limit the importance of this alternative for the next five to ten years. If substantial reductions in dental expenditures are to be obtained, it will be necessary to limit dental insurance plans to cover only those services which have demonstrated cost-effectiveness in improving health for the majority of people. The concept that richer benefit plans may have small marginal effects on improving oral health may not be easy for the public to accept but, until they do, expenditures for dental care will be difficult to control. (+info)
Unconventional dentistry: Part III. Legal and regulatory issues.
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This is the third in a series of 5 articles providing a contemporary overview and introduction to unconventional dentistry (UD) and its correlation to unconventional medicine (UM). UD presents issues of dental quackery, fraud and malpractice, and it also engenders professional concerns about public protection and professional risks. Case reports illustrate numerous issues. The reader is encouraged to evaluate the cases for problems related to malpractice, fraud, ethics, behaviours and professionalism. A discussion of ethical issues is beyond the scope of this paper. (+info)
Quality assessment of restorations in a population of school children.
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An index to measure quality of dental restorative care was devised and utilized on a population of 838 Caucasian school children in a large midwestern city. Quality was measured using a four-point scale. All restorations present were considered as part of the entire mouth. Quality was tested in relation to socioeconomic status. Based on this index the problem of poor quality dental restorations is significant and not necessarily related to socioeconomic status as represented by income or education. Evidence of high quality dentistry as evidenced by stainless steel crowns, space maintainers, and orthodontic appliances was limited to children whose families reported incomes over $6,000. Further use of this quality index is recommended to improve and refine measurements in the area of dental care. (+info)
It could only happen to a doctor--Haemophilus aphrophilus septicaemia complicated by a prevertebral infection after dental work.
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A 53 year old man presented with severe neck pain and a flu-like illness; he had recently returned from Sri Lanka and had had dental treatment six days before illness onset. Blood culture showed infection by Haemophilus aphrophilus. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed and exploratory surgery undertaken. The prevertebral cervical fascia was inflamed but no abscess identified. He was treated with antibiotics and made an uneventful recovery. (+info)
Dental attendance in 1998 and implications for the future.
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The 1998 survey of Adult Dental Health in the UK was carried out under the auspices of the Office of National Statistics together with the Universities of Birmingham, Dundee, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Wales. A key behavioural indicator in these decennial surveys is whether people say they go to a dentist for a regular dental check-up, an occasional dental check-up or only when they have trouble with their teeth. The proportion of dentate adults in the UK who report attending for regular dental check-ups has risen from 43% in 1978 to 59% in 1998. Older adults (over 55 years old) in 1998 were the most likely to say they attend for regular dental check-ups. Many younger adults (16-24) in 1998 said they went to a dentist less often than 5 years previously, they were also the least likely to say they attend for regular dental check-ups. Dental anxiety remains a problem for many dental patients but another factor of importance to many is their want to be involved in the treatment process and especially to be given an estimate of treatment costs. (+info)
Dental attitudes and behaviours in 1998 and implications for the future.
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The 1998 Adult Dental Health Survey included face to face interviews with participants to determine their dental attitudes and behaviours. This article considers reported oral hygiene practices, treatment choices, satisfaction with appearance of teeth, attitudes towards wearing dentures and how these have changed since previous surveys. Although overall there has been a steady improvement in dental health attitudes, adults from disadvantaged households are still lagging behind. This has implications for social equity. (+info)
Can dental attendance improve quality of life?
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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between reported dental attendance patterns and the public's perception of how oral health impacts on quality of life (QoL). METHOD: A national UK study involving a random probability sample of 2,668 adults. Respondents were interviewed in their homes about how oral health affects their QoL and about their dental attendance pattern. Responses were coded as oral health having a negative impact, positive impact or impact in general (either positive and/or negative) on QoL. RESULTS: The response rate was 70% with 1,865 adults participating in the study. 72% (1,340) reported that their oral health affected their QoL in general, 57% (1,065) reported that it had a positive effect, and 48% (902) that it had a negative effect. 61% (1,136) reported to have attended the dentist within the last year- 'regular attenders'. Bivaraite analysis identified association between perception of how oral health impacts on QoL and dental attendance pattern (P < 0.01). When socio-demographic factors (age, gender, and social class) were taken into account in the analysis, 'regular attenders' reported that oral health had greater impact in general on QoL (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.63) and, specifically, a greater positive impact (OR = 1.49, 95% CI=1.44, 1.77). CONCLUSION: Dental attendance is associated with perceptions of how oral health impacts on QoL, specifically enhanced life quality. This may have implications for understanding the health gain of regular dental attendance. (+info)