Objectives To find out the relationship between dental insurance and demand for dental care, the present study evaluated impact of insurance scheme on adults’ dental check-ups in a developing oral health care system. Methods The target population included adults in the city of Tehran where the only telecommunication company provides 90% of the 1.9 million households with a fixed telephone. Of the 1531 subjects who answered the phone call, 224 were outside the target age (under 18), 67 said that they never had visited a dentist, and 221 refused to respond, leaving 1019 subjects in the final sample. Each interview lasted 15 minutes and was carried out using a structured questionnaire with fixed and open-ended questions. Results 71% of the subjects reported having dental insurance and 16% having visited a dentist for a check-up; 55%, more women than men, reported having had a dental visit within the past 12 months. Conclusions The present results revealed the positive relationship between insurance and demand for dental care. Those having dental insurance were more likely to go to check-ups despite their generally low rate found in this country with a developing oral health care system. In such countries, health insurance schemes should therefore include obligatory regular dental check-ups to emphasize prevention-oriented dental care.

In a country with a low dentist-population rate dental attendance is positively related not only to insurance status, but also to gender and to level of education. Accordingly, dental insurance coverage should be expanded to facilitate access to dental care.

ObjectiveThe socioeconomic status (SES) is as a symbol of social determinants of health which has a dominant influence on population health. The purpose of this study was collecting, weighing, and determining the most relevant SES measurement items in Iran.ResultsThe SES health studies conducted in Iran was searched from 2007 to 2017. First, the SES items were categorized. Then, each item was weighed based on its reliability and generalizability. Finally, the necessity of items was determined, weighed, and ranked. This is the two-round Delphi technique. After weighing 57 SES items, 37 items were selected with ≥ 1 weight and classified in 7 categories. According to the Delphi evaluation, 15 items were identified ≥ 3.5 for measuring SES of Iranian households: household size, head of household education, head of household job, household monthly income, type of school that children attend, house ownership, local value of residence, number of rooms in the house, house area, personal computer/laptop, smart cell phone, 3D TV, dishwasher, microwave, and car ownership. The SES items for the present society are categorized in 7 domains. The items collected in this study have the most comprehension of all studies related to income, life facilities, and assets.

Objectives:Musculoskeletal problems (MSPs) are a major complication for practitioners in the field of dentistry. The present study is designed to define the prevalence of MSPs among Iranian dentists.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional survey conducted on 600 dentists. The questions were about demographic characteristics, headache, and physical problems of different parts of the body. Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis.Results:Of all dentists studied, 67.5% had physical problems. These MSPs were observed in neck (51.87%), wrist (92.96%), waist (11.11%), and shoulder (7.40%) of the practitioners. Some practitioners took leave of absence (18.52%), while others (7.40%) underwent medical care. There was a direct correlation between age (P = 0.0001), high body mass index (BMI; P = 0.021), total number of daily under-care patients (P = 0.002), and little physical activity (P = 0.0001) with MSPs.Conclusion:The prevalence of MSPs is very high among dentists. Awareness about preventive care is necessary for dentists. The dental curriculum also should address ergonomic issues for dental educators.

Objectives:Facial esthetics is an important part of the orthodontic treatment. Many cases frequently require premolar extraction, either for relief of crowding or for profile change. Supposedly, extraction provides some vertical reduction. This investigation challenges the clinical effects of such treatment protocols.Patients and Methods:This was a retrospective and quasi-experimental study. Records of 60 patients in their post-pubertal age were randomly selected for this study. The criteria for case selection were: Class II Division I malocclusion with either two upper or four upper and lower first premolars extraction. Patients were not vertical-sensitive type of face. Pre- and post-treatment X-rays were scanned and digitized with Dolphin V 10.0 software. The X-rays of both groups were compared based upon the following cephalometric measurements: Lower anterior facial height (LAFH), Me–PP, Pal-MeGe, LAFH/total anterior facial height (TAFH) × 100, upper anterior facial height (UAFH)/TAFH × 100, U6 to PP, L6 to MP, and U6D–PTV.Results:In the four bicuspid group, a statistically significant increase was observed in all measurements: 2.53 mm increase in LAFH (P ≤ 0.04), 2.92 mm increase in Me–PP (P ≤ 0.01), 0.65° increase in Pal-MeGe (P ≤ 0.02), 0.66° increase in LAFH/TAFH × 100 (P ≤ 0.01), 1.26 mm increase in U6 to PP (P ≤ 0.02), 1.96 mm increase in L6 to MP (P ≤ 0.002), and 3.06 mm increase in U6D–PTV (P ≤ 0.0001). But a decrease of 0.66° in UAFH/TAFH × 100 (P ≤ 0.01) was observed. In the two bicuspid group, a significant increase was generally recorded: 2.06 mm increase in LAFH (P ≤ 0.05), 1.19° increase in Pal-MeGe (P ≤ 0.02), 1.39 mm increase in L6 to MP (P ≤ 0.002), and 2.37 mm increase in U6D–PTV (P ≤ 0.004).Conclusions:The results of this study are indicative of no change in patient's facial height with bicuspid extraction. In fact, extrusive effect of all types of tooth movement mostly overcomes the benefits of “wedging effect concept.”