The geriatric population, especially those in aged care homes, is a special need group because of their inability to access dental care rather than some particular feature of their oral or general health The findings of the present study point to a need to improve access to oral healthcare for this elderly population.
Despite the favourable result of Willems' method in comparison with Demirjian's method, this study demonstrated a high correlation coefficient between both chronological and obtained dental age, thus confirming their potential applicability in clinical practice and forensic dentistry.
Recent research has emphasized the relationships between environmental and individual factors that may influence population oral health and lead to health inequalities. However, little is known about the effect of interactions between environmental and individual factors on inequalities in clinical (e.g., decayed teeth) and subjective oral health outcomes (e.g., oral health-related quality of life [OHQoL]). This cohort study aimed to explore the direct and mediated longitudinal interrelationships between key environmental and individual factors on clinical and subjective oral health outcomes in adults. Self-reported measures of OHQoL and individual (sense of coherence [SOC], social support, stress, oral health beliefs, dental behaviors, and subjective socioeconomic status [SES]) and environmental factors (SES and social network) were collected at baseline and 3-mo follow-up, together with a baseline clinical examination of 495 adult employees of an automobile parts manufacturer in India. Lagged structural equation modeling was guided by the adapted Wilson and Cleary/Brunner and Marmot model linking clinical, individual, and environmental variables to quality of life. The study provides tentative evidence that SES may influence levels of resources such as social support and SOC, which mediate stress and in turn may influence subjective oral health outcomes. Accordingly, the present findings and the adapted Wilson and Cleary/Brunner and Marmot model on which they are predicted provide support for the psychosocial pathway being key in the SES-oral health relationship. The pathways through which environmental factors interact with individual factors to impact subjective oral health outcomes identified here may bring opportunities for more targeted oral health promotion strategies.
Objectives
Oral health care of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune‐deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a growing area of concern. Information on HIV‐ and AIDS‐related knowledge among dental students provides a crucial foundation for efforts aimed at developing an appropriate dental curriculum on HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of Indian clinical dental students towards the treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS and perceived sources of information regarding HIV‐related issues.
Materials and methods
Data were collected from clinical dental students (third year, fourth year and internship) from three dental institutions in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). The questions assessed the knowledge and attitude towards treatment of patients with HIV and the perceived source of information related to HIV.
Results
The willingness to treat HIV‐positive patients among dental students was 67.0%, and 74.20% were confident of treating a patient with HIV/AIDS. The potential problems in rendering treatment to these patients were effect on the attitude of other patients (49.90%) and staff fears (52.50%). The correct knowledge regarding the infection‐control practice (barrier technique) was found among only 15.50% of respondents. The respondents had sufficient knowledge regarding the oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS.
Conclusions
There was no correlation between the knowledge and attitude score, demonstrating a gap between knowledge and attitude among dental students regarding treatment of HIV‐infected patients. Appropriate knowledge has to be delivered through the dental education curriculum, which can instil confidence in students about their ability to manage HIV‐positive patients.
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