In 1921, New Zealand began training school dental nurses, subsequently deploying them throughout the country in school-based clinics providing basic dental care for children. The concept of training dental nurses, later to be designated dental therapists, was adopted by other countries as a means of improving access to care, particularly for children. This paper profiles six countries that utilise dental therapists, with a description of the training that therapists receive in these countries, and the context in which they practice. Based on available demographic information, it also updates the number of dental therapists practising globally, as well as the countries in which they practice. In several countries, dental therapy is now being integrated with dental hygiene in training and practice to create a new type of professional complementary to a dentist. Increasingly, dental therapists are permitted to treat adults as well as children. The paper also describes the status of a current initiative to introduce dental therapy to the United States. It concludes by suggesting that dental therapists can become valued members of the dental team throughout the world, helping to improve access to care and reducing existing disparities in oral health.

Background: Females are generally more motivated with regard to oral hygiene practices and thus brush their teeth more frequently than males. Objective: To determine the prevalence of gingival recession, oral hygiene status, oral hygiene practices and associated factors in women attending a maternity ward in Tanzania. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Maternity ward of Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania. Subjects: Four hundred and forty six women were interviewed on oral hygiene practices and maternal factors, and a full-mouth examination was done to determine the presence of plaque, calculus, gingival bleeding and gingival recession at six sites per tooth. Results: The prevalence of gingival recession (GR) > 1mm was 33.6%, calculus 99.3%, plaque 100%, and gingival bleeding 100%. Oral hygiene practices included toothbrushing (98.9%), brushing frequency >2 times/day (61.2%), horizontal brushing method (98%), and using a plastic toothbrush (97.8%). Factors that were significantly associated with gingival recession were age (OR a =2.0, 95% CI=1.3-3.2), presence of calculus (OR a =3.8, 95% CI=2.5-7.1), and gingival bleeding on probing (OR a =4.2, 95% CI=2.5-7.1). Tooth cleaning practices and maternal factors, especially the number of pregnancies or deliveries were not significantly associated with gingival recession. Conclusion: In this study population, oral hygiene was poor and gingival recession was associated with age, calculus and gingival inflammation rather than with tooth cleaning practices.

This overall high agreement between Ramjford teeth and full-mouth periodontal pocket situation confirms the epidemiological validity of Ramfjord's dental sample in our setting.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate associations between periodontal diseases and the common risk factors in Ilala, Tanzania. To determine behavioural and socioeconomic background, a total of 1764 subjects (827 males and 937 females) aged 3-84 years were randomly selected and interviewed. The subjects were examined clinically for the presence of plaque, calculus, gingival inflammation, periodontal probing depths and gingival recessions. Logistic regression analyses showed that the risk factors for gingivitis were male sex, presence of plaque or calculus and use of local "mswaki", the risk factors for periodontal pockets were age of 35 years or more, presence of plaque, and rural residence. The risk factors for gingival recession were identified as age of 35 years or more, male sex, lower educational status, presence of plaque and gingival inflammation. The most significant risk factors to have periodontal diseases in this study population were age, sex, education, rural residence, plaque and calculus.

BackgroundThe study examined the relationship between oral health status (periodontal disease and carious pulpal exposure (CPE)) and preterm low-birth-weight (PTLBW) infant deliveries among Tanzanian-African mothers at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania.MethodsA retrospective case-control study was conducted, involving 373 postpartum mothers aged 14–44 years (PTLBW – 150 cases) and at term normal-birth-weight (TNBW) – 223 controls), using structured questionnaire and full-mouth examination for periodontal and dentition status.ResultsThe mean number of sites with gingival bleeding was higher in PTLBW than in TNBW (P = 0.026). No significant differences were observed for sites with plaque, calculus, teeth with decay, missing, filling (DMFT) between PTLBW and TNBW. Controlling for known risk factors in all post-partum (n = 373), and primiparaous (n = 206) mothers, no significant differences were found regarding periodontal disease diagnosis threshold (PDT) (four sites or more that had probing periodontal pocket depth 4+mm and gingival bleeding ≥ 30% sites), and CPE between cases and controls. Significant risk factors for PTLBW among primi- and multiparous mothers together were age ≤ 19 years (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 2.09, 95% Confidence interval (95% CI): 1.18 – 3.67, P = 0.011), hypertension (aOR = 2.44, (95% CI): 1.20 – 4.93, P = 0.013) and being un-married (aOR = 1.59, (95% CI): 1.00 – 2.53, P = 0.049). For primiparous mothers significant risk factors for PTLBW were age ≤ 19 years (aOR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.13 – 3.81, P = 0.019), and being un-married (aOR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.42 – 4.67, P = 0.002).ConclusionsThese clinical findings show no evidence for periodontal disease or carious pulpal exposure being significant risk factors in PTLBW infant delivery among Tanzanian-Africans mothers at MNH, except for young age, hypertension, and being unmarried. Further research incorporating periodontal pathogens is recommended.