This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Abstract -Objectives: Few studies have investigated the effect of long-term routine dental attendance on oral health between middle-aged and older adults, using a prospective cohort design. This study aimed to assess routine dental attendance (attending dentist in the previous 12 months for dental checkups) from age 50 to 65 years. Moreover, this study examined whether long-term routine dental attendance contributes to oral health-related quality of life, OHRQoL, and major tooth loss independent of social factors and the type of treatment sector utilized. Whether oral health impacts of long-term routine attendance varied with type of treatment sector utilized was also investigated. Method: In 1992, a census of the 1942 cohort in two counties of Sweden participated in a longitudinal questionnaire survey conducted at age 50 and again after 5, 10, and 15 years. Information was collected on a wide range of health-and oral health-related aspects. Of the 6346 subjects who completed the 1992 survey, 4143 (65%) completed postal follow-ups in 1997, 2002, and 2007. Results: Routine dental attendance decreased from 69.1% at age 50-64.2% at age 65. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed that individuals reporting long-term routine attendance (routine attendance in both 1992 and 2007) were 0.3 (95% CI 0.2-0.5) times less likely than their counterparts who were nonroutine attenders to report oral impacts. According to generalized estimating equations (GEE), individuals who reported long-term routine attendance were 0.6 (95% CI 0.4-0.7) times less likely than nonroutine attenders to have major tooth loss across the survey years. The effect of long-term routine attendance on OHRQoL was stronger in public than in private dental healthcare attenders. Conclusion: Routine attendance decreased from age 50-65 years. Long-term routine attendance had positive impact on major tooth loss and OHRQoL supporting the principle of encouraging annual dental attendance for preventive checkups among older people.

ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to assess the presence of plaque, gingivitis, and caries in a group of Sudanese children with congenital heart defects CHDs (cases) and compare them to children without CHDs (controls).Materials and methodsThis analytical cross-sectional study included cases (N = 111, with a mean age of 7.2 ± 3.0 years) and controls (N = 182, with a mean age of 7.2 ± 2.8 years) from Khartoum, Sudan. Examinations were done by two calibrated dentists using plaque index, gingival index, and WHO (World Health Organization) caries diagnostic criteria (dmft/DMFT index: decayed, missing, and filled teeth).ResultsChildren with CHDs (cases) had statistically significantly higher mean number of sites with plaque and gingivitis than children without CHDs (controls), although almost all children experienced plaque. Cases also experienced significantly higher mean dmft/DMFT than controls (age group 1, 3–7 years: 3.7 vs 2.3 and age group 2, 8–12 years: 1.3 vs 0.6). The Significant Caries Indices in cases (age groups 1 and 2) were also significantly higher than among controls (SiC 8.2 vs 5.9 and 1.8 vs 0.8, respectively). Fillings were totally lacking among cases and scarce among controls.ConclusionsThe findings clearly showed that this group of Sudanese children with CHDs was more severely affected with gingivitis and caries than the control group without CHDs. These results are cause for concern in children at risk of developing systemic infections and serious complications related to poor oral health.Clinical relevanceThese findings provide important baseline data for planning appropriate dental preventive strategies for Sudanese children with CHDs.

BackgroundInformation on the 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, and for attracting the attention of dental school educators towards the subject.PurposesFocusing on a census of dental students attending their 3rd, 4th and 5th study year at publicly – and privately funded dental faculties in Khartoum, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and socio-economic correlates of dental students' knowledge, sources of information and reported need for further education related to HIV and AIDS.MethodsAt the time of the survey (March–May 2007), the total number of dental students registered was 782 of which 642 (response rate 82%, mean age 21.7 year, 72% girls) completed anonymous self-administered questionnaires in supervised class room settings.ResultsA total of 49% and 86% had correct sum scores with respect to knowledge of transmission through contamination and through shaking hands and eating, respectively. About half the dental students recognized a need for further education across HIV related issues, varying from 75% (basic HIV/AIDS related issues) to 84% (patient management). Only 38% of the students had correct sum scores regarding various occupational groups at risk for contacting HIV and AIDS. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that compared to privately funded dental school students, publicly funded dental school students were less likely to have correct knowledge about modes of HIV transmission (OR = 0.6) and occupational risk groups (OR = 0.6) and to have received information from lectures/health care workers (OR = 0.5).ConclusionStudents attending privately funded schools were more knowledgeable about various HIV related issues than students from publicly funded schools. About half of the students investigated had received HIV/AIDS information from various sources and reported need for further education. This suggests that students are not adequately prepared for treating patients with HIV infection and AIDS and that the dental school curriculum needs improvements. Differences between public and private dental schools should be considered when planning such improvements.

BackgroundOral health-related quality of life, OHRQoL, among elderly is an important concern for the health and welfare policy in Norway and Sweden. The aim of the study was to assess reproducibility, longitudinal validity and responsiveness of the OIDP frequency score. Whether the temporal relationship between tooth loss and OIDP varied by country of residence was also investigated.MethodsIn 2007 and 2012, all inhabitants born in 1942 in three and two counties of Norway and Sweden were invited to participate in a self-administered questionnaire survey. In Norway the response rates were 58.0% (4211/7248) and 54.5% (3733/6841) in 2007 and 2012. Corresponding figures in Sweden were 73.1% (6078/8313) and 72.2% (5697/7889), respectively.ResultsReproducibility of the OIDP in terms of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.73 in Norway and 0.77 in Sweden. The mean change scores for OIDP were predominantly negative among those who worsened, zero in those who did not change and positive in participants who improved change scores of the reference variables; self-reported oral health and tooth loss. General Linear Models (GLM) repeated measures revealed significant interactions between OIDP and change scores of the reference variables (p < 0.05). Stratified analysis revealed that the mean OIDP frequency score worsened in participants who became dissatisfied- and improved in participants who became satisfied with oral health. Compared to participants who maintained all teeth, those who lost teeth were more likely to experience improvement and worsening of OIDP across both countries. The two-way interaction between country and tooth loss was not statistically significant.ConclusionsChanges in OIDP at the individual level were more pronounced than the percentage distribution of OIDP at each point in time would suggest. The OIDP frequency score showed promising evaluative properties in terms of acceptable longitudinal validity, responsiveness and reproducibility among older people in Norway and Sweden. This suggests that the OIDP instrument is able to detect change in the oral health status that occurred over the 5 year period investigated. Norwegian elderly were more likely to report worsening in OIDP than their Swedish counterparts. Disease prevention should be at focus when formulating the health policy for older people.