Background: The aim of this study was to collect information on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in people with rare diseases. Methods: A questionnaire comprising free text questions and the German version of the standardized Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire on OHRQoL was developed. All participants who indicated oral symptoms in the questionnaire were included in a cluster analysis. Different cluster analyses were performed (Ward’s, k-Means) to find symptom profile groups in the data. Results: A total of 484 questionnaires with 96 rare diseases were included in the study. The most reported symptoms were anomalies of the tooth formation, dysgnathia, changes in number of the teeth, and malocclusions. The OHIP mean values of the five resulting symptom clusters ranged from 15.1 to 19.9, which is very high compared to the general population in Germany, which has a mean value of 4.09. Discussion: All investigated symptoms show a negative association with OHRQoL, but the strongest were for symptoms of the oral mucosa and periodontal diseases. All the symptoms described in this cluster analysis can lead to considerably higher mean values of the OHIP total score among people with rare disease and thus to worse OHRQoL than reported in the general population.

BackgroundLittle is known regarding young and future dentists’ career choices, professional identity, and working conditions in Germany. While the dental healthcare environment and demands in treatment are changing, it remains unclear what job perceptions young dentists have developed at the beginning of their work life and if and how these perceptions change during the subsequent years. The aim of this study was to survey future and young dentists regarding their professional identity, planned career paths, and working conditions and strains to understand career decisions and choices and enable policy makers to include future dentists‘ views and expectations in their decisions.Methods/designThis study is a longitudinal nationwide survey over a time span of 4 years of dental students and young dentists in Germany and is comprised of three waves. The first wave focuses on dental students in their final year before the state examination and is composed of a qualitative pre-study in the form of focus groups and a quantitative main survey in the form of a questionnaire. The end points were established to analyse (1) the professional identity of the young future dentists; (2) their career paths, preparation for a career, and basic career conditions; and (3) perceived conditions and strains. The aim of the overall survey was to depict the development of these three aspects during the first years of work life. All of the questions were evaluated with a descriptive univariate analysis. The analysed subgroups were grouped according to gender, target working condition (employed/self-employed), and primary socialisation (parents dentists/parents not dentists).DiscussionTo our knowledge, this is the only study which focuses on career choices, professional identity, and working conditions of future and young dentists in Germany. The longitudinal observation provides information that is essential for professional and purposive dental health care planning, and to meet the oral health demands and needs of the German population appropriately over the long term.Trial registrationGerman Health Services Research Data Bank VfD_Y-Dent_14_003759.

Purpose Current population-wide data on the prevalence of malocclusions in 8‑ and 9‑year-old children in Germany are not available. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to collect data on the prevalence of malocclusions in 8‑ and 9‑year-old children in Germany. The secondary objective of this study was to use this information to derive the need for orthodontic care provision. Methods This is an oral–epidemiological investigation and social science survey at the national level with a focus on tooth and jaw misalignment. The investigation took place between January and March 2021 at 16 study centers across Germany. All relevant data were available for the 705 study participants and were included in the statistical analysis. Results Overbite was the most common finding with 88.9%. Also widespread were crowding, with at least 60.9%, and lack of space, with a share of 30.9%. All other indication groups had a share below 10%. Rare (< 1%) were buccal and lingual occlusions and craniofacial abnormalities. The most severe forms of disease (Orthodontic Indication Group [Kieferorthopädische Indikationsgruppen, KIG] grade 5) were overbite (3.2%), open bite malocclusion (1.0%), undershot (0.6%), and craniofacial abnormalities (0.4%). The proportion of study participants who required orthodontic treatment, in accordance with statutory health insurance provider guidelines, was 40.4%. The proportion of study participants in principle requiring orthodontic treatment for medical reasons was 97.5%. Systemic differences in the need for orthodontic care provision relating to gender, region, or social status were not identified. Conclusion In general, the need for care provision identified in the orthodontic indication groups corresponds to that shown in previous studies. This suggests that the need for orthodontic treatment in Germany has remained stable over the years.

Zusammenfassung Ziel der Studie Vor dem Hintergrund des Versorgungsengpasses im allgemeinmedizinischen Sektor stellt sich die Frage, ob im zahnärztlichen Sektor eine ähnliche Entwicklung zu erwarten ist. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht präferierte Tätigkeitsorte von jungen Zahnärztinnen und -ärzten in Deutschland und ihre zukünftige Verteilung auf Stadt und Land. Methodik Die Online-Befragung wurde im Frühjahr 2017 als zweite Befragungswelle der longitudinalen deutschlandweiten Studie „Y-Dent: Berufsbild angehender und junger Zahnärzte“ durchgeführt. Studienendpunkt waren (1) die Abbildung der gewünschten dauerhaften Tätigkeitsregion, (2) die Präferenz der Ortsklassengröße junger Zahnärzte und Zahnärztinnen für ihre zukünftige Tätigkeit und (3) der Zusammenhang zwischen der Heimatregion und der gewünschten Tätigkeitsregion. Die erhobenen Daten wurden einer deskriptiven univariaten Analyse unterzogen. Ergebnisse 625 (51,2% aller angeschriebenen) Zahnärztinnen und -ärzte beteiligten sich an der Studie. Beliebte Kammer-/KZV-Bereiche für eine dauerhafte Tätigkeit lagen vor allem im Süden und im Westen Deutschlands. Ostdeutsche sowie kleinflächigere Bereiche wurden seltener als mögliche Beschäftigungsregion genannt (unter 10%). Etwa die Hälfte der Teilnehmenden konnte sich vorstellen, im mittelstädtischen Raum zu arbeiten, doch auch der ländliche Raum kam für einen Teil der Befragten in Betracht. Je nach Bundesland konnten sich 57–95% vorstellen, in der Heimatregion tätig zu werden. Schlussfolgerung Ein Versorgungsengpass, der dem im ärztlichen Bereich gleichkommt, ist nach den Bekundungen des zahnärztlichen Nachwuchses zunächst nicht zu befürchten: Grundsätzlich ist ein Teil der jungen Zahnärztinnen und -ärzte gewillt, auch in weniger stark bevölkerten Regionen und Ortsgrößen tätig zu werden.

Purpose The aim of the present study was to compare the malocclusion indices KIG (Kieferorthopädische Indikationsgruppen, Orthodontic Indication Groups), ICON (Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need), and mIOTN (modified Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need) regarding differences in malocclusion prevalence and their assessment of orthodontic treatment need in German 8‑ to 9‑year-old children of the Sixth German Oral Health Study (Deutsche Mundgesundheitsstudie, DMS 6). Methods The necessary data for the calculation of the KIG, mIOTN, and ICON were collected by a dentist as part of a clinical orthodontic examination during the field phase of the DMS 6 and by a subsequent digital orthodontic model–analytical evaluation of intraoral scans of the dental arches and the occlusal situation in habitual occlusion. Results Prevalence, severity, and treatment need of tooth and jaw misalignments differed in part considerably depending on the index used for assessment. On the other hand, there were several outcomes which yielded quite similar results for the different indices used, such as orthodontic treatment need, which ranged from 40.4% (KIG) over 41.6% (ICON) to 44.2% (mIOTN). Interestingly, orthodontic treatment need for the individual subject could differ considerably, when assessed using different indices. Conclusions In general, the results show that the mIOTN is much more conservative in assessing malocclusion prevalences often being smaller than those derived by KIG or ICON. In contrast, KIG and ICON often yield similar prevalences with certain distinct differences due to discrepancies in the respective definitions and also clearly differentiate between treatment possibility and arbitrarily determined treatment need.