BackgroundThe population of older people, as well as the number of dependent older people, is steadily increasing; those unable to live independently at home are being cared for in a range of settings. Practical training for nurses and auxiliary care staff has frequently been recommended as a way of improving oral health care for functionally dependent elderly. The aim was improve oral hygiene in institutionalized elderly in Bangalore city by educating their caregivers.MethodsThe study is a cluster randomized intervention trial with an elderly home as unit of randomization in which 7 out of 65 elderly homes were selected. Oral health knowledge of caregivers was assessed using a pre-tested pro forma and later oral-health education was provided to the caregivers of the study group. Oral hygiene status of elderly residents was assessed by levels of debris, plaque of dentate and denture plaque, and denture stomatitis of denture wearing residents, respectively. Oral-health education to the caregivers of control group was given at the end of six monthsResultsThere was significant improvement in oral-health knowledge of caregivers from the baseline and also a significant reduction of plaque score from baseline score of 3.17 ± 0.40 to 1.57 ± 0.35 post-intervention (p < .001), debris score 2.87 ± 0.22 to 1.49 ± 0.34 (p < .001), denture plaque score 3.15 ± 0.47 to 1.21 ± 0.27 (p < .001), and denture stomatitis score 1.43 ± 0.68 to 0.29 ± 0.53 (p < .001).ConclusionsThe result of the present study showed that there was a significant improvement in the oral-health knowledge among the caregivers and oral-hygiene status of the elderly residents.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines were made available to the public by the end of 2020. However, little is known about COVID-19 booster dose (CBD) vaccine perception among healthcare workers (HCW) worldwide. The present study aims to assess the perception of CBD vaccines among healthcare workers in India and Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs in two countries, India and SA. Data were gathered through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. A convenience sampling technique was utilized to collect the data. Results: A total of 833 HCW responses were collected from the two countries, with 530 participants from India and 303 participants from SA responding to the questionnaire. Among them, 16% from India and 33% from SA were unwilling to take a CBD (p < 0.005). The primary reasons for not being willing were concerns about whether the vaccine would be effective (32%) and concerns about probable long-term side effects (31%). Concerns about not knowing enough about the vaccination (30%) and the possibility of long-term side effects (28%) were the primary concerns in SA. Regression analysis showed that males, urban residents, and post-graduates were more willing to take the CBD. Conclusion: There is a good perception of CBD and some hesitancy in receiving the booster dose among HCWs in both countries. The introduction of personalized education, risk communication, and deliberate policy could help to reduce the number of people who are unwilling to take a booster shot.

Background/Introduction For various reasons, the care demand from elderly people is low and difficult to determine, whereas their oral hygiene status would need urgent care. Objective To assess the oral hygiene status of institutionalized dependent elderly in Bangalore City, India. Methods A cross-sectional study of 322 dependent elderly patients was conducted at seven elderly homes of Bangalore City, India. The oral hygiene status recorded includes dental and prosthetic hygiene. Results The mean Debris Index and Plaque Index scores of dentate elderly were 2.87±0.22 and 3.17±0.40, respectively, the mean Denture Plaque and Denture Stomatitis scores were 3.15±0.47 and 1.43±0.68, respectively. Conclusion The dental hygiene was inadequate. This study emphasizes the care demand and the need for help in oral hygiene procedures for the dependent institutionalized elderly.

Background:Tobacco smoking is an integral part of prison life and an established part of the culture. Little attention has been paid to prevention of smoking in prison. Approximately 70–80% of prisoners have been identified as current smokers. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention among male prisoners at Central Jail, Bangalore city.Aim:To assess the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention among male prisoners at Central Jail, Bangalore city.Materials and Methods:A randomized controlled trial was planned among male prisoners in Central Jail, Bangalore city. There were 1600 convicted prisoners. A self-administered questionnaire was given to the prisoners to assess their smoking behavior by which prevalence of tobacco smoking was found. Exactly 1352 tobacco users were studied. Among them, there were 1252 smokers. Based on inclusion criteria and informed consent given by the prisoners, a sample of 600 was chosen for the study by systematic random sampling. Among the 600 prisoners, 300 were randomly selected for the study group and 300 for the control group.Results:Prevalence of tobacco smoking among the prisoners was 92.60%. In the present study, after smoking cessation intervention, 17% showed no change in smoking, 21.66% reduced smoking, 16% stopped smoking, and 45.33% relapsed (P < 0.0001) at the end of 6-month follow-up in the study group.Conclusion:Tobacco use was high among the prisoners. Tobacco reduction is possible in the prison even if the living conditions are not favorable. Relatively high rate of relapse in our study indicates that some policies should be adopted to improve smokers’ information on consequences of tobacco on health and motivational intervention should be added to prisoners.

In recent times, numerous scientific articles have been published on the risks of exposure to infectious microorganisms in dental care settings. The main mode of transmission of such infectious organisms is primarily through bioaerosols generated during routine dental procedures which put both dental care providers and their patients at an increased risk of exposure. Other frequent modes of infection transmission often reported include cross contamination and inadequate adoption of infection control protocols. The main objective of this article is to highlight the findings of those studies that have reported on the routes and modes of transmission of infectious organisms in dental settings, to report possibilities of cross contamination in dental care settings, and also to report any breach in adherence to infection control protocols in dental care settings. We also intend to emphasize on standard infection control protocols and strategies that need to be considered in dental care settings during disease outbreaks like coronavirus disease (COVID-19).