Ethnic and language influence on parents' perception of paediatric behaviour management techniques.

BACKGROUND: Parental preference for various behaviour management techniques (BMTs) used in paediatric dentistry has been shown to be influenced by many factors, including ethnicity. AIM: To measure parental acceptability of BMTs used in paediatric dentistry and how it is influenced by ethnicity and language. DESIGN: Parents of patients presenting to a paediatric dentistry residency clinic in Houston, Texas, USA or Medellín, Colombia watched ten video BMT vignettes and rated their acceptance on a visual analog scale (VAS). Participants were categorized into six groups based on language, ethnicity, and country of residence. RESULTS: Parental acceptance of BMTs was affected by language, ethnicity, and country of residence (P = 2.2 × 10-16 ). Ethnic groups in the USA had a mean overall acceptance rate of all BMTs. Colombians rated all BMTs less acceptable than the US cohorts (P < 0.05), with the exception of voice control, which Colombians rate less acceptable than English-speaking Caucasians and Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the USA (P < 0.05). The Colombian population were not accepting of conscious sedation, nitrous oxide, general anaesthesia, and protective stabilization. CONCLUSIONS: Parents from different ethnic groups express different preferences in BMTs. Parents continue to prefer noninvasive techniques over pharmacologic and advanced techniques, with the exception of voice control.

Mutation spectrum of 122 hemophilia A families from Taiwanese population by LD-PCR, DHPLC, multiplex PCR and evaluating the clinical application of HRM.

BACKGROUND: Hemophilia A represents the most common and severe inherited hemorrhagic disorder. It is caused by mutations in the F8 gene, which leads to a deficiency or dysfunctional factor VIII protein, an essential cofactor in the factor X activation complex. METHODS: We used long-distance polymerase chain reaction and denaturing high performance liquid chromatography for mutation scanning of the F8 gene. We designed the competitive multiplex PCR to identify the carrier with exonal deletions. In order to facilitate throughput and minimize the cost of mutation scanning, we also evaluated a new mutation scanning technique, high resolution melting analysis (HRM), as an alternative screening method. RESULTS: We presented the results of detailed screening of 122 Taiwanese families with hemophilia A and reported twenty-nine novel mutations. There was one family identified with whole exons deletion, and the carriers were successfully recognized by multiplex PCR. By HRM, the different melting curve patterns were easily identified in 25 out of 28 cases (89%) and 15 out of 15 (100%) carriers. The sensitivity was 93 % (40/43). The overall mutation detection rate of hemophilia A was 100% in this study. CONCLUSION: We proposed a diagnostic strategy for hemophilia A genetic diagnosis. We consider HRM as a powerful screening tool that would provide us with a more cost-effective protocol for hemophilia A mutation identification.

Influence of Ethnicity on Parental Preference for Pediatric Dental Behavioral Management Techniques.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine how ethnicity influences parental acceptability of behavior management techniques (BMTs) used during dental treatment of children. This is the first known study to compare ethnic differences in acceptance levels of the BMTs. Methods: Parental acceptance of 10 BMTs (tell-show-do, voice control, non-verbal communication, positive reinforcement, distraction, parental presence/absence, nitrous oxide, protective stabilization, sedation, and general anesthesia) was rated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) after watching vignettes of each technique. Parental preferences were stratified by ethnicity and analyzed. Results: Among the 104 parents (21 Caucasians, 29 Hispanics, 30 Asians, and 24 African Americans) who qualified and completed the study, we observed that, overall, non-invasive techniques (positive reinforcement and tell-show-do) were most accepted by parents, while invasive techniques (voice control and protective stabilization) were least accepted (P<0.001). Within each ethnicity, there were significant differences between the BMTs (P<0.001). Additionally, conscious sedation was the only BMT to show a significant difference between the ethnic groups (P=0.047), with Asian parents having a lower mean score than Caucasian and Hispanic parents. Conclusions: Our results suggest that considering the ethnic/cultural differences of patients and their parents is an instrumental component for pediatric dentists to provide quality care to children patients.

Boarding school influence on self-reported concern for perceived body and face morphology in Taiwan.

To determine the influence of boarding school on self-perceived body and facial morphology, the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and exploratory questions about the orofacial area (OFA) were administered to female boarding (B) and nonboarding (NB) students at two Catholic schools in Taiwan. The mean total BSQ scores of Bs were significantly higher than NBs, with both being significantly higher than the published normative score but lower than probable bulimics with no significant B vs. NB difference in mean total OFA scores. Because the Bs were significantly taller and reported more orthodontic treatment than NBs, the possible confounding by the higher economic status of the Bs was minimized by finding similar significantly higher BSQ scores for the small number of Bs (5%) than the remaining NBs (95%) in the documented lower socio-economic school. In summary, the experience of boarding in religion-dominated schools significantly increases body image concerns of adolescent females.