Dental caries status and related factors among 5-year-old children in Shanghai.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries in young children is a difficult global oral health problem. In the last decade, China has put a great deal of effort into reducing the prevalence of dental caries. This study, which is part of the China Population Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance 2021, aimed to investigate the prevalence of dental caries among children aged 5 in Shanghai, China, and its associated factors. METHODS: A total of 1281 children aged 5 years from 6 districts in Shanghai were selected by a stratified sampling method. The survey consisted of an oral health questionnaire and an oral health examination. The questionnaire included questions on oral health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. The oral health examination used WHO standards. After screening, the data were input and analysed. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were used to study the relevant factors affecting dental caries. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental caries among 1281 children was 51.0%, the dmft index score was 2.46, the Significant Caries Index (SiC) score was 6.39, and the SiC10 score was 10.35. Dental caries experience was related to the frequency of sweet drink consumption, the age of starting tooth brushing, eating habits after brushing, whether the children had received an oral examination provided by the government (p < 0.05), and the mother's education level but was not related to sex, the use of fluoride toothpaste, the frequency of brushing, whether the parents assisted brushing, or the frequency of flossing (p > 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the region of residence, eating after brushing and the age of starting brushing were associated with dental caries. CONCLUSIONS: Dental caries remained prevalent among 5-year-old children in Shanghai, China. Prevention strategies that target the associated factors including region of residence, eating after brushing, and the age of starting brushing should be considered.

Prevalence and influencing factors of malocclusion in adolescents in Shanghai, China.

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence and related risk factors of malocclusion in permanent dentition among adolescents in Shanghai, and provide basic data for government's preventive strategies and intervention plans. METHODS: 1799 adolescents aged 11-15 years old from 18 middle schools in 6 districts of Shanghai were recruited to investigate oral health status and related risk factors using cluster random sampling method in 2021. Malocclusion and caries were examined by on-site inspection. The investigation criteria referred to Bjoerk and the recommendation of the WHO. The malocclusion inspection items included molars relationship, canine relationship, overbite, overjet, midline displacement, anterior crossbite, posterior crossbite, scissors bite, crowding and spacing. The subjects were asked to fill in a questionnaire including parents' education level, oral health behaviors and dietary habits. The chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship between malocclusion and risk factors. RESULTS: 1799 adolescents were included in the study and the prevalence of malocclusion in adolescents in Shanghai was 83.5%, and the proportion of molar relationship class I, class II, and class III was 48.9%, 14.7%, and 19.0%, respectively. The most common occlusal characteristic of malocclusion was anterior crowding, followed by midline irregularities and deep overbite, with prevalence rates of 44.8%, 39.0% and 38.6%, respectively. The prevalence rate of adolescents with caries was 34.3%. Those who had dental caries and preferred soft food were more likely to have abnormal occlusal characteristics (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of malocclusion in adolescents in Shanghai is high, so it is of great significance to strengthen oral health education, allocate proper preventive strategies and carry out the early correction if necessary.

The disparity in caries and sealants between migrant and native children in Shanghai: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the disparity in dental caries between native and migrant children in Shanghai, China. METHODS: Between 2013 and 2015, a random cluster sample of native and migrant children aged 5, 9, 12 and 15 years was collected from each district in Shanghai. Oral examination was performed following the World Health Organization (WHO) method, and findings were reported as decayed-missing-filled teeth of primary dentition (dmft) and permanent dentition (DMFT). RESULTS: A total of 10 150 children were examined, and 33.6% of them were migrants. Migrant children had a higher prevalence of deciduous caries than native children (the 5-year-old age group, 67.8% vs 63.0%, P = 0.024; the 9-year-old age group, 75.9% vs 66.1%, P < 0.001), and higher dmft values were found in migrant children. But with respect to permanent teeth, no statistical differences were found between the two groups in caries prevalence or DMFT. After controlling for potential confounders by logistic regression, migrant children showed a higher risk of deciduous caries (odds ratio 1.42, 95% confidence interval 1.25-1.61, P < 0.001) but not of permanent caries. Migrant children exhibited relatively lower deciduous Restorative Care Index (RCI). However, 9- and 15-year-old migrant children had a higher permanent RCI than their native counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Dental caries prevalence in migrant children was higher in the deciduous teeth but not in the permanent teeth compared to that in their native counterparts. School-based dental public health services may contribute to reducing the disparity in dental health status between migrant and native children.

Association between tooth loss and hypertension among older Chinese adults: a community-based study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is to examine the association between tooth loss and hypertension among older community residents in urban China. METHODS: This study included 3677 participants aged ≥50 years from the Shanghai Aging Study. We determined the number of teeth missing from questionnaires. Hypertension was defined as the mean of two measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP) (140 mmHg or higher), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (90 mmHg or higher) or physician-diagnosed hypertension confirmed from medical records. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between tooth loss and hypertension. RESULTS: The average number of missing teeth among study participants was 9.67. Among them, participants with hypertension had lost an average of 10.88 teeth, significantly higher than those without hypertension (8.95) (p < 0.0001). After adjusting for covariates (socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviors and other chronic conditions), teeth lost (15 or more) was significantly associated with grade III hypertension, with OR = 1.55(95% CI 1.09-2.20). CONCLUSIONS: Significant tooth loss maybe associated with severe hypertension among older Chinese adults. Prevention of tooth loss is important to the overall health of this population.

Western blotting by thin-film direct coating.

A novel thin-film direct coating (TDC) technique was developed to markedly reduce the amount of antibody required for Western blotting (WB). Automatic application of the technique for a few seconds easily and homogeneously coats the specific primary antibody on the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane. While conventional WB requires 0.4 µg of the primary antibody, the proposed technique only uses 4 × 10(-2) µg, which can be reduced further to 4 × 10(-5) µg by reducing the coater width. Moreover, the proposed process reduces antibody probing times from 60 to 10 min. The quantification capability of TDC WB showed high linearity within a 4-log2 dynamic range for detecting target antigen glutathione-S-transferase. Furthermore, TDC WB can specifically detect the extrinsic glutathione-S-transferase added in the Escherichia coli or 293T cell lysate with better staining sensitivity than conventional WB. TDC WB can also clearly probe the intrinsic ß-actin, α-tubulin, and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, which are usually used as control proteins in biological experiments. This novel technique has been shown to not only have valuable potential for increasing WB efficiency but also for providing significant material savings for future biomedical applications.

Association between occlusal support and cognitive impairment in older Chinese adults: a community-based study.

Introduction: The loss of occlusal support due to tooth loss is associated with systemic diseases. However, there was little about the association between occlusal support and cognitive impairment. The cross-sectional study aimed to investigate their association. Methods: Cognitive function was assessed and diagnosed in 1,225 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years or older in Jing'an District, Shanghai. Participants were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by Peterson's criteria, or dementia, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. We determined the number of functional occlusal supporting areas according to Eichner classifications. We used multivariate logistic regression models to analyze the relationship between occlusal support and cognitive impairment and mediation effect models to analyze the mediation effect of age. Results: Six hundred sixty participants were diagnosed with cognitive impairment, averaging 79.92 years old. After adjusting age, sex, education level, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, individuals with poor occlusal support had an OR of 3.674 (95%CI 1.141-11.829) for cognitive impairment compared to those with good occlusal support. Age mediated 66.53% of the association between the number of functional occlusal supporting areas and cognitive impairment. Discussion: In this study, cognitive impairment was significantly associated with the number of missing teeth, functional occlusal areas, and Eichner classifications with older community residents. Occlusal support should be a significant concern for people with cognitive impairment.

[Human resources of community oral public health service and job satisfaction of the staff in Shanghai].

PURPOSE: To investigate the human resources of oral public health system and staff's job satisfaction in Shanghai, and to provide basis for improving the services of oral public health. METHODS: A census was performed among 246 health service centers in Shanghai from February to March 2019, and a questionnaire on oral public health staff's basic information of and job satisfaction was conducted. SPSS 20.0 software package was used for statistical analysis of job satisfaction and basic situation of employees. RESULTS: There were 759 community oral health service personnel in Shanghai, mainly composed of dentists (34.0%), public health physicians (21.96%), nurses (31.6%), and 24 general practitioners(3.2%) were also found. The profile of the staff was mainly 30-49 years old (69.8%), with bachelor degree (66.7%) and primary and intermediate professional titles (91.7%). Only 14.8% of them spend more than 24 hours in oral public health work every week. Community oral health workers had higher satisfaction with their superiors and colleagues, and lower satisfaction with their work income. Age, levels of professional title and years of oral health service were negatively correlated with job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to build a proper human resource system of community oral public health and improve the treatment of the staff, in order to promote the oral public health services in Shanghai.

The Association of Tonsil Hypertrophy with Pediatric Dentofacial Development: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study of Young Children in Shanghai, China.

Purpose: The prevalence of dentofacial deformity was reportedly higher than decades ago, to which upper airway (UA) obstruction-induced sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) might contribute a lot. Tonsil hypertrophy appears relatively common in the population of young children. Given that the association between tonsil hypertrophy and pediatric dentofacial deformity remained controversial, this cross-sectional research was designed to explore the internal relationship of those among young children in Shanghai, China. Patients and Methods: A stratified cluster sampling procedure was adopted, and a representative sample of 715 young children (8-10 years old) was recruited. The OSA-18 quality-of-life questionnaires (OSA-18) were finished by their guardians, and well-trained orthodontists performed the oral examinations. After collecting the valuable information, the descriptions and analyses were run by statistical software (SPSS, version 26.0). Results: 715 participants (334 boys and 381 girls) were involved in the analyses. As calculated, the current prevalence of malocclusion identified by Angle's classification was 45.6% in this sample. No evident relation between OSA-18 scores and dentofacial abnormalities (P > 0.05) was found. With the enlargement of tonsil size, the proportion of children with triangular dental arch form (P < 0.05) and high vault palate (P < 0.001) was increasingly higher. More children with protruding profiles and fewer upright profiles were observed as the tonsil size increased, although it did not show a statistical difference (P = 0.103). Conclusion: Dental and craniofacial growth deficiency has become more prevalent among children, demanding more concerns from health authorities. Tonsil hypertrophy plays an essential role in the direction of dentofacial development. More efforts from local health authorities should be made to enhance public propaganda and education on the prevention and interruption of tonsil hypertrophy and related dentofacial abnormalities.

[Survey on oral health knowledge, attitudes, behaviors among parents of disabled children in Shanghai area].

PURPOSE: To analyze the oral health behaviors of disabled children and their parents' oral health knowledge, attitudes in Shanghai city, and to provide information support for designing oral health care programs and making relevant policies. METHODS: By using stratified cluster sampling method, a questionnaire was given to 1381 parents of disabled children. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: The awareness rate of oral health knowledge among parents of disabled children was 67.21%, and 78.98% of parents had positive attitudes towards oral health. 13.61% of disabled children took sweet snacks before sleep, only 45.98% of disabled children brushed their teeth twice or more daily. 42.65% of disabled children used fluoride toothpaste, and 88.12% never flossed their teeth. The percentage of disabled children who had never visited a dentist was 49.75%. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health behaviors of disabled children in Shanghai city need to be improved, and the parents' oral health knowledge level is low. Customized educational programs should be carried out for parents, in order to strengthen oral health education in the suburban areas.

[Early childhood caries and its related risk factors in 1 296 children aged 3 to 5 years old in Shanghai].

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevelence of early childhood caries (ECC) and its related risk factors in children aged 3 to 5 years old in Shanghai. METHODS: According to the requirements of the Fourth National Epidemiological Survey of Oral Health, multistage, stratified, equal capacity and simple random sampling method was performed. A total of 1 296 children aged 3, 4 and 5 years old in 12 kindergartens in Shanghai were selected to calculate the prevalence and the mean dmft(decayed-missing-filled tooth). Their parents were surveyed with questionnaire on oral hygiene habit and consciousness of oral health and related factors. Statistical analysis were performed using SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: The prevalence of ECC were 58.07% in children aged 3 to 5 years old in Shanghai, with dmft index of 2.99 in average. There were significant differences in the mean dmft and the prevalence between male and female and among different age groups(P<0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, more frequent sweet drinks, eating sweets before sleep, less daily tooth brushing, starting tooth brushing after 2 years old and low level of parents' education and oral health knowledge were risk factors for dental caries. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ECC in children aged 3 to 5 years old in Shanghai is severe. There is an urgent need for implementation of a systematic education on diet habit and oral health behavior, and the parental education on oral hygiene needs to be further improved.

[Clustering analysis in the pattern of KAP model on the application of oral health among students aged 12-15 in Shanghai].

PURPOSE: To assess the relation of oral health knowledge, attitude and practice(KAP) of the students aged 12-15 in Shanghai, and provide data support for intervention strategies of oral health. METHODS: A total of 2927 subjects aged 12-15 years old were selected according to the method of the Fourth National Oral Health Epidemiological Survey and the questionnaire was filled. SAS 9.4 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The subjects were divided into 2 categories according to their knowledge and attitude of oral prevention and oral health. TypeⅠgroup, with high cognitive attitude, had more teeth brushing times than those of typeⅡgroup with poor cognitive attitudes(P<0.01). TypeⅠgroup had more people knowing and using toothpaste with fluoride. (P<0.01). The frequency of type I group using dental floss was significantly higher than typeⅡgroup(P<0.01), while the frequency of having deserts was relatively lower than typeⅡgroup (P<0.01), and the frequency of having drinks was lower than type Ⅱ(P<0.01). The two groups had no significant difference in the frequency of consumption of other drinks with sugar ( P=0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Oral related risk behaviors are quite common among 12-15 years students in Shanghai, which are closely related to the knowledge and attitude.