Snack food intake of adolescents and caries development.

The relationship between the frequency of eating various snack foods, socioeconomic variables, and an increment in caries was studied in 143 adolescents. There were negative correlations between DMFT increments and the frequency of apples, fruit juice, and sugarless gum intake, and a positive association of DMFT increments with chocolate candy intake and spending money.

Measuring periodontal disease in ancient populations: root and wear indices in study of American Indian skulls.

As an example of the collaboration of periodontologists and physical anthropologists, the skulls of two Indian populations were studied. A root index to assay periodontal disease and a wear index to evaluate occlusal wear, were developed. The first Indian population, living 400 years ago, had more decay, loss of teeth and caries; the second population, living 4,000 years ago, exhibited more periodontal disease. Starting with a sample of eight teeth, two from each quadrant, the statistical analysis showed that a smaller number of teeth would give a reliable assessment of past oral health. Based on our findings, the canines proved to be good indicators for general wear and the incisors for periodontal disease. A six-tooth index of varying teeth studied is proposed for the root index and the wear index in future studies of oral health of ancient populations.

Snack food consumption of 12 year old inner-city children and its relationship to oral health.

The relations between reported frequency of consumption of 18 common snack foods, SES variables, and oral health scores were studied in 92 12-year-old children from three inner-city schools in Rochester, New York. The group was composed of 44 males and 48 females who were either black or had a Spanish surname. The study documented only a few significant relations between consumption of snack foods and DMF scores or overall oral health. Reported cake consumption correlated positively with total debris and gingivitis, and consumption of chewy candy and ice cream was positively related to DMF scores. Black females exhibited the greatest number of decayed and DMF teeth, and both male and female black children had significantly greater amounts of total debris, gingivitis and decayed teeth.

Survey of dentists' opinions on issues facing the profession.

Dentists in the Seventh District Dental Society of the State of New York were surveyed for their attitudes toward selected health policy issues to determine the extent of attitudinal consensus in the professional community, the bases of significant differences of opinion, and the agreement of the local dentists with official policies of the American Dental Association. Greatest agreement among dentists was found with respect to the issues of licensure and peer review; some significant differences of opinion were found about the existence of manpower problems, expansion of dental schools, recruitment of minorities, expanded-duty auxiliaries, and fee scheduling. Most dentists favored participation in continuing education courses without examination as a requisite for licensure and even more favored peer review by the local dental society. Agreement between opinions of local dentists and official ADA policies was high on all issues except fee posting, for which local opinion was evenly divided. The formation of national policies with regard to fee posting should proceed carefully.

The rise of consumerism in periodontics.

Dentists can and should capitalize on the consumer movement. Consumerism is good practice management. This opinion is consistent with the excellent overview of changes in periodontics during the 1970s that are described in other articles of this symposium. No dentist can guarantee good periodontal health or successful treatment if the patient is not responsible doing all he can to prevent periodontal disease. When the patient has this attitude and has modified his oral hygiene habits in accordance with the recommendations of the general dentist, the patient then has the right to expect that most forms of gingivitis and periodontitis will occur only rarely, if at all.

Potential for clinical cooperation between dentistry and speech pathology.

Clinical management of articulation dysfunctions is one area in which the joint efforts of dentistry and speech pathology are particularly beneficial. Those articulation deviations discussed result from: (1) deformities in the upper lip, teeth, mandible and the hard and soft palates; (2) introduction of dentures; (3) difficulties in adjusting to esophageal speech; and (4) special problems associated with cleft palate/cleft prepalate. Team management of the individual with cleft palate and/or cleft prepalate was also reviewed. While orthodontists and prosthodontists provide the technology for correct speech production, speech pathologists furnish therapy for cultivating speech or modifying defective articulation patterns. Speech pathologists also serve as liaisons with respect to patients and other professionals. The authors believe that, ideally, clinicians from all disciplines should assume a holistic attitude in treating organic and functional human pathologies. Such interdisciplinary clinical cooperation is especially effective between dentistry and speech pathology. The concept of team management of cleft palate/cleft prepalate is an excellent example of how concomitant treatment effects total patient care. However, joint research and educational ventures also contribute to this objective and should continue to be encouraged.

The University of Rochester predental program: finding and motivating potential dental students.

While many dental schools have cooperative programs with various undergraduate schools, the University of Rochester has developed a unique program that emphasizes dental career opportunities and demonstrates how dental research relates to other disciplines. Through active participation in research, predental students become more highly motivated and appreciate more fully the relationship of dentistry to other aspects of health care. Dental schools benefit from such a predental program in that they are presented with a more complete picture of the dental school candidate. In addition to his grades and biographical data, they have an indication of his interests, his creativity and how well he functions in a research environment.

Continuing education: attitudes, interests, and experiences of practicing dentists.

This study was designed to examine the determinants of interest in formal continuing education courses of two different types, clinical and practice oriented. Major findings were (1) practice-oriented and clinically oriented courses differed in attractiveness among different segments of the dental profession, (2) interest in courses of a clinical nature was higher and more widespread throughout the proffession than was interest in management courses, and (3) half of the dentists supported mandatory continuing education for renewal of licenses, but 56% opposed a requirement that examinations in those courses be successfully completed. Interest in practice-related courses was related to age, income, use of allied health personnel, journal reading, and participation in study clubs. Clinically related courses were slightly more attractive to the sample than were practice-oriented courses, but current offerings of this type are less attractive to specialists than to general practitioners. Clinical courses generally appeal to the more active segments of the profession, and interest is associated with journal reading, participation in study clubs, and attendance at dental meetings. The appeal of clinical titles was more universal than that of management titles. Few background and practice characteristics were correlated with desire to keep up with the field, and those correlations that existed were smaller than those relating these variables to interest in practice; the only exception was specialization, as was noted above. Support for mandatory continuing education without examination as a requirement for relicensure was substantial. Further, no significant cleavages on this issue could be associated with any of the background or practice characteristics which were studied, a finding that indicate the existence of broad-based consensus in the sample.

Use of pancreatic Schilling test to determine efficiency of pancreatic enzyme delivery in pancreatic insufficiency.

The pancreatic Schilling test (PST), a noninvasive, sensitive pancreatic function test, was studied to determine its ability to detect pancreatic proteolytic enzyme replacement in patients with pancreatic insufficiency. Seven subjects with well-documented pancreatic insufficiency and an abnormal PST consistent with pancreatic insufficiency were studied with three enzyme regimens: (1) Viokase (four tablets), (2) Pancrease (three capsules), and (3) Pancrease (10 capsules). The effect of cimetidine on the results of the PST with high-dose Pancrease was also determined in two subjects with pancreatic insufficiency and in two normal volunteers. The results of the investigation demonstrate that the PST is a sensitive noninvasive test for the presence of orally administered proteolytic enzymes in subjects with pancreatic insufficiency and in normals. Furthermore, the studies illustrate that the administration of enzymes in a form of enteric-coated microspheres does not enhance the delivery of proteolytic enzymes to the small intestine when compared to conventional high-dose enzyme replacement. Cimetidine appears to decrease the inactivation of the proteolytic enzymes in enteric-coated microspheres, suggesting that a low pH in the small intestine and stomach are responsible for the poor delivery of the enzymes into the small intestine.