Associations between dietary habits, emotional state and subjective oral symptoms in 62,276 South Korean adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between dietary habits, emotional states, and subjective oral symptoms in Korean adolescents. METHODS: Data from 62,276 adolescents were derived from the 13th Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, conducting from June 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017. Oral symptoms were assessed by asking students whether they had experienced any of following symptoms within the last 12 months: (i) have you had a crack in your teeth or had any broken teeth not caused by exercise or other accidents?, (ii) have you experienced any toothaches while drinking or eating cold or hot beverages or foods?, (iii) have you ever felt throbbing in your teeth?, and (iv) have you experienced any gum pain or gum bleeding? A multivariable Poisson regression model for prevalence ratio (PR) was conducted. RESULTS: Of the participants, 53.1% experienced subjective oral symptoms. After adjusting for confounders, participants with consumption of sweet drinks more than five times weekly in dietary behaviors (PR: 1.17 [95% confidence interval (CI); 1.13-1.21]), feeling stress in the emotional state (PR: 1.27 [95% CI; 1.24-1.31]), and never brushing teeth (PR: 1.22 [95% CI; 1.14-1.30]) in the frequency of toothbrushing had higher risks of having oral symptoms compared to the reference group. CONCLUSION: Many adolescents in Korea experienced oral symptoms. The consumption of sweet drinks, infrequent toothbrushing, and a negative emotional state adversely affected perceived oral symptoms. Public concern about the oral health of adolescents is warranted.

Cholic Acid Attenuates ER Stress-Induced Cell Death in Coxsackievirus-B3 Infection.

Coxsackievirus Type B3 (CVB3) is an enterovirus that belongs to the Picornaviridae and causes various diseases such as myocarditis and hand-foot-mouth disease. However, an effective antiviral drug is still not developed. In this study, we looked for potential inhibitors of CVB3 replication by examining the survival of CVB3-infected HeLa cells. We detected an antiviral effect by cholic acid and identified it as a candidate inhibitor of CVB3 replication. Cholic acid circulates in the liver and intestines, and it helps the digestion and absorption of lipids in the small intestine. HeLa cells were cultured in 12-well plates and treated with cholic acid (1 and 10 µg/ml) and 106 PFU/ml of CVB3. After 16 h post-infection, the cells were lysed and subjected to western blot analysis and RT-PCR. The production of the viral capsid protein VP1 was dramatically decreased, and translation initiation factor eIF4G1 cleavage was significantly inhibited by treatment with 10 µg/ml cholic acid. Moreover, cholic acid inhibited ERK signaling in CVB3-infected HeLa cells. RT-PCR showed that the amounts of the CVB3 RNA genome and mRNA for the ER stress-related transcription factor ATF4 were significantly reduced. These results showed that cholic acid strongly reduced ER stress and CVB3 proliferation. This compound can be developed as a safe natural therapeutic agent for enterovirus infections.

Dental Students' Evaluations of Practice Management Education and Interest in Business-Related Training: Exploring Attitudes Towards DDS/DMD-MBA Programs.

Being well prepared for a competitive business environment is crucial for future dentists. The aims of this study were to assess dental students' satisfaction with their practice management education, their current and future interest in business-related education and attending a DDS/DMD-MBA program, and the relationship between their demographic and other characteristics and their business education-related responses. The study, conducted in 2016 and 2017, surveyed students in all four years at the authors' home school and at other schools that did not have a DDS/DMD-MBA program. At the home school, 273 students responded (response rate 63%); and 341 students from 11 of the 51 U.S. dental schools without a DDS/DMD-MBA program responded (respondents were from 21% of schools invited; the response rate of those students could not be calculated). The responding students disagreed that their school adequately prepared them for the business aspects of dentistry (mean=2.42 on a scale from 1=disagree strongly to 5=agree strongly). Large majorities agreed/strongly agreed that dentistry is a career that requires a certain amount of business acumen (95%) and that they were very interested in learning about business (85%). A total of 68% agreed/strongly agreed that their school should offer a dual DDS/DMD-MBA degree and 63% that they would consider enrolling in such a program. The more advanced the respondents were, the less satisfied they were with their practice management education (r=-0.20; p<0.001). Female respondents were less interested in business-related education (r=-0.20; p<0.001) and less likely to consider a DDS/DMD-MBA program than the males. Respondents planning to own a dental practice were more interested in additional current business education (r=0.22; p<0.001) and in future business education (r=0.15; p<0.001) than those without that plan. These results showed that a significant percentage of these dental students were interested in a DDS/DMD-MBA program. The male students and students who planned to own a practice were more interested in business education than the female students and students who did not plan to own their own practice.