Self-reported oral hygiene habits among dental patients in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this survey was to assess oral hygiene habits and compliance with guidelines for good oral health set forth by the Italian Ministry of Health (IMH). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A sample of 2,200 self-administered questionnaires was sent to four dental clinics across Italy to assess sociodemographic information, oral hygiene habits, frequency of dental visits and services received at previous visits among a population of adult patients. RESULTS: Of the 2,200 questionnaires, 1,201 (54.6%) were returned. Findings showed that full compliance with the IMH recommendations was low (12%): a small number of patients (n = 223, 18.6%) visited a dentist every 6 months and only 256 (23.5%) brushed their teeth at least twice a day. CONCLUSION: Our data showed that regular attendance (at least 1 visit/year) at dental clinics for routine check-up and brushing teeth at least twice a day were poor. Therefore, we recommend that clinicians educate and motivate their patients about the benefits of healthy oral hygiene practices.

Oral cancer knowledge: a survey administered to patients in dental departments at large Italian hospitals.

We assessed the oral cancer (OC) knowledge, including risk factors and clinical symptoms, among patients attending dental departments within Italian university hospitals. Two thousand and two hundred questionnaires were sent to four hospitals in order to assess patients' knowledge regarding clinical and epidemiological aspects of OC; OC knowledge was evaluated overall and stratified by oral cancer family history. Participants frequently identified cigarette smoking (87.8%) and heavy alcohol consumption (58.6%) as a risk factor for oral cancer, knew the clinical signs of OC (65-79% depending on the specific symptom) and reported that early detection was related to better prognosis of oral cancer (94%). Individuals with a positive family history for oral cancer were significantly more likely to identify risk factors for oral cancer correctly yet family history of OC did not affect smoking status. Less than 15% of patients reported having received OC counseling by a dentist or physician.

Case-control study of human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Substantial molecular evidence suggests a role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pathogenesis of oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma, but epidemiologic data have been inconsistent. METHODS: We performed a hospital-based, case-control study of 100 patients with newly diagnosed oropharyngeal cancer and 200 control patients without cancer to evaluate associations between HPV infection and oropharyngeal cancer. Multivariate logistic-regression models were used for case-control comparisons. RESULTS: A high lifetime number of vaginal-sex partners (26 or more) was associated with oropharyngeal cancer (odds ratio, 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5 to 6.5), as was a high lifetime number of oral-sex partners (6 or more) (odds ratio, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 8.8). The degree of association increased with the number of vaginal-sex and oral-sex partners (P values for trend, 0.002 and 0.009, respectively). Oropharyngeal cancer was significantly associated with oral HPV type 16 (HPV-16) infection (odds ratio, 14.6; 95% CI, 6.3 to 36.6), oral infection with any of 37 types of HPV (odds ratio, 12.3; 95% CI, 5.4 to 26.4), and seropositivity for the HPV-16 L1 capsid protein (odds ratio, 32.2; 95% CI, 14.6 to 71.3). HPV-16 DNA was detected in 72% (95% CI, 62 to 81) of 100 paraffin-embedded tumor specimens, and 64% of patients with cancer were seropositive for the HPV-16 oncoprotein E6, E7, or both. HPV-16 L1 seropositivity was highly associated with oropharyngeal cancer among subjects with a history of heavy tobacco and alcohol use (odds ratio, 19.4; 95% CI, 3.3 to 113.9) and among those without such a history (odds ratio, 33.6; 95% CI, 13.3 to 84.8). The association was similarly increased among subjects with oral HPV-16 infection, regardless of their tobacco and alcohol use. By contrast, tobacco and alcohol use increased the association with oropharyngeal cancer primarily among subjects without exposure to HPV-16. CONCLUSIONS: Oral HPV infection is strongly associated with oropharyngeal cancer among subjects with or without the established risk factors of tobacco and alcohol use.