Dental public health in California: a view of the future.

This article has described two recent successful initiatives that have utilized the unique knowledge and skills of dental public health specialists--the enactment of California's new fluoridation law and the first oral health needs assessment of California children--as examples of the types of activities in which practitioners of this specialty of dentistry are engaged on a day-to-day basis. It has also underscored how dental public health can be considered not only a specialty of dentistry, but also a specialty of the broader field of public health, as a result of its mission to assure, promote and protect the oral health of communities. We believe that assuring the oral health of Californians and the nation is far too large an undertaking for any one group or organization. The individual orientation of dental clinicians and the community orientation of dental public health practitioners will both be needed, as will be the collaboration of many other individuals and organizations, if we are to look forward to the 21st century as one in which barriers to oral health are overcome, oral diseases become distant memories, and Americans can look forward to a lifetime of oral health.

Using validation techniques to improve communication with cognitively impaired older adults.

1. Nurses working with confused older adults in clinical settings need improved communication techniques. 2. Reality orientation is commonly used in nursing homes with disoriented persons; experienced nurses, however, often find it meets with withdrawal, vegetation or increasing hostility. 3. Validation strategies are communication techniques which are specifically matched to a particular stage of confusion. 4. When validation techniques are appropriately matched to confusional stage the effectiveness of the intervention can be significantly improved.

Impact and cost of public health nurse telephone follow-up of school dental referrals.

The effect and cost of nursing follow-up services on school dental screening outcomes were investigated. Experimental and control groups were randomly assigned. A positive difference in dental visit rate occurred for all nurses, with the overall dentist visit-no visit, experimental-control odds ratio being 1.64 (95% CL = 1.15, 2.35). The service averaged 27.7 minutes and $8.92 per family contacted, suggesting that nursing follow-up increased dental care utilization after screening at low cost in this population.

Fluoridation election victory: a case study for dentistry in effective political action.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District in California is the largest water district in the United States to have adopted fluoridation by popular vote. On June 3, 1980, voters reapproved fluoridation by 54.9% to 45.1%. The campaign committee credits key political strategies with the favorable election outcome. Dentists shared in the leadership of the campaign.