The role of Polish school nurses in the oral health promotion for 7-19 year-old children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: The assessment of the role of school nurses in the oral health education and counselling of children and adolescents aged 7-19 years. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate nurses' practice in oral health education, previous training in caries prevention, collaboration with a dentist and self-assessment of knowledge. Data were analysed with the Chi square test. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 140 Polish school nurses. Respondents declared the following activities: dietary counselling (99.2%), oral hygiene education (92.8%), NHS-funded supervised fluoride prophylaxis (82.8%), and caries screenings (4.3%). 47.1% participated in training on caries prevention, 25.7% had a collaboration with a dentist. Nurses from schools located in towns less frequently provided oral hygiene education (p < 0.005) and dietary counselling, but more often had a collaboration with a dentist (p < 0.05). The youngest nurses were more confident about their knowledge (p < 0.05). There was an association between participation in training on caries prevention and positive opinion on a school-based fluoride prophylaxis (p < 0.01). Nurses who did not include dental topics in their practice worked mainly with pupils older than 15 years, had shorter experience (p < 0.05), secondary education, worked in urban areas and had no training on dental problems (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Polish school nurses have potentially crucial roles in improving the oral health status in pupils through oral hygiene education, dietary counselling and fluoride prophylaxis included in their duties.

Dentin dysplasia type I.

This paper describes a rare case of genetically determined dentin dysplasia type Iin 26-year-old male patient. The paper highlights anatomical and radiologicalaspects of dental abnormalities and emphasizes the significance of the educationof both general practitioners and paediatricians as regards referring patients withdiagnosed dentin dysplasia for a multi-specialty therapy.

Dens invagination and root dilaceration in double multilobed mesiodentes in 14-year-old patient with anorexia nervosa.

This paper describes a rare case of erupted double supernumerary teeth with unusual morphology in a 14-year-old patient with an eating disorder. The coexistence of dental morphological anomalies: multilobed mesiodens, multiple dens in dente of different types and root dilaceration have not been previously reported. The paper highlights anatomical and radiological aspects of dental abnormalities and clinical implications of delayed treatment.

Status of occlusal surfaces of first permanent molars in 6-8-year-old children evaluated by the CAST and DMF indices.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of occlusal surfaces of first permanent molars in 6- to 8-year-old children using the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) index and to assess how it correlates with DMF in the surveyed population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1931 occlusal surfaces of first permanent molars in 6-8-year-old children from Bialystok District, Poland, were assessed using the DMF and the CAST indices. The prevalence and experience of different caries stages were evaluated. Data were statistically analysed with the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Dwass-Steele-Critchow-Fligner post-hoc test and the cross-tabulation. The intra-examiner reliability was evaluated. Results Caries prevalence on occlusal surfaces of the first permanent molars measured by DMF was 13.3% and by CAST -37.6%. The mean DMF was 0.33 and the mean D -0.07. For CAST, the mean values of early (codes 3-4) and advanced caries stages (codes 5-6) were 0.55 and 0.05, respectively. The DMF index statistically significantly increased with age. In the whole population the mean number of filled teeth was higher than the decayed ones. With reference to the CAST index, children showed increase in enamel lesions with age. The intra-examiner reliability was 0.94 for DMF and 0.88 for CAST. Conclusion The surveyed subjects showed a low prevalence of dental caries measured with DMF and a moderate prevalence when the CAST was used. The CAST index is a promising tool for epidemiological studies on caries. It provides more information on the disease prevalence, experience and severity compared to the DMF index.

Index of clinical consequences of untreated dental caries (pufa) in primary dentition of children from north-east Poland.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and experience of clinical consequences of untreated dental caries in primary dentition in 5 and 7 year-old children from north-east Poland and to find whether there is a correlation between dmft and pufa indices. MATERIAL/METHODS: Two hundred fifteen children aged 5 and 7 years living in the Podlaskie region were examined in the course of the Polish National Oral Health Survey 2011. Caries prevalence and experience in primary dentition was evaluated according to WHO criteria (dmft index). The clinical consequences of untreated dental caries were assessed by pufa index. RESULTS: The dmft index was 5.56 ± 4.45 in 5-years-old children and 6.69 ± 3.14 in 7-years-olds. The prevalence/experience of pufa index was 43.4%/2.20 ± 3.43 and 72.4%/2.44 ± 2.22, respectively. Children living in rural areas presented a worse dental condition. A statistical analysis revealed a strong relation between dmft and pufa in both age groups. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed negligence in the dental treatment of children from north-east Poland resulting in the high prevalence and experience of the pufa index in primary dentition. This index is a valuable measurement tool to record the clinical consequences of untreated dental caries.

Continuing dental education in the treatment of dental avulsion: Polish dentists' knowledge of the current IADT guidelines.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the knowledge and experience of the treatment of avulsed teeth amongst Polish dentists 5 years after the publication of IADT guidelines. METHODS: On the basis of IADT guidelines, a voluntary anonymous 12-item questionnaire was developed to evaluate dentists' knowledge on the treatment of avulsed teeth. The survey was conducted during three continuing education courses, which took place in Bialystok, Poland and covered 133 dentists. Data were analysed with Statistica 6.0 using Mann-Withney U- and Kruskal-Wallis tests (P < 0.05). RESULTS: The study revealed that Polish dentists were not prepared to deal with dental avulsion. 63.2% of respondents have never treated such patients, and 68.45% have never attended any postgraduate course on dental trauma. Sufficient knowledge was presented only according to the way of cleaning a contaminated tooth. Lack of knowledge was observed in fields: method of choice in first aid in dental avulsion (23.3% of correct answers) and critical extra-oral dry time (26.3%). Dentists practising <10 years had better knowledge than those with greater experience (P = 0.0000). Gender, previous experience in the treatment of avulsion, postgraduate education in dental trauma and subjective knowledge assessment were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: There is a gap in the system of continuing dental education in Poland. Polish dentists need to familiarise themselves with the avulsion management procedures.

Is xerostomia a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients?

Xerostomia resulting mostly from hyposalivation and alkaline salivary pH is a frequent but often underappreciated symptom in the diseased population of maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients. We reviewed also other xerostomia-predisposing factors, its specific dental and oral clinical signs and features, as well as plausibly detrimental dialysis-specific pro-atherosclerotic and cardiovascular consequences. In view of increasing multidisciplinary importance of xerostomia, its general, pharmacological and emerging treatment methods were presented. Special attention was paid to the untoward and often neglected pro-xerostomic effects of multiple common medications and substances; they were listed and described in more detail. The combined therapeutic approach of dentists and nephrologists may effectively alleviate xerostomia and support general health condition of maintenance hemodialysis patients.

The evaluation of CPITN index among adults living in Podlasie region.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the condition and treatment needs of the periodontium in adults living in Podlasie region. Checked population was divided into three groups: 18 year old, 35-44 and 65-74 year old. The assessment of the periodontium status was performed on the basis of CPITN index. The study showed that young people usually did not need any periodontal treatment. The predominating treatment need was removing of dental calculus, respectively 7.4% subjects aged 18, 62.5% of second group and 58.7% of the oldest one. 10% persons aged 35-44 and 6.9% persons aged 65-74 required complex periodontal treatment. The number of excluded sextants grown with aged.