Parents' dental anxiety and oral health literacy: effects on parents' and children's oral health-related experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To explore a) the relationship between parents'/guardians' dental anxiety and oral health literacy and b) those between these variables and background and oral health-related characteristics. METHODS: Survey data were collected from 187 parents/guardians (81% female; average age 37 years). Dental anxiety was measured with the Dental Anxiety Scale - Revised (DAS-R) and oral health literacy with the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-30). Children's dental charts were reviewed to collect information about their dental treatment. RESULTS: DAS-R and REALD-30 scores were correlated (r = -0.22; P = 0.003). A multivariate regression model with DAS-R score as the dependent variable showed that the DAS-R score has a significant multivariate association with REALD-30, oral health, income, and presence of fillings. CONCLUSIONS: Dental anxiety and oral health literacy are related. However, DAS score has a significant multivariate association with the four variables REALD-30 score, oral health, income, and presence of fillings. These findings show that among socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, the contributors to poor oral health are interrelated and multidetermined and include poor oral health literacy and dental anxiety. The public health message is that in order to improve the overall oral health of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, public health stakeholders need to consider how to communicate with these patients effectively and how to reduce dental anxiety. Gaining a better understanding of how to communicate with parents a) at an appropriate literacy level and b) in a way that it reduces dental anxiety is therefore crucial.

A UV-responsive internal ribosome entry site enhances serine hydroxymethyltransferase 1 expression for DNA damage repair.

Thymidine nucleotides are required for faithful DNA synthesis and repair, and their de novo biosynthesis is regulated by serine hydroxymethyltransferase 1 (SHMT1). The SHMT1 transcript contains a heavy chain ferritin, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H2, and CUG-binding protein 1-responsive internal ribosome entry site (IRES) that regulates SHMT1 translation. In this study a non-lethal dose of UVC is shown to increase SHMT1 IRES activity and protein levels in four different cell lines. The mechanism for the UV-induced activation of the SHMT1 IRES involves an increase in heavy chain ferritin and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H2 expression and the translocation of CUG-binding protein 1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The UV-induced increase in SHMT1 translation is accompanied by an increase in the small ubiquitin-like modifier-dependent nuclear localization of the de novo thymidylate biosynthesis pathway and a decrease in DNA strand breaks, indicating a role for SHMT1 and nuclear folate metabolism in DNA repair.