Persistent Orofacial Pain Attendances at General Medical Practitioners.

Patients with persistent orofacial pain (POFP) can go through complex care pathways to receive a diagnosis and management, which can negatively affect their pain. This study aimed to describe 44-y trends in attendances at Welsh medical practices for POFP and establish the number of attendances per patient and referrals associated with orofacial pain and factors that may predict whether a patient is referred. A retrospective observational study was completed using the nationwide Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank of visits to general medical practices in Wales (UK). Data were extracted using diagnostic codes ("Read codes"). Orofacial and migraine Read codes were extracted between 1974 and 2017. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariable logistic regression. Over the 44-y period, there were 468,827 POFP and migraine diagnostic codes, accounting for 468,137 patient attendances, or 301,832 patients. The overall attendance rate was 4.22 attendances per 1,000 patient-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.21-4.23). The attendance rate increased over the study period. Almost one-third of patients (n = 92,192, 30.54%) attended more than once over the study period, and 15.83% attended more than once within a 12-mo period. There were 20,103 referral codes that were associated with 8,183 patients, with over half these patients being referred more than once. Odds of receiving a referral were highest in females (odds ratio [OR], 1.23; 95% CI, 1.17-1.29), in those living in rural locations (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.12-1.22), and in the least deprived quintile (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.29-1.48). Odds also increased with increasing age (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.03-1.03). The increasing attendance may be explained by the increasing incidence of POFP within the population. These patients can attend on a repeated basis, and very few are referred, but when they are, this may occur multiple times; therefore, current care pathways could be improved.

Dental Extractions under General Anesthesia: New Insights from Process Mining.

INTRODUCTION: Tooth extraction under general anesthetic (GA) is a global health problem. It is expensive, high risk, and resource intensive, and its prevalence and burden should be reduced where possible. Recent innovation in data analysis techniques now makes it possible to assess the impact of GA policy decisions on public health outcomes. This article describes results from one such technique called process mining, which was applied to dental electronic health record (EHR) data. Treatment pathways preceding extractions under general anesthetic were mined to yield useful insights into waiting times, number of dental visits, treatments, and prescribing behaviors associated with this undesirable outcome. METHOD: Anonymized data were extracted from a dental EHR covering a population of 231,760 patients aged 0 to 16 y, treated in the Irish public health care system between 2000 and 2014. The data were profiled, assessed for quality, and preprocessed in preparation for analysis. Existing process mining methods were adapted to execute process mining in the context of assessing dental EHR data. RESULTS: Process models of dental treatment preceding extractions under general anesthetic were generated from the EHR data using process mining tools. A total of 5,563 patients who had 26,115 GA were identified. Of these, 9% received a tooth dressing before extraction with an average lag time of 6 mo between dressing and extraction. In total, 11,867 emergency appointments were attended by the cohort with 2,668 X-rays, 4,370 prescriptions, and over 800 restorations and other treatments carried out prior to tooth extraction. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Process models generated useful insights, identifying metrics and issues around extractions under general anesthetic and revealing the complexity of dental treatment pathways. The pathways showed high levels of emergency appointments, prescriptions, and additional tooth restorations ultimately unsuccessful in preventing extractions. Supporting earlier publications, the study suggested earlier screening, preventive initiatives, guideline development, and alternative treatments deserve consideration. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT: This study generates insights into tooth extractions under general anesthetic using process mining technologies and methods, revealing levels of extraction and associated high levels of prescriptions, emergency appointments, and restorative treatments. These insights can inform dental planners assessing policy decisions for tooth extractions under general anesthetic. The methods used can be combined with costs and patient outcomes to contribute to more effective decision-making.

Systemic Multimorbidity Clusters in People with Periodontitis.

This study aimed to identify systemic multimorbidity clusters in people with periodontitis via a novel artificial intelligence-based network analysis and to explore the effect of associated factors. This study utilized cross-sectional data of 3,736 participants across 3 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009 to 2014). Periodontal examination was carried out by trained dentists for participants aged ≥30 y. The extent of periodontitis was represented by the proportion of sites with clinical attachment loss (CAL)≥ 3 mm, split into 4 equal quartiles. A range of systemic diseases reported during the survey were also extracted. Hypergraph network analysis with eigenvector centralities was applied to identify systemic multimorbidity clusters and single-disease influence in the overall population and when stratified by CAL quartile. Individual factors that could affect the systemic multimorbidity clusters were also explored by CAL quartile. In the study population, the top 3 prevalent diseases were hypertension (63.9%), arthritis (47.6%), and obesity (45.9%). A total of 106 unique systemic multimorbidity clusters were identified across the study population. Hypertension was the most centralized disease in the overall population (centrality [C]: 0.50), followed closely by arthritis (C: 0.45) and obesity (C: 0.42). Diabetes had higher centrality in the highest CAL quartile (C: 0.31) than the lowest (C: 0.26). "Hypertension, obesity" was the largest weighted multimorbidity cluster across CAL quartiles. This study has revealed a range of common systemic multimorbidity clusters in people with periodontitis. People with periodontitis are more likely to present with hypertension and obesity together, and diabetes is more influential to multimorbidity clusters in people with severe periodontitis. Factors such as ethnicity, deprivation, and smoking status may also influence the pattern of multimorbidity clusters.

Additive Effect of Periodontal Disease and Obesity on COVID-19 Outcomes.

This study aims to examine the impact of periodontal disease in obesity on COVID-19 infection and associated outcomes. This retrospective longitudinal study included 58,897 UK Biobank participants tested for COVID-19 between March 2020 and February 2021. Self-reported oral health indicators (bleeding gums, painful gums, and loose teeth) were used as surrogates for periodontal disease. Body fat levels were quantified by body mass index (BMI) and categorized as normal weight (18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25 to 29.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥30 kg/m2). Multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models were used to quantify risk of COVID-19 infection, hospital admission, and mortality, adjusted for participants' demographics and covariates. Of 58,897 participants, 14,466 (24.6%) tested positive for COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infection was higher for participants who were overweight (odds ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.24) and obese (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.41) as compared with those of normal weight, but infection was not affected by periodontal disease. The hospital admission rate was 57% higher (hazard ratio, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.25 to 1.97) in the obese group with periodontal disease than without periodontal disease, and admission rates increased with BMI category (normal weight, 4.4%; overweight, 6.8%; obese, 10.1%). Mortality rates also increased with BMI category (normal weight, 1.9%; overweight, 3.17%; obese, 4.5%). In addition, for participants with obesity, the mortality rate was much higher (hazard ratio, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.91 to 5.06) in participants with periodontal disease than those without. Obesity is associated with higher hospitalization and mortality rates, and periodontal disease may exacerbate this impact. The results could inform health providers, policy makers, and the general public of the importance to maintain good oral health through seamless provision of dental services and public oral health prevention initiatives.

Assessing the perceived impact of post Minamata amalgam phase down on oral health inequalities: a mixed-methods investigation.

BACKGROUND: Data from countries that have implemented a complete phase out of dental amalgam following the Minamata agreement suggest increased costs and time related to the placement of alternatives with consumers absorbing the additional costs. This aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a complete phase out of dental amalgam on oral health inequalities in particular for countries dependent on state run oral health services. METHODS: A mixed methods component design quantitative and qualitative study in the United Kingdom. The quantitative study involved acquisition and analysis of datasets from NHS Scotland to compare trends in placement of dental amalgam and a survey of GDPs in Yorkshire, UK. The qualitative study involved analysis of the free text of the survey and a supplementary secondary analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with GDPs (private and NHS), dental school teaching leads and NHS dental commissioners to understand the impact of amalgam phase down on oral health inequalities. RESULTS: Time-trends for amalgam placement showed that there was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in amalgam use compared with composites and glass ionomers. However dental amalgam still represented a large proportion (42%) of the restorations (circa 1.8 million) placed in the 2016-2017 financial year. Survey respondents suggest that direct impacts of a phase down were related to increased costs and time to place alternative restorations and reduced quality of care. This in turn would lead to increased tooth extractions, reduced access to care and privatisation of dental services with the greatest impact on deprived populations. CONCLUSION: Amalgam is still a widely placed material in state run oral health services. The complete phase down of dental amalgam poses a threat to such services and threatens to widen oral health inequalities. Our data suggest that a complete phase out is not currently feasible unless appropriate measures are in place to ensure cheaper, long-lasting and easy to use alternatives are available and can be readily adopted by primary care oral health providers.

Factors associated with antibiotic prescribing for adults with acute conditions: an umbrella review across primary care and a systematic review focusing on primary dental care.

INTRODUCTION: One way to slow the spread of resistant bacteria is by improved stewardship of antibiotics: using them more carefully and reducing the number of prescriptions. With an estimated 7%-10% of antibiotic prescriptions globally originating from dental practices and up to 80% prescribed unnecessarily, dentistry has an important role to play. To support the design of new stewardship interventions through knowledge transfer between contexts, this study aimed to identify factors associated with the decision to prescribe antibiotics to adults presenting with acute conditions across primary care (including dentistry). METHODS: Two reviews were undertaken: an umbrella review across primary healthcare and a systematic review in dentistry. Two authors independently selected and quality assessed the included studies. Factors were identified using an inductive thematic approach and mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Comparisons between dental and other settings were explored. Registration number: PROSPERO_CRD42016037174. RESULTS: Searches identified 689 publications across primary care and 432 across dental care. Included studies (nine and seven, respectively) were assessed as of variable quality. They covered 46 countries, of which 12 were low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Across the two reviews, 30 factors were identified, with 'patient/condition characteristics', 'patient influence' and 'guidelines & information' the most frequent. Two factors were unique to dental studies: 'procedure possible' and 'treatment skills'. No factor related only to LMICs. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive list of factors associated with antibiotic prescribing to adults with acute conditions in primary care settings around the world has been collated and should assist theory-informed design of new context-specific stewardship interventions.

Repair vs replacement of failed restorations in general dental practice: factors influencing treatment choices and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of repair vs replacement of failed restorations on patient related outcome measures, and to explore the clinical factors that influence this decision. DESIGN: Multicentre, prospective practice-based study. SETTING: Dental practices within Salford, Trafford and East Lancashire in the North West of England. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: General dental practitioners were asked to participate and to recruit adult patients attending for routine dental treatment. INTERVENTIONS: Repair or replacement of failed restorations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dental anxiety before treatment using the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale and pain intensity immediately and 24 hours post-operatively using the McGill short form pain questionnaire. Operative outcomes included depth of caries, time taken to complete the procedure, use of local anaesthetic and dental material used. RESULTS: Of the 103 patients diagnosed with a failed restoration, a statistically significantly greater number underwent replacement than repair (p = 0.004). Patients undergoing repairs were significantly less anxious (p = 0.008) and had shorter procedure times (p = 0.044). Repairs were associated with minimal caries depth and less use of local anaesthetic. CONCLUSION: Failed restorations should be repaired where clinically possible, as they are quick and associated with less patient anxiety. Future research should focus on providing high quality prospective data evaluating the longevity of repaired vs replaced restorations.

Functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and growth hormone axes in frequently unexplained disorders: results of a population study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that associations with specific stress systems [hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and growth hormone (GH) axes] would increase as the number of unexplained disorders increased while accounting for the possible confounding effects of psychosocial factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study identified those reporting chronic widespread pain, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic orofacial pain and chronic fatigue. Of the 1315 subjects, disorder status was available for 1180 (89.7%), of whom 766 (64.9%) reported no disorders, 277 (23.5%) reported one and 137 (11.6%) reported two or more. Eighty subjects were sought from each group for assessment of HPA (morning 8:00 a.m. and evening 10:00 p.m. saliva, and post-dexamethasone serum cortisol levels) and GH [serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) level] axis function. Validated questionnaires informed current psychological state. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-seven subjects participated [79 (35%) with no disorders, 78 (34%) with one disorder and 70 (31%) with two or more disorders]. There were no significant associations (p < 0.05) between individual disorders or an increasing disorder load with any of the neuroendocrine levels measured: saliva/serum cortisol, IGF-1 and dehydroepiandrosterone. Psychosocial factors were independently associated with disorders and with an increasing disorder load: health anxiety p < 0.01, anxiety p < 0.01, depression p < 0.01, life events p = 0.03. CONCLUSION: Although previous studies have shown that stress axis function acts to moderate the risk of onset of some of these disorders, the present study shows that the degree of dysfunction is not correlated with a corresponding increasing load of disorders. The uncertainty surrounding the role of these biomarkers in the aetiology of unexplained disorders needs further investigation.

A high tender point count is associated with the presence of multiple idiopathic pain disorders: results from a population study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To test whether mechanical hyperalgesia is associated with multiple idiopathic pain disorders (IPDs) and whether this relationship is independent of the confounding effects of psychosocial factors. METHODS: One hundred eighteen subjects with chronic orofacial pain (COFP) were identified from their questionnaire responses to a population study in North West England. All subjects had a tender point examination according to the American College of Rheumatology classification. Validated tools on the questionnaire were used to identify presence of other IPDs (irritable bowel syndrome and chronic widespread pain) and psychosocial factors (anxiety, depression, health anxiety, sleep disturbance and reporting of somatic symptoms and adverse life events). RESULTS: Of the 118 subjects, 47.6% (n = 56) had COFP, 34.7% (n = 41) had COFP plus one IPD and 17.8% (n = 21) had all three IPDs. Univariate analysis revealed a dose-response relationship between number of tender points (TPs) and number of IPDs [2-6 TPs (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.0-7.3), ≥ 7 TPs (OR 10.5, 95% CI 3.8-29.3)] and number of IPDs and psychological distress [anxiety (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.4), depression (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.7-10.6), sleep disturbance (OR 4.8, 95% CI 1.6-14.6)]. The relationship between IPDs and TPs persisted after adjusting for psychosocial factors in multivariate analyses [2-6 TPs (OR 2.5, 95% CI 0.8-7.8) ≥ 7 TPs (OR 10.7, 95% CI 3.4-33.7)]. CONCLUSION: The dose-response relationship between TPs and IPDs needs further investigation to determine the temporal nature of these relationships and to disentangle the complex gene-environment relationships that may influence the occurrence of multiple IPDs.

Unexplained orofacial pain - is an early diagnosis possible?

Aim To identify distinct characteristics of unexplained orofacial pain that could be used by dental practitioners in making an early diagnosis.Methods Subjects reporting orofacial pain in a postal questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey were invited for clinical examination. The interviewer was blinded to the questionnaire responses of the subjects. A diagnosis was made following the examination and subjects were assigned into two groups: unexplained pain and dental pain. The questionnaire responses of subjects who had consulted a healthcare professional within these two groups were then compared with particular attention to demographics, orofacial pain characteristics, consultation behaviour and relationship with other unexplained syndromes.Results Subjects who had consulted for their pain and were assigned to the unexplained orofacial pain group were significantly (p <0.05) more likely to report the following characteristics: pain descriptors (nagging, aching, tingling), pain pattern (worse with stress), site (poorly localised), duration (persistent/chronic), high disability, multiple consultations and co-morbidities (teeth grinding, reporting of other unexplained syndromes).Conclusion This study has shown that unexplained orofacial pain has distinct characteristics that differentiate it from other common dental conditions. This provides a good evidence base which can reduce uncertainty among dental practitioners, allowing them to make an early diagnosis.

The failure rate of NHS funded molar endodontic treatment delivered in general dental practice.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the quality and record the outcomes of root canal therapy on mandibular, first permanent molar teeth provided by GDPs working according to NHS contracts. DESIGN: Descriptive, retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Twelve general dental practices in Salford, North West England. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: All patients aged 20-60 years attending the practices who had received a NHS-funded root filling in a mandibular first permanent molar between January 1998 and December 2003. The radiographic quality of root fillings in the teeth was assessed by an endodontic specialist and categorised into optimal, suboptimal and teeth which had no radiograph, or an unreadable radiograph. Teeth were also dichotomised into those restored with a crown and those restored with an intracoronal restoration. Failure as an outcome was defined as if a tooth was extracted, the root filling was replaced or periradicular surgery was performed on the tooth. Crude failure rates per 100 years were calculated for optimally, sub-optimally root filled teeth and for those with no or an unreadable radiograph, and according to how the tooth was coronally restored. Survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards were used to determine factors linked with increased failures. RESULTS: One hundred and seventy-four teeth were included in the study, of which 16 failed. The crude failure rates per 100 years with a root filled tooth were very low and differed little (p = 0.9699) for optimally (2.6), sub-optimally (2.5) root filled teeth and for those with no or an unreadable radiograph (2.9), with approximately one in 37 root filled mandibular first molar teeth failing each year. The majority of root fillings fail within the first two years (N = 10, 62.5%). Some 67 teeth (38.5%) were restored with a crown, none of which failed during the follow up period compared to those with a plastic restoration (p = 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: The very low failure rates have significant implications for the design of research studies investigating outcomes of endodontic therapy. The similar failure rates for teeth that had optimal and suboptimal root fillings suggest that endodontic treatment is not as technique sensitive as previously thought. The results also support the notion that the coronal restoration is more important than radiographic appearance of the root filling.

Why is pain more common amongst people living in areas of low socio-economic status? A population-based cross-sectional study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To confirm a relationship between self-reported oro-facial pain and deprivation using an area-based measure of deprivation, and to investigate possible mechanisms of the association. DESIGN: A cross sectional population based survey. SETTING: General medical practice in South-East Cheshire (Borough of Congleton, North West England). PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand, five hundred and four people aged 18-65 years living in the community. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was sent which asked about pain in the oro-facial region. Information on factors which may 'explain' any relationship between pain and social class was collected: psychological distress, maladaptive responses to illness, sleep problems and local mechanical factors such as teeth grinding and facial trauma. Participants were allocated a Townsend index deprivation score on the basis of their postcode. MAIN RESULTS: The study achieved an adjusted participation rate of 74% (N = 2,504) and the overall prevalence of oro-facial pain was 26%. Statistical analysis revealed that people in the most deprived areas were more likely to report oro-facial pain compared with the most affluent ones [OR 1.50 (95% confidence interval 1.09, 2.07)]. This relationship remained after adjusting for all potential confounding factors. CONCLUSION: While the relationship between oro-facial pain and deprivation exists, the mechanisms of such relationships are not clear. Local mechanical factors, trauma or psychological distress did not explain it. The factors linking pain with social deprivation remain to be elucidated.

Dento-osseous changes as diagnostic markers in familial adenomatous polyposis families.

BACKGROUND: We have previously described a weighted index for determining the diagnostic significance of dento-osseous changes observed on dental panoramic radiographs (DPRs) in individuals at 50% risk of inheriting Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP). A diagnostic test based on this index (Dental Panoramic Radiograph Score, DPRS) was shown to have a sensitivity of 69% and specificity of 100%. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the validity of the diagnostic test in an independent sample of individuals at 50% risk of inheriting FAP. DESIGN: A retrospective assessment of DPRs in individuals at 50% risk of inheriting FAP. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A final year dental student assessed blindly and independently, DPRs from an independent sample (n = 119) of affected (n = 26), unaffected (n = 78) and clinically low risk individuals (n = 15). This revealed a sensitivity and specificity of 62 and 97% respectively which is in close agreement with results of the previous study. The dental student's training in assessing DPRs was previously tested using radiographs from 81 individuals from our original study. Weighted Kappa statistics were used to test for agreement. A kappa score of 0.82 (95% confidence interval 0.70-0.93) indicated almost perfect agreement. MAIN OUTCOME: The DPRS is a reproducible and valid index for assessing the diagnostic significance of dentoosseous changes, in individuals at 50% risk of FAP, even in relatively inexperienced hands.