Clinical Oral Disorders in Adults Screening Protocol (CODA-SP) from the 2019 Vancouver IADR Consensus Symposium.

BACKGROUND: The Clinical Oral Disorder in Elders (CODE) index was proposed in 1999 to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of older people who typically were edentate or had few natural teeth. Since then, more people are retaining natural teeth into old age and have oral disorders similar to younger adults. In addition, there has been further guidance on screening for disease that includes changes to the clinical indicators of several oral disorders and greater sensitivity to people's concerns about their oral health and care needs. METHODS: Experts in dental geriatrics assembled at a satellite symposium of the International Association of Dental Research in June 2019 to revise the objectives and content of the CODE index. Before the symposium, 139 registrants were asked for comments on the CODE index, and 11 content experts summarised current evidence and assembled reference lists of relevant information on each indicator. The reference lists provided the base for a narrative review of relevant evidence supplemented by reference tracking and direct searches of selected literature for additional evidence. RESULTS: Analysis of the evidence by consensus of the experts produced the Clinical Oral Disorders in Adults Screening Protocol (CODA-SP). CONCLUSIONS: The CODA-SP encompasses multiple domains of physical and subjective indicators with weighted severity scores. Field tests are required now to validate its effectiveness and utility in oral healthcare services, outcomes and infrastructure.

A metatheory explaining how patients manage tooth loss.

OBJECTIVES: To explore how a metatheory composed of five dominant psychosocial theories of communication, developmental regulation, emotions, resources and social cognition, explains the beliefs, concerns and experiences, of people experiencing tooth loss. BACKGROUND: Complete tooth loss is the leading cause of disability associated with oral conditions in 19 of 21 global regions, and it is among the most difficult treatment challenges in dentistry. METHODS: Interviews with 18 participants were analysed inductively using interpretive description and qualitative synthesis to explain their beliefs and experiences relating to tooth loss. RESULTS: Theoretical constructs from the five dominant theories constituting the metatheory explained the beliefs, concerns and experiences of the participants. For example, both before and after tooth loss they engaged in adaptive behaviours according to developmental regulation theory; implemented management strategies according to emotion theory, social cognitive theory, and resource theory; sought help from friends and dental professionals according to communication theory; and modified their physical and social activities according to social cognitive theory. CONCLUSION: A metatheory synthesised from five dominant theories addressing communication, personal background, emotions, resources and social awareness, offers a comprehensive and plausible explanation of how people respond psychologically and socially to the loss of their teeth, and expands the scope of information needed to help manage their loss and subsequent treatment.

Wish-fulfilling medicine and wish-fulfilling dentistry.

OBJECTIVES: to explain the practice of wish-fulfilling medicine and how it relates to dentistry. SOURCES: Relevant papers, and reports from authoritative institutions were identified in Pubmed and Google Scholar. RESULTS: Wish-fulfilling medicine refers to services provided by professionals using medical methods in a medical setting to address non-medical wishes of patients. Care-providers, medical industries, and health-insurance companies also contribute to wish-fulfilling in medicine and dentistry. Various concepts of health and illness compounded by blurred borders between health and illness offer an unstable foundation for wish-fulfilling medicine, and growing demands for these services where healthcare resources are limited can displace medically necessary treatments. Moreover, treatments without a medical or a dental necessity, can be harmful and bear the risk of futile or excessive treatments not in patients' long-term interest. Examples in dentistry are found in the field of cosmetic interventions, prosthodontics and orthodontics, where perceptions of small 'deviations' from normality prompt wishes or recommendations for intervention. Ethically, wish-fulfilling services confront the principles of the common morality if the autonomy of a patient is compromised, beneficence is unclear, harm is foreseeable, or distributive justice is compromised. Wish-fulfilling dental treatment can be restricted by legislation if it conflicts with safe, effective and efficient care, or if it interferes with patient's real needs or undermines established professional standards. CONCLUSIONS: The general understanding of wish-fulfilling medicine including its ethical and legal themes is relevant to dentistry. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Ethical considerations and legislation can guide a dentist to reflect critically on clinical decisions regarding wish-fulfilling dentistry.

A qualitative synthesis of theories on psychosocial response to loss of breasts, limbs or teeth.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review is to generate a qualitative synthesis of psychosocial theories being used to explain the beliefs and behaviors of people responding to loss of anatomical parts, such as breasts, limbs, or teeth. DATA & SOURCES: A search in four databases and subsequent manual search of pertinent reference lists identified theories on how people respond to loss of anatomical parts. Findings were analyzed by consensus through a three-stage interpretive process to: deconstruct and interpret each theory, categorize similar theoretical constructs, and distill the dominant theoretical perspectives identified as most relevant to explaining responses to the loss. STUDY SELECTION: 2540 citations produced 288 articles referring to 89 primary theories containing 586 constructs. Through synthesis of seven construct categories a metatheory with essential contributions from theories on communications, developmental regulation, emotions, resources, and social cognition can explain responses to loss. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative synthesis provides a conceptual foundation for further investigations to explain how people manage loss of anatomical parts. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The combination of five dominant theories serves as a prelude to the development of a metatheory, which will further help determine how people psychosocially respond to the loss of anatomical parts.

Self-reported oral health at baseline of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the prevalence of poor self-reported oral health (SROH) and dental service-use in a representative sample of Canadian residents, and to identify associations between SROH and psychosocial determinants of health at baseline of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. METHODS: Data from baseline interviews from 2010 to 2015 involving 93% of 51 388 adults (n = 47 761) were weighted to compare the prevalence of oral health characteristics adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomics, general health and residence. SROH was assessed as 'excellent', 'very good', 'good', 'fair' or 'poor', and dichotomized as 'fair/poor' and 'good/very good/excellent'. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association of fair/poor oral health with psychosocial determinants of health. RESULTS: Most participants reported 'good/very good/excellent' oral health (92.5%), natural teeth (92.0%) and dental service-use in the previous year (79.6%), yet over 10% had discomfort when eating. Reports of 'fair/poor' oral health were significantly more frequent among participants who had dental concerns, had low socioeconomic status, smoked tobacco or reported poor general health. Dental service-use and tooth loss differed by province. The odds of poor/fair SROH were high (odds ratio ≥1.5) among participants who avoided foods, did not use dental services frequently, had low incomes, smoked tobacco, were depressed, felt unhealthy or had multiple chronic conditions, but by neither sex or age. There were no interprovincial differences. CONCLUSIONS: Most Canadian residents feel in good oral health and use dental services. Oral health inequality is evident between different socioeconomic groups and between healthy and unhealthy people. SROH is strongly associated with socioeconomic and general health status but not with place of residence. However, there were substantial differences in reports of tooth loss and dental service-use across provinces.

A typology of systematic reviews for synthesising evidence on health care.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this paper are to (a) Review published references to systematic reviews; (b) offer a typology of systematic reviews for synthesising evidence on health care; and (c) summarise the guides for designing, reporting and appraising the reviews. BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews play a role in finding, synthesising, transferring and implementing evidence for healthcare policy, practice guidelines and allocation of health resources. They have been particularly successful in confirming or synthesising evidence for health care by meta-analysing aggregated data from multiple randomised controlled trials. However, concerns about the limitations of evidence from controlled trials have prompted interest in other review methods capable of locating and appraising evidence from more diverse, and possibly more realistic, healthcare situations. METHODS: An iterative citation-tracking process with Google Search and grey literature identified 204 papers on previous typologies and methods of systematic reviews. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: There are six types of systematic reviews: narrative; meta-analysis; scoping; qualitative; umbrella; and realist. Each type has distinct objectives, characteristics and attributes, but with much overlapping of methods and guides. Sensitivity to the need for qualitative evidence on complex human responses to ill-health and health care has broadened the objectives and methods of health-related systematic reviews to find, appraise and synthesis useful evidence for practice guidelines, healthcare policy and allocation of health resources.

Beliefs about managing dental problems among older people and dental professionals in Southern Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the sociocultural context in which patients and dentists in urban and rural communities in Southern Brazil interpret dental problems. METHOD: Beliefs and experiences related to dental problems were explored in eight focus groups involving a total of 41 older patients, and in direct interviews with two dentists and two dental assistants. The interactions were audio recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis. RESULTS: The beliefs and experiences of the participants focused on four main themes: cultural beliefs; dental services; decisions to extract teeth; and expectations for change. A culture of pre-nuptial tooth loss and complete dentures was considered beneficial to young women. Although dental services at the time were scarce in the region, demands for relief of pain were extensive despite the fear and anxiety of the participants. Extraction of teeth and fabrication of complete dentures were the usual dental treatments available, although some participants felt that dentists withheld other treatment options. Participants were hopeful that dental services would improve for their children. CONCLUSIONS: Patients and dental professionals in urban and rural communities of Southern Brazil managed dental problems within a culture of limited access and availability of services that favoured dental extractions and complete dentures.

Developmental regulation of lifelong dental experiences and beliefs in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to explain through the life-course and life-span perspectives of developmental regulation theory the controls on dental experiences and beliefs throughout the lives of older people in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. BACKGROUND: Dental diseases and disabilities among older people are serious public health concerns in China. METHODS: A facilitator conducted eight focus groups, three in Hong Kong and five in Guangzhou, involving a total of 51 participants. She encouraged discussions about lifetime events to explain dental experiences and beliefs. Transcripts were coded and analysed using a constant comparative approach to identify themes that explained the regulators of dental experiences throughout the participants' lives. RESULTS: Participants explained the influence of culture and history through critical events, and how external and internal factors regulated their current oral health status and beliefs. They emphasised the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine and family, and the stress of social upheaval compounded by a scarcity of dental services. They revealed also how current choice of dental services and health promotional programs, helped by personal food choice, self-reliance, and scepticism, helped them to adjust and cope with dental diseases and disabilities and the commercialisation of dental services. CONCLUSIONS: Dental experiences and beliefs of older people living in Guangzhou and Hong Kong were regulated strongly during personal development by culture and history during critical events, and by various controlling factors, such as health promotion and choice of services supplemented by food choice, nutritional balance, self-reliance, scepticism and social adjustments.

On Implant Prosthodontics: One Narrative, Twelve Voices - 12.

No abstract available.

Anxiety and anger of homeless people coping with dental care.

OBJECTIVES: To reveal and describe from open-ended interviews how homeless people in Vancouver interpret, appraise and cope with dental care. METHODS: Audio-recorded interviews with 25 homeless people (18 men and 7 women; age range: 25-64 years), purposefully selected for a range of experiences, were transcribed and analysed inductively. The process of interpretive description drawing from the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations and Lazarus's Theory of Emotions identified how participants appraised and coped with dental care. RESULTS: Four dominant themes emerged: barriers to care; service use; opinions on dental health; and improving dental services. Participants were anxious about the cost of dentistry and fearful of dentists. They got emergency dental care with difficulty, usually in hospital emergency departments although mostly they preferred self-treatment. They acknowledged the importance of dental health but felt stigmatized by their homelessness and visibly unhealthy mouths. They wanted accessible dental services with financial assistance from government, more widespread information about community dental clinics, and, notably among the Indigenous participants, less humiliating discrimination from dentists. CONCLUSIONS: Homeless people have difficulty coping with dental care. They believe that dentistry is frightening, humiliating and expensive, and governments are neither sympathetic to their disability nor willing to provide helpful information about community dental clinics or sufficient dental benefits for their needs.

A Model Pathway to Oral Health Care for Homeless People.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at developing a model pathway to use of oral health care by homeless people based on their own perceptions and experiences with oral health care and related services in Vancouver. METHODS: We applied Gelberg-Andresen's behavioural model for vulnerable populations to predict health care use and interviewed 25 homeless adults (18 men and 7 women; age range 25-64 years) to develop a model pathway of care. Data collection and thematic analysis were carried out concurrently and iteratively to construct the pathway, which aimed at mutual decision-making and organization of the care process. RESULTS: Thematic analysis identified 4 main themes: government-sponsored oral health programs, homeless support, oral health outreach initiatives and professional education. CONCLUSIONS: The model pathway helps to explain the factors that enable homeless people to access oral health care. It may also help dental teams foster positive care-seeking behaviour relevant to this vulnerable population so that oral disorders can be managed more sympathetically and effectively.

The perceptions of first nation participants in a community oral health initiative.

The Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI) is a federally funded community-based preventive dental program for children and their caregivers living in geographically isolated Canadian Aboriginal communities. The goal of the program is to improve access to preventive dental services for children of 0-7 years of age. It utilises community health workers in collaboration with dental therapists to promote and deliver the program. Almost half of the province of Manitoba's (n=27) First Nations communities have implemented COHI since 2005. The objective of this investigation was to explore the opinions of COHI from the perspective of community members whose children had participated in the program. Purposeful selection identified caregivers of enrolled children for a semi-structured interview. The targeted caregivers had children who met at least one of the following criteria: (1) 0-2 years old; (2) 5-7 years old; (3) had two or more children either currently or formerly enrolled in COHI. Six open-ended questions guided the interview process. Content analysis was used to code transcripts and identify themes. One hundred and forty-one interviews were completed in 13 communities. Participants defined good oral health as the absence of dental cavities, which reflects a Western biomedical model of disease. The local, community-based nature of COHI was viewed as essential to its success in increasing access to preventive dental services and improving children and caregivers' oral health knowledge and behaviours. In conclusion, a local, community-based oral health prevention programme is perceived as having a beneficial effect on children and caregivers' oral health knowledge and behaviours. However, oral health preventive messages need to be further integrated into traditional Aboriginal holistic models of wellness.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mastication with Complete Dentures Made by a Conventional or an Abbreviated Technique.

PURPOSE: The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to test the hypothesis that there are no statistically significant differences after 3 and 6 months in masticatory performance or chewing ability of people with new complete dentures made by an abbreviated or a conventional technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The trial included 20 edentulous participants at a dental school in Brazil assigned randomly to receive dentures made by either a conventional technique involving six clinical sessions or by an abbreviated technique involving three clinical sessions. At baseline with old dentures and at 3 and 6 months with new dentures, masticatory performance was measured by counting the number of chewing strokes and the time before participants had an urge to swallow and by calculating the medium particle size of a silicone material after 20 chewing strokes and at the urge to swallow. On each occasion, the participants recorded on visual analog scales their ability to chew five food textures. Statistical significance (P ≤ .05) of changes in masticatory performance and chewing ability during the trial were analyzed with generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Both techniques improved masticatory performance between baseline and 6 months and the ability to bite and chew all foods apart from hard apples. CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in masticatory performance or chewing ability after 6 months between complete dentures made by a conventional or an abbreviated technique.

Panoramic radiographs made before complete removable dental prostheses fabrication: A retrospective study of clinical significance.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The value of digital panoramic radiographs to screen for problems before fabricating conventional complete dentures is unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the influence of pretreatment digital panoramic radiographs on the clinical management of patients receiving complete removable dental prostheses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The clinical records, including panoramic radiographs, of 169 patients seeking new complete removable dental prostheses over a 6-year period were interpreted independently by both a prosthodontist and an oral and maxillofacial radiologist to identify radiographic findings that influenced clinical patient management. A 95% confidence interval and an observed proportion of agreement were used to interpret the results. RESULTS: Sixty percent of the 169 radiographs examined had 1 or more abnormal or positive radiographic findings; however, only 6 (<4%) of 165 abnormalities detected influenced patient management, and 3 of them were identified during the clinical examination. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment digital panoramic radiographs revealed very few abnormalities that influenced the treatment of patients requiring complete removable dental prostheses. Furthermore, the digital images in this study revealed positive findings at a rate similar to those found in studies assessing analog radiographs, reinforcing current guidelines that recommend against radiographic screening of patients who seek new complete removable dental prostheses.

Oral health and the frailty syndrome.

The frailty syndrome is an ever-growing area of study among older adults because of its association with an increased risk of falls, hospitalization, institutionalization, dependency and mortality. Frailty is neither a disease nor a disability but is better understood as a medical syndrome of multisystem dysregulation that results in a diminished ability to overcome everyday stressors. The prevalence of frailty in any given population can vary widely, in part because of the way in which it is defined and measured, but in general it is higher among women and in those with advanced age and declining health. Whilst it is largely understood that older adults will differ biologically, psychologically and socially, and that each of these domains can impact oral health, we are only beginning to investigate how the mouth is affected in frailty. Given that both hard and soft structures contribute to oral health and disease status among older adults with varying degrees of impairment and disability, frailty adds yet another dimension to be considered. This paper will discuss how frailty can influence and be influenced by oral disorders, as well as the potential relationship to oral neglect and the resultant consequences among this vulnerable population.

Care Perceptions among Residents of LTC Facilities Purporting to Offer Person-Centred Care.

This study explored qualitatively how residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities feel about and adapt to the care they receive. We interviewed and observed a purposeful selection of elderly residents in seven facilities purporting to provide person-centred care. Interpretative descriptions from 43 personal interviews with 23 participants answered the question: How do residents perceive the care rendered in LTC facilities purporting to offer person-centred care? Three themes emerged: (1) the caring environment; (2) preservation of dignity; and (3) maintenance of personal autonomy. Participants were sympathetic to the nursing staff's workload, but felt distant from the staff. Participants gave examples of poor care and lack of empathy, human indignities, and violations of personal autonomy caused by institutional policies they felt inhibited their ability to receive care based on their preferences. Overall, they challenged the claims of person-centred care, but adapted to cope with an environment that threatened their dignity and autonomy.

Cross-cultural equivalence in translations of the oral health impact profile.

The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) has been translated for comparisons across cultural boundaries. This report on a systematic search of literature published between 1994 and 2014 aims to identify an acceptable method of translating psychometric instruments for cross-cultural equivalence, and how they were used to translate the OHIP. An electronic search used the keywords 'cultural adaptation', 'validation', 'Oral Health Impact Profile' and 'OHIP' in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases supplemented by reference links and grey literature. It included papers on methods of cross-cultural translation and translations of the OHIP for dentulous adults and adolescents, and excluded papers without translational details or limited to specific disorders. The search identified eight steps to cross-cultural equivalence, and 36 (plus three supplemental) translations of the OHIP. The steps involve assessment of (i) forward/backward translation by committee, (ii) constructs, (iii) item interpretations, (iv) interval scales, (v) convergent validity, (vi) discriminant validity, (vii) responsiveness to clinical change and (viii) pilot tests. Most (>60%) of the translations involved forward/backward translation by committee, item interpretations, interval scales, convergence, discrimination and pilot tests, but fewer assessed the underlying theory (47%) or responsiveness to clinical change (28%). An acceptable method for translating quality of life-related psychometric instruments for cross-cultural equivalence has eight procedural steps, and most of the 36 OHIP translations involved at least five of the steps. Only translations to Saudi Arabian Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, German and Japanese used all eight steps to claim cultural equivalence with the original OHIP.

The impact of oral health on body image and social interactions among elders in long-term care.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore how social interactions and body image are influenced by perceived oral health among older people who live in long-term care facilities. BACKGROUND: Social interactions among frail elders in long-term care (LTC) facilities are limited, but to what extent body image and oral health influence their social relations is poorly understood. A positive body image and the perception of adequate oral health are linked to increased social contacts, as well as improved health and well-being irrespective of age. However, as frailty increases, it is unclear whether appearance and oral health priorities remain stable. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Open-ended interviews were conducted with a purposefully selected group of cognitively intact, older men and women who exhibited varying degrees of frailty, social engagement and oral health conditions and lived in one of seven long-term care facilities. The interviews were analysed using a constant comparative technique, and a second interview with participants checked the trustworthiness of the analysis. RESULTS: Three major categories were expressed by the participants: (1) My mouth is fine; (2) It depends; and (3) Not that important. Within each category, there were several contributing and influencing factors. CONCLUSIONS: Social interactions among residents in LTC may be negatively impacted by poor oral health, but only if other personal and social issues are less bothersome than conditions with the mouth.