Background: There is no standardized approach to the organizational structure for oral health provision in long-term care (LTC) and many different arrangements exist within different institutions. Objectives: To analyze how integration of dental service in LTC impacts residents and their oral health using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed involving 61 residents in 3 LTC facilities in Ontario. Facility A had a fee-for-service hygienist, Facility B had a dentist present once per week, and Facility C had a full time dental team. Results: Dental services that initiated treatment as opposed to placing responsibility on the LTC resident to access dental care resulted in better oral health outcomes. Conclusion: Dental services in LTC require a proactive approach directly integrated with each resident’s overall health care plan. Passive treatment strategies fail to provide acceptable oral health for LTC residents even when dental services are available.

Background: There is no standardized approach to the organizational structure for oral health provision in long-term care (LTC) and many different arrangements exist within different institutions. Objectives: To analyze how integration of dental service in LTC impacts residents and their oral health using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed involving 61 residents in 3 LTC facilities in Ontario. Facility A had a fee-for-service hygienist, Facility B had a dentist present once per week, and Facility C had a full time dental team. Results: Dental services that initiated treatment as opposed to placing responsibility on the LTC resident to access dental care resulted in better oral health outcomes. Conclusion: Dental services in LTC require a proactive approach directly integrated with each resident’s overall health care plan. Passive treatment strategies fail to provide acceptable oral health for LTC residents even when dental services are available.

Thesis (doctoral)--Malmö University, Sweden, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on World Wide Web.

No description available.

No description available.

Young adults in Sweden have grown up with dental care free of charge until the age of twenty. Their self-perceived oral health has been reported as being good, but rapid changes in society have led to a weaker economic situation for many young adults, which may influence their dental attendance and priorities concerning oral health and oral health care. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the views of young adults on dental care, oral health and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). The thesis is based on four scientific papers which all apply a qualitative approach. In Paper I, the views of young adults on dental care were explored. Paper II investigated the views of young adults on their oral health and OHRQoL. In Paper III, measures of OHRQoL were described and analysed from a public health perspective, and in Paper IV, the views of young adults on the relevance of three measures of OHRQoL were explored. In Paper I, II, and IV, data collection was performed through qualitative interviews. The selection of informants was strategic with reference to age (21-29 years), sex and education. For Paper III, a literature search for OHRQoL measures was made in the PubMed database. The data in Paper I was analysed in accordance with the constant comparative method (inspired by Grounded Theory), and in Papers II, III and IV, qualitative content analysis was used. The results showed that young adults were satisfied with the dental care that they had received but reported specific views and demands on dental care (Paper I). They perceived their oral health as good, but an array of oral health problems was described (Paper II). The young adults’ perceived control of their OHRQoL depended on their future prospects of oral health, in relation to their perceptions of their past and present oral health. In Paper III, the search for measures of OHRQoL in the PubMed database generated 22 measures. The measures were analysed with regard to their theoretical framework and in relation to four principles of health promotion. Some elements of public health principles were found in all the measures, but most of them originated in disease-oriented theories. The occurrence of oral problems was reflected in young adults’ views on the measures of OHRQoL (Paper IV). The analysed measures were deemed to have both advantages and disadvantages but to be fairly equal. The conclusions are that young adults’ OHRQoL was dependent on their earlier experiences of dental care and their former and present oral health, as well as their future prospects regarding oral health. Elements of public health principles were present to a varying degree in all the measures of OHRQoL. Young adults regarded the frequently used measures of OHRQoL as being equal. The measures were mainly disease-oriented and no specific measures had been developed for young adults. / Unga vuxna i Sverige har vuxit upp med fri tandvård till och med det år de fyller 19 år och de upplever ofta en god munhälsa. Snabba samhällsförändringar har bl a medfört sämre ekonomi för många unga och detta kan ha påverkat deras tandvårdsbesök och deras prioriteringar vad gäller tandvård. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen var att utforska unga vuxnas syn på tandvården, deras munhälsa och munhälsorelaterade livskvalitet (OHRQoL). Avhandlingen baseras på fyra studier. I Studie I undersöktes unga vuxnas syn på tandvården. Studie II undersökte och beskrev unga vuxnas syn på sin munhälsa och OHRQoL. I Studie III beskrevs och analyserades mätinstrument för OHRQoL ur ett folkhälsoperspektiv och i Studie IV beskrevs hur unga vuxna ser på tre mätinstrument för OHRQoL. I Studie I, Studie II och Studie IV samlades data in genom kvalitativa intervjuer. Urvalet var strategiskt i förhållande till ålder (21-29 år), kön (hälften kvinnor) och utbildning (gymnasienivå/mer). De flesta deltagarna i studierna besökte tandvården regelbundet. I Studie III gjordes sökningar i databasen PubMed för att finna mätinstrument för OHRQoL.  Data i Studie I analyserades genom komparativ metod som är inspirerad av ”Grounded Theory”. I Studie II, Studie III och Studie IV genomfördes dataanalysen med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultaten visade att unga vuxna var nöjda med den tandvård de erhållit men att de hade speciella önskemål och krav på denna (Studie I). Unga vuxna beskrev sin munhälsa som god men angav trots det en mängd olika munhälsoproblem. Deras upplevda kontroll över sin OHRQoL var relaterad till deras syn på sin framtida munhälsa i relation till tidigare erfarenheter av tandvården och synen på sin egen munhälsa (Studie II). I Studie III genererade datasökningen 22 mätinstrument för OHRQoL. Mätinstrumenten analyserades utifrån deras teoretiska utgångspunkter och i relation till fyra principer för folkhälsoarbete (empowerment, medinflytande, holism, rättvisa). Aspekter av de fyra principerna återfanns i varierande grad hos alla mätinstrumenten varav de flesta hade sin utgångspunkt i sjukdomsinriktade teorier. I Studie IV framkom att de unga vuxnas upplevelse av sin egen munhälsa hade betydelse för deras syn på de tre undersökta mätinstrumenten för OHRQoL. Alla mätinstrumenten ansågs ha för- och nackdelar men bedömdes som ungefär likvärdiga. Konklusionen är att unga vuxnas OHRQoL är beroende av deras tidigare erfarenheter från tandvården och deras tidigare och nuvarande munhälsa samt i deras syn på sin framtida munhälsa. Principer för folkhälsoarbete uppfylldes i varierande grad i analyserade mätinstrument för OHRQoL och unga vuxna ansåg att mätinstrumenten var ungefär likvärdiga. Mätinstrumenten var i huvudsak sjukdomsinriktade. Det saknas ett speciellt instrument för att mäta unga vuxnas munhälsorelaterade livskvalitet. / <p>Odontologie doktorsexamen i ämnet odontologisk vetenskap</p>

The elderly are increasingly retaining natural teeth into old age and many require regular long-term medication for chronic medical problems. If these medicines contain sugars and have a prolonged clearance time from the mouth, they may threaten dental health. The extent of regular and long-term use of these medicines in the elderly was the subject of this study comprising five surveys. A general medical practice survey identified 2002 elderly patients aged ≥60 years taking 143 prescribed medicines with prolonged oral clearance (POC) long-term representing a prevalence of use of 9.8%, with females aged ≥75 years more likely to be taking POC medicines long-term (p<0.001). The main medical problems reported were cardiovascular and musculoskeletal, however antacids, laxatives and minor analgesics were the most commonly prescribed POC medicines. The prevalence of over-the-counter POC medicine use long-term was 1.1%. Analysis of prescription numbers and quantities of medicines dispensed in primary care identified 613 POC medicines representing 13% of the 457 million items dispensed in England in 1994, of which 30.4 million items (51%) were for medicines potentially used regularly and longterm by the elderly. POC medicines prescribed in primary care represented the main area of use; secondary care accounted for only 1% of the overall quantities prescribed in the Northern Region and the contribution of OTC medicines to overall consumption of POC medicines was also low (<1 %). The influence of generic prescribing and dose form on the sugar content of the medicines dispensed was substantial; over 80% of generic liquid oral medicines were sugars-containing compared with 7% of proprietary liquid oral medicines. Efforts should be made to draw the attention of government, manufacturers, prescribers and dispensers as well as consumers to the major influences of dose form and specificity of prescribing on the sugars content of medicines. This is crucial in those increasing number of dentate individuals whose dental health is at risk through regular and long-term use of POC medication.

<p>A qualitative study was carried out to assess the role of traditional healers in oral health care in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, South Africa. The aim and objectives of the study were to assess the oral care knowledge and practices among traditional healers, to determine the extent to which traditional healers can diagnose oral conditions and how they could be used in the provision of primary health care and prevention of the spread of HIV infection. Another objective was to use the information collected to serve as a guide for collaborative oral disease prevention programme development.</p> <p><br /> Three categories of traditional healers were identified in the sample: Isangomas, Nyangas and Umthandezelis. The average age of the sample was 45 years and the majority was female. Most healers were in training for between eight months and ten years. All traditional healers reported seeing patients with oral diseases and 93% reported that they referred patients elsewhere for additional help. All healers treated their patients with natural remedies. Seventy three per cent of the sample reported that they treated patients with HIV/AIDS. Less than 30% of the sample knew that AIDS was caused by a virus and 47% reported being &lsquo / told&rsquo / by the ancestors whether an oral disease was HIV/AIDS.</p> <p><br /> In this study traditional healers were shown a series of ten photographs of common oral diseases and oral HIV lesions and asked to identify as many lesions as possible. Following basic training and education about the causes and diagnostic features of the lesions, 100% of traditional healers were then able to identify aphthous ulcers, 80% Kaposi's sarcoma and 73% could recognize cancer of the tongue. These results showed that given proper education, traditional healers could play an important role in early detection of not only the common oral diseases but also the oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS. In addition, most traditional healers are skilled in interpersonal relations and if provided with the correct information they could be very effective as AIDS councilors.</p> <p><br /> The traditional healers demonstrated good knowledge of the transmission, risk groups and prevention strategies for HIV/AIDS and they could serve as an important resource of information and should be incorporated in community based AIDS prevention and other programmes.</p>

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (doctoral)--Malmö University, Sweden, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on World Wide Web.