A Pilot Study to Assess the Feasibility of Real-Time Teledentistry in Residential Aged Care Facilities.

Background/objectives: Unmet oral health needs of residents in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) arise due to the unique challenges of assessing oral health statuses and maintaining oral healthcare in RACFs. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of using real-time teledentistry under the guidance of a dentist to train RACF staff to undertake an oral health assessment.

Methods: An oral health assessment of residents was first conducted by RACF staff at two Queensland, Australia RACFs using the Oral Health Assessment Tool, with an intra-oral camera connected to a laptop, through videoconferencing, under the guidance of a dentist.

Modified Oral Health Assessment Tool (M-OHAT) for Residential Aged Care: A Co-Design Protocol.

: Older adults in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) experience disproportionate levels of poor oral health relative to other groups in the general population, affecting their physical and mental wellbeing. The Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) is a validated and widely used dental assessment tool; however, recent systematic reviews have identified shortcomings with respect to its measurement properties. : The objective of this protocol is to provide a detailed overview of a multidisciplinary qualitative study that aims to (a) co-design and develop a modified OHAT for RACFs and (b) inform the development of an OHAT training package and implementation strategies.

Causal analyses in longitudinal observational studies in oral health: A scoping review.

Objective: Causal analysis including causal inference and causal mediation is pivotal to inform effective interventions. In modern epidemilogy, causal analysis involves four key steps: formulating causal questions, employing directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), conducting data management and selecting statistical strategies. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review to assess how longitudinal observational studies (LOSs) in dental field have integrated these four steps to contribute leverage evidence that inform oral public health interventions.

Sources and determinants of free sugars intake by 5-year-old Australian children in the SMILE cohort.

Reducing free sugars intake is important for the prevention of dental caries and obesity in children. The study aimed to determine the amount and sources of free sugars known to contribute to dental caries, and identify sociodemographic determinants of intake by children aged 5 years in Australia. Cross-sectional analysis of dietary data from a cohort study, collected using a customized food frequency questionnaire were used to calculate free sugars intake as grams/day and percentage contribution to Estimated Energy Requirement (EER).

Professionally applied fluorides for preventing and arresting dental caries in low- and middle-income countries: Systematic review.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to review the safety and effectiveness of professionally applied fluorides for preventing and arresting dental caries in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: Randomized controlled trials conducted in LMICs, in which professionally applied fluorides were compared with placebo/no treatment/health education only or usual care with a minimum one-year follow-up period, were included. Any topically applied fluoride agents such as sodium fluoride (NaF), acidulated phosphate fluoride, silver diamine fluoride (SDF), and nano silver fluoride (NSF) were included.

Laser fluorescence assessment of dental caries arrest with two silver fluoride agents in patients with special needs- a preliminary report.

Purpose: While silver diamine fluoride has been used extensively for caries arrest and desensitising, silver fluoride (AgF) at neutral pH may also have value as a minimally invasive dental caries treatment. This study explored the effectiveness of two AgF products (AgF/KI and AgF/SnF) when used in adult patients with special needs (SN) who had high caries risk and salivary gland hypofunction.

Methods: This split-mouth clinical study, over two appointments 3-months apart, compared the impact of a single application of AgF/KI (Riva Star Aqua, SDI) and AgF/SnF (Creighton Dental CSDS, Whiteley) on matched carious lesions in the same arch, by clinical visual-tactile (cVT) assessment of caries status and laser fluorescence (LF, DIAGNOdent) evaluation of bacterial load in the lesions, using repeated measures analysis.

Predictors of Free Sugars Intake Trajectories across Early Childhood-Results from the SMILE Birth Cohort Study.

Foods and beverages high in free sugars can displace healthier choices and increase the risk of weight gain, dental caries, and noncommunicable diseases. Little is known about the intake of free sugars across early childhood. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal intake from 1 to 5 years of free sugars and identify the independent maternal and child-related predictors of intake in a cohort of Australian children participating in the Study of Mothers' and Infants' Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE).

Socio-economic status and access to fluoridated water in Queensland: an ecological data linkage study.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between access to fluoridated drinking water and area-level socio-economic status in Queensland.

Study Design: Ecological, geospatial data linkage study.

Setting: Queensland, by statistical area level 2 (SA2), 2021.

Trajectories of child free sugars intake and dental caries - a population-based birth cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the association between trajectories of free sugars intake during the first five years of life and dental caries experience at five years.

Methods: Data from the SMILE population-based prospective birth cohort study, collected at one, two and five years old, were used. A 3-days dietary diary and food frequency questionnaire were used to estimate free sugars intake (FSI) in grams.

The mutual relationship of the policymakers, providers, and the community on the children's oral health; New windows for more discussions.

Background: The multidisciplinary and comprehensive nature of children`s oral health with mutual interactions among various determinants makes the area a window of more discussion among oral health policymakers, stakeholders, providers, and other interested parties. This commentary presents a triangle framework of the children`s oral health, including all the above groups, for new discussions in oral health policymaking.

Main Body: Three leading influencers could be recognised in children`s oral health as a triangle despite the contextual differences among the countries.

Tobacco chewing and associated factors among a vulnerable youth population in Sri Lanka.

Background: Tobacco in any form kills millions of people every year. Tobacco addiction among youth shows an increasing trend while smokeless type is becoming more common. This study aimed to describe the lifestyle of chewing smokeless tobacco among a group of high-risk youth population in Sri Lanka.

Socioecological determinants of child oral health-A scoping review.

Objectives: Child oral health is a result of interactions between multilevel influences within a complex system. Understanding those interactions informs conceptualizing a socioecological framework of important influences on oral health. This paper aimed to present a scoping review on the determinants of dental caries and their interactions in childhood and adolescence.

Digital Health in Children's Oral and Dental Health: An Overview and a Bibliometric Analysis.

Digital health technologies can widely increase access to oral health solutions and can make them easier to use and more accessible at all primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. This study aims to present a bibliometric analysis of published literature to identify the content, trends, and context of digital health technology use in children's oral and dental health. After finalising the research question, the Scopus database was used to search systematically for related keywords from 1997 to 2022.

Pairwise approach for analysis and reporting of child's free sugars intake from a birth cohort study.

Objectives: The prospective cohort design is an important research design, but a common challenge is missing data. The purpose of this study is to compare three approaches to managing missing data, the pairwise (n = 1386 children), the partial or modified pairwise (n = 1019) and the listwise (n = 546), to characterize the trajectories of children's free sugars intake (FSI) across early childhood.

Methods: By applying the Group-based Trajectory Model Technique to three waves of data collected from a prospective cohort study of South Australian children, this study examined the three approaches in managing missing data to validate and discuss children's FSI trajectories.

Group-based trajectories of maternal intake of sugar-sweetened beverage and offspring oral health from a prospective birth cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the trajectory of maternal intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) during the first five years of their child's life and its effect on the child's dental caries at five years-of-age.

Methods: This is an ongoing prospective population-based birth cohort study in Adelaide, Australia. Mothers completed questionnaires on their SSB intake, socioeconomic factors and health behaviors at the birth of their child and at the ages of one, two and five years.

The impact of different determinants on the dental caries experience of children living in Australia rural and urban areas.

Aims: Evidence suggests there are geographical variations in child oral health and this has prompted research into determinants of that variation. This study aimed to investigate factors attributable to the difference in child oral health between urban and rural areas in Australia.

Method: Data were from the National Child Oral Health Study 2012-14, a population-based study of 5- to 14-year-old children, who underwent oral epidemiological examinations by trained examiners.

Study of Mothers' and Infants' Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE) birth cohort study: cohort profile.

Purpose: The long-term goal of the Study of Mothers' and Infants' Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE) birth cohort study is to identify and evaluate the relative importance and timing of critical factors that shape the oral health of young children. It will then evaluate those factors in their inter-relationship with socioeconomic influences.

Participants: SMILE is a single-centre study conducted in Adelaide, Australia.

Maternal caries experience influences offspring's early childhood caries-a birth cohort study.

Objective: To describe early childhood caries (ECC) patterns and evaluate the associations with maternal caries experience and other factors.

Methods: A secondary analysis was undertaken using data from the Study of Mothers' and Infants' Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE), a population-based birth cohort study. It used data from 1040 mother/child dyads.

Periodontal diseases in the Australian adult population.

Unlabelled: Periodontal diseases are some of the major oral diseases and conditions in adults.

Objective: The study aimed to present the population patterns of periodontal diseases and trends of periodontitis in the Australian adult population.

Methods: Data collected in the recent National Study of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH) 2017-18 were used to present the current population patterns of periodontal diseases.

Trend and distribution of coronal dental caries in Australians adults.

Aims: To report the experience of coronal dental caries in the Australian adult population.

Methods: Dentate people aged 15 years and over were online or telephone interviewed, and dental examined (n = 5022). The number of decay, missing and filled surfaces (DMFS) were recorded.

Dental fluorosis in the Australian adult population.

Background: The use of fluoride involves a balance between protection against caries and risk of dental fluorosis. Prevalence and trend of dental fluorosis in the adult population are not frequently reported.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of dental fluorosis in the Australian adult population.

Oral epidemiological examination - protocol: the National Study of Adult Oral Health 2017-18.

The National Study of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH) 2017-18 aimed to collect data on population oral health status of the Australian adult population. This complex nation-wide project required reliable data collection procedures. The NSAOH 2017-18 Oral Epidemiological Examination Protocol has been developed based on internationally accepted examination procedures.

Risk indicators for untreated dental decay among Indigenous Australian children.

Objective: To investigate risk indicators for untreated dental decay among Indigenous Australian children using a national representative sample.

Methods: Data were from the National Child Oral Health Study 2012-2014, which included a nationally representative sample of Indigenous Australian children aged 5-14 years. Outcomes were the prevalence (% ds/DS >0) and severity (mean ds/DS) of untreated dental decay at the tooth surface level.

Early Life Professional and Layperson Support Reduce Poor Oral Hygiene Habits in Toddlers-A Prospective Birth Cohort Study.

Oral health behaviours of children are formulated from a very young age. Formation of those behaviours among very young children is dependent on their mothers/caregivers who may themselves require support from the health profession or laypersons. The study aimed to investigate if early life visits for check-up and dental advice and perceived support improved oral health behaviours as practiced by mothers of toddlers aged 24⁻30 months old.

Contemporary evidence on the effectiveness of water fluoridation in the prevention of childhood caries.

Background: Water fluoridation's effectiveness has been reaffirmed by systematic reviews. However, most of the included nonrandomised controlled before and after studies were conducted pre-1975. Opportunity for such studies is limited in a steady state of community fluoridation programmes.