Development of a Greek Oral health literacy measurement instrument: GROHL.

Background: Oral health literacy is an important construct for both clinical and public health outcomes research. The need to quantify and test OHL has led to the development of measurement instruments and has generated a substantial body of recent literature. A commonly used OHL instrument is REALD-30, a word recognition scale that has been adapted for use in several languages.

Effect of toothpastes containing different NaF concentrations or a SnF2/NaF combination on root dentine erosive lesions, .

Background: Fluoride toothpastes presumably offer some protection against acid erosion. However, uncertainty exists towards fluoride's efficacy relatively to the concentration and the type of chemical compound used. This study evaluated the relative efficacy of toothpastes containing sodium fluoride in different concentrations or a stabilized stannous fluoride/sodium fluoride system on root dentine erosion.

The short-term effects of television advertisements of cariogenic foods on children's dietary choices.

Objective: To investigate the short-term influence of the advertising of cariogenic foods on children's dietary preferences, and the possible moderating effect of several factors on this influence.

Methods: One-hundred and eighty-three children, 11-12 years of age, were exposed to advertisements showing sugary food and non-food items, in a within-subject counterbalanced design. Their preferences for unhealthy and healthy foods, and their ability to recall or recognise the advertisements, were measured following both sessions.

Gender differences in oral health status and behavior of Greek dental students: A meta-analysis of 1981, 2000, and 2010 data.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the oral health status and behavior of Greek dental students over time, and to meta-analyze these findings to test the widely documented hypothesis that women have better oral health behavior, oral hygiene, and periodontal status but higher dental caries rates than men.

Materials And Methods: A total sample of 385 students was examined using identical indices to assess oral health and behavioral data initially in 1981 while the years 2000 and 2010 were selected due to significant changes that took place in the dental curriculum in the 1990s and 2000s. Data by gender concerning the outcome variables recorded in every one of the three surveys were analyzed using Mantel-Haenszel and continuous outcomes methods.

Prevalence of dental caries in 5-year-old Greek children and the use of dental services: evaluation of socioeconomic, behavioural factors and living conditions.

Objectives: To assess dental caries and use of dental services experience in 5-year-old children attending public kindergartens in Attica, Greece and to examine the influence of certain socioeconomic factors and living conditions as well as dental behaviours and attitudes.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a random and stratified sample of 605 Greek children was examined using decayed, missing, filled tooth surfaces and simplified debris indices. The use of dental services was measured by children's dental visits (any dental visit up to the age of 5 years).

Dental erosion prevalence and associated risk indicators among preschool children in Athens, Greece.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to investigate dental erosion prevalence, distribution and severity in Greek preschool children attending public kindergartens in the prefecture of Attica, Greece and to determine the effect of dental caries, oral hygiene level, socio-economic factors, dental behavior, erosion related medication and chronic illness.

Material And Methods: A random and stratified sample of 605 Greek preschool children was clinically examined for dental erosion using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination Index (ΒΕWE). Dental caries (dmfs) and Simplified Debris Index were also recorded.

Tooth loss and oral rehabilitation in Greek middle-aged adults and senior citizens.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of tooth loss in Greek individuals aged 35 to 44 and 65 to 74 years in relation to sociodemographic parameters and to describe their prosthetic status and needs.

Materials And Methods: A stratified cluster sample of 1,188 middle-aged adults and 1,093 senior citizens was selected according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for national pathfinder surveys. Tooth loss and prosthetic status and needs were recorded according to WHO criteria.

Adhesion of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Biofilm Formation on Different Types of Orthodontic Brackets.

Objectives. To examine the interaction between Porphyromonas gingivalis and 3 different orthodontic brackets in vitro, focusing on the effect of an early salivary pellicle and other bacteria on the formation of biofilms. Material and Methods.

An in vitro study of the effect of aluminum and the combined effect of strontium, aluminum, and fluoride elements on early enamel carious lesions.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of aluminum and of combined strontium, aluminum, and fluoride treatments on enamel demineralization and remineralization. During a 6-day pH-cycling protocol, pre-softened bovine enamel slabs were immersed twice daily for 1 min in the following experimental solutions: (a) distilled water [W] (negative control); (b) 1,000 ppm F [F] (positive control); (c) 1,000 ppm Al [Al]; (d) 1,000 ppm Al,1,000 ppm F applied interchangeably [Al-F]; (e) 1,000 ppm Al, 1,000 ppm F, applied in sequential order [Al+F]; (f) combined 1,000 ppm Al and 150 ppm Sr [Al+Sr]; and (g) combined 150 ppm Sr and 1,000 ppm F [Sr+F]. Subsequently, the specimens were subjected to a 5-day acid resistance test.

Greece's high dentist to population ratio: comparisons, causes, and effects.

Reaching the optimal dentist to population ratio is a common health policy challenge around the world, but while many countries have too few dentists for their populations, Greece is facing the opposite problem. This study was designed to describe and analyze trends in the number and distribution of dentists in Greece over the last thirty years and compare the Greek dentist to population ratio with that of the other twenty-six European Union (EU) countries. Demographic data for Greece were obtained from the Hellenic Dental Association and the National Statistical Service of Greece and were analyzed using nonparametric statistical tests.

Penalties for academic dishonesty in a Greek dental school environment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of the faculty and students of the University of Athens Dental School in Greece regarding the appropriate penalty for specific academic offenses. In addition, faculty and student opinions were compared. A questionnaire was distributed to officially registered seniors and full-time faculty members, and 177 individuals responded anonymously and voluntarily.

In vitro evaluation of fluoride and calcium sodium phosphosilicate toothpastes, on root dentine caries lesions.

Objectives: The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the effect of toothpastes containing three different sodium fluoride concentrations and a calcium sodium phosphosilicate system, on root dentine demineralization and remineralization.

Methods: During a fourteen-day pH-cycling protocol, pre-softened bovine root dentine specimens were immersed twice daily, before and after the demineralization periods, for 2 min, in the following toothpaste slurries: (a) non-fluoridated (control), (b) 7.5% calcium sodium phosphosilicate, (c) 1450 ppm F, (d) 2800 ppm F, and (e) 5000 ppm F.

Dental caries prevalence and treatment needs of 5- to 12-year-old children in relation to area-based income and immigrant background in Greece.

Objectives:   To investigate the association between certain socio-demographic characteristics and dental health status of 5- to 12-year-old children attending public kindergarten and primary schools in Piraeus, Greece.

Methods:   Gender, age, place of residence, immigrant background and area-based income were associated with dental caries prevalence, treatment needs and oral hygiene level in 5,116 children.

Results:   The mean number of decayed, missing and filled deciduous teeth (dmft) and Unmet Restorative Treatment Needs Index (UTN) at 6-year-olds were 1.

Novel methods of balancing covariates for the assessment of dental erosion: a contribution to validation of a synthetic scoring system for erosive wear.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to balance several potential erosive covariates, using traditional and novel epidemiological approaches, in order to assess the relative risks of dental erosion more precisely.

Methods: Traditional (univariate and logistic regression analysis) and novel techniques (propensity scores and Inverse Probability Weighting-IPW) were applied for evaluating the effect of twenty covariates on dental erosion among 502 adolescents.

Results: Different approaches gave different estimates of the relative risks of dental erosion.

Evaluation of three different scoring systems for dental erosion: a comparative study in adolescents.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare three scoring systems for dental erosion representing different approaches: the recently proposed Basic Erosive Wear Examination (B.E.W.

Self-reported and clinically-diagnosed dental needs: determining the factors that affect subjective assessment.

Purpose: The role of demographic, socioeconomic and psychological factors that influence the subjective assessment of dental needs has been the subject of contemporary dental research. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between self-reported and clinically diagnosed dental needs, with the view of understanding the factors that affect subjective assessments of dental problems.

Materials And Methods: A random sample of 130 subjects, aged 21 to 63 years, was selected from the non-academic staff members of the Athens University of Economics and Business.

A comparison of the prevalence of fluorosis in 8-year-old children from seven European study sites using a standardized methodology.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to report on the prevalence of enamel opacities from seven European study sites using a standardized photographic method, and to investigate the importance of variables responsible for enamel fluorosis.

Methods: The sample comprised a randomly selected group of 300 8-year-old children in each of the study areas. One examiner from each area was trained and calibrated in the use of a standardized photographic technique.