The Children's Health and Maintenance Program (CHAMP): An innovative community outreach oral health promotion program: A randomized trial.

Objective: To describe CHAMP (Children's Oral Health Promotion Program) evaluating the impact of two motivational methods in increasing dental care access.

Methods: CHAMP is a multi-dimensional oral health promotion programme that recruited and screened underprivileged children/families from community sites in Los Angeles County between 2012 and 2018. A randomized clinical trial (RCT) enrolled children/families into one or more motivational interventions (intra-oral camera and/or social work consultation) designed to impact subsequent scheduling of dental appointments.

Prevalence of oral health problems in U.S. adults, NHANES 1999-2004: exploring differences by age, education, and race/ethnicity.

Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 1999-2004, the authors examined age patterns in oral health indicators by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status related to edentulism, presence of root caries, and periodontal disease. Our analysis included subjects who were non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and African American over the age of 20, and who participated in the NHANES oral health examination. African Americans experienced more oral health problems at younger ages; as age increased, so did racial disparities in oral health problems.

The impact of oral health on the academic performance of disadvantaged children.

Objectives: We measured the impact of dental diseases on the academic performance of disadvantaged children by sociodemographic characteristics and access to care determinants

Methods: We performed clinical dental examinations on 1495 disadvantaged elementary and high school students from Los Angeles County public schools. We matched data with academic achievement and attendance data provided by the school district and linked these to the child's social determinants of oral health and the impact of oral health on the child's school and the parents' school or work absences.

Results: Students with toothaches were almost 4 times more likely to have a low grade point average.

Oral health-related quality of life and perceived dental needs in the United States.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in the US population by sociodemographic factors, perception of dental needs, reported dental visits, and saliva indicators.

Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004 were used. NHANES measured OHRQOL by a modified version of the Oral Health Impact Profile.

Dental students' attitudes toward underserved populations across four years of dental school.

The objective of this study was to assess dental students' attitudes toward underserved populations across their four years of dental school. Students at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California were invited to take part in the study. Participating students completed a questionnaire on their attitudes toward the underserved at three time points: 1) during orientation week; 2) at the end of their second year after taking part in some community dental programs; and 3) at the end of their fourth year after they had completed all their mandatory and volunteer rotations in community dental programs.

The oral health conditions of the homeless in downtown Los Angeles.

The aim of this study is to evaluate a community health project serving the homeless and to assess their oral health. Clinical charts of 1,088 patients were evaluated. The prevalence of untreated caries was 58 percent among adults with a mean of 6.

Mobile dental clinic: an oral health care delivery model for underserved migrant children.

Objectives: To investigate the oral health status, access, and the role of mobile dental clinics in improving the oral health of migrant children.

Methods: Parents attending University of Southern California's Mobile Dental Clinics completed a questionnaire about their children's access to dental care.

Results: 54 percent of children were unable to access needed care, and prevalence of untreated decay was 87.

Prevalence and impact of sleep disorders and sleep habits in the United States.

Purpose: Epidemiologic studies on sleep disorders in the USA have mostly focused on specific disorders in specific groups of individuals. Most studies on sleep habits and sleep-related difficulties have focused on children and adolescents. The authors describe the prevalence of the three common physician-diagnosed sleep disorders (insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome (RLS)) by age, gender, and race in the US population.

Impact of community-based oral health experiences on dental students' attitudes towards caring for the underserved.

Dental students' attitudes towards access to dental care for the underserved may be impacted by participation in community oral health promotion programs that target individuals in underserved communities. At the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, freshman dental students provide classroom oral health promotion and preventive dental care programs to underserved elementary school children. One hundred forty-four freshman dental students were surveyed three times during their freshman year-before, during, and after participation in these programs.

Parsimonious prediction model for the prevalence of dental visits.

Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of dental visits within the last year in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System or BRFSS (2003) national database by simple sociodemographic factors, and to predict prevalence in States that have not participated in BRFSS 2003.

Methods: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted by the state-level authorities in the United States and based on a standardized questionnaire to determine the distribution of risk behaviors and health practices among noninstitutionalized adults. A multivariable logistic regression model considers the complex sample design of the BRFSS was used to predict the prevalence of dental visits based on four nonclinic parsimonious variables.

Interdisciplinary approach to oral health for persons with developmental disabilities.

The aim of this interdisciplinary study was to survey the oral health among persons with developmental disabilities (PDD), and to evaluate the impact of the routine referral process at a regional center in Los Angeles, California. This study evaluated the subjects' oral health, access to care, oral health behaviors, and adherence to referrals. The study recruited 102 subjects (74% were African American or Hispanic).

The effect of an HIV/AIDS educational program on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of dental professionals.

The Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center (PAETC) developed and tested over time a curriculum to meet the changed HIV/AIDS-related needs of dental health professionals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the HIV-related knowledge, attitudes/beliefs, and behaviors among the participants of a CE training course based on this curriculum, both before and six weeks after the completion of the course. The project recruited 106 participants who were dental health professionals over a ten and a half year period (1992-2003).

Baseline characteristics of participants in the oral health component of the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Objectives: This study described baseline sociodemographic and oral health characteristics of a subset of HIV sero-positive and sero-negative women who participated in the oral health component of the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).

Methods: In 1995-96, 584 HIV sero-positive and 151 sero-negative women from five WIHS core sites were enrolled in the oral study. Data on oral mucosa, salivary glands, dentition and periodontium, along with demographics, socioeconomics, and behavioral characteristics, were used to characterize this population.