Effect of fluoridated water on invasive NHS dental treatments for adults: the LOTUS retrospective cohort study and economic evaluation.

Background: Most water fluoridation studies were conducted on children before the widespread introduction of fluoride toothpastes. There is a lack of evidence that can be applied to contemporary populations, particularly adolescents and adults.

Objective: To pragmatically assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of water fluoridation for preventing dental treatment and improving oral health in a contemporary population of adults, using a natural experiment design.

A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial of a Targeted Distributed Toothpaste and Toothbrushing Programme.

Introduction: The aim was to assess the effectiveness of a distributed, targeted toothbrush and toothpaste programme on referrals for tooth extraction under Dental General Anaesthetic (DGA), in children of high-risk families compared to usual care.

Methods: A recruiter and assessor-blinded, clustered parallel randomised control trial (RCT). Families with one or more children aged between 3 and 10 years having undergone a DGA operation for extraction of carious teeth, were approached within hospitals in the North West of England.

The CATFISH study: An evaluation of a water fluoridation program in Cumbria, UK.

Objectives: The objective was to assess the effectiveness of a Water Fluoridation program on a contemporary population of children.

Methods: The study used a longitudinal prospective cohort design. In Cumbria, England, two groups of children were recruited and observed over a period of 5-6 years.

Economic evaluation of a water fluoridation scheme in Cumbria, UK.

Objectives: The addition of fluoride to community drinking water supplies has been a long-standing public health intervention to improve dental health. However, the evidence of cost-effectiveness in the UK currently lacks a contemporary focus, being limited to a period with higher incidence of caries. A water fluoridation scheme in West Cumbria, United Kingdom, provided a unique opportunity to study the contemporary impact of water fluoridation.

How effective and cost-effective is water fluoridation for adults and adolescents? The LOTUS 10-year retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To pragmatically assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of water fluoridation for preventing dental treatment and improving oral health in a contemporary population of adults and adolescents, using a natural experiment design.

Methods: A 10-year retrospective cohort study (2010-2020) using routinely collected NHS dental treatment claims data. Participants were patients aged 12 years and over, attending NHS primary dental care services in England (17.

Effect of Fluoride Release on Enamel Demineralization Adjacent to Orthodontic Brackets.

Introduction And Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the ability of fluoride-releasing adhesives to inhibit enamel demineralization surrounding orthodontic brackets.

Methods: Two groups of 40 sound human premolars were sectioned mesio-distally. The halves were varnished, and orthodontic brackets were bonded with different adhesive materials.

Bedtime Routines Intervention for Children (BRIC) project: results from a non-randomised feasibility, proof-of concept study.

Background: Bedtime routines are highly recurrent family activities with implications for children's wellbeing, development and health.

Aims: The objective of this study is to co-develop and test in a feasibility, proof-of-concept study a bedtime routines intervention using text messages aimed at first-time parents with young children.

Methods: Fifty first-time parents with children aged 1-3 years were recruited for this study.

Dental extractions in primary care for patients at risk of MRONJ.

Aims This study aims to understand the experiences of general dental practitioners (GDPs) performing dental extractions for patients at risk of developing medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) and to identify the key features of the patients who are referred to secondary care for their extractions.Materials and methods A mixed-method study consisting of quantitative analysis of anonymised electronic referrals and thematic analysis of in-depth telephone interviews with GDPs.Results In total, 122 electronic referrals for patients at risk of MRONJ were identified.

Bedtime Routine Characteristics and Activities in Families with Young Children in the North of England.

Bedtime routines have been shown to have significant associations with health, wellbeing and development outcomes for children and parents. Despite the importance of bedtime routines, most research has been carried out in the United States, with little information on bedtime routine characteristics and activities for families in other countries such as the United Kingdom and England in particular. Additionally, little is known about the possible effects of weekends vs.

Bedtime Oral Hygiene Behaviours, Dietary Habits and Children's Dental Health.

Oral hygiene behaviours as well as dietary habits before bed can affect children's dental health resulting in higher prevalence of dental disease. Dental disease can affect children's health, development and even school performance. If left untreated, dental disease can progress and it can lead to extractions under general anaesthetic causing further distress for children and families.

Defining and measuring bedtime routines in families with young children-A DELPHI process for reaching wider consensus.

Introduction: Bedtime routines are one of the most common family activities. They affect children' wellbeing, development and health. Despite their importance, there is limited evidence and agreement on what constitutes an optimal bedtime routine.

Increasing questionnaire response: evidence from a nested RCT within a longitudinal birth cohort study.

Background: High response rates are essential when questionnaires are used within research, as representativeness can affect the validity of studies and the ability to generalise the findings to a wider population. The study aimed to measure the response rate to questionnaires from a large longitudinal epidemiological study and sought to determine if any changes made throughout data collection had a positive impact on the response to questionnaires and addressed any imbalance in response rates by participants' levels of deprivation.

Methods: Data were taken from a prospective, comparative study, designed to examine the effects of the reintroduction of water fluoridation on children's oral health over a five-year period.

Bedtime Routines Intervention for Children (BRIC) using an automated text messaging system for behaviour change: study protocol for an early phase study.

Background: This work concerns the activities in the last hour before bed for young children born to first-time parents, so called bedtime routines (BTR). These activities include amongst others tooth brushing, reading a book, having a bath and avoiding food and drinks before bed. Having a set bedtime at a suitable hour is also very important.

Long-term variability in artificially and naturally fluoridated water supplies in England.

Objectives: To understand the potential impact of exposure misclassification on water fluoridation studies in England, this paper aims to describe the long-term variation in water fluoride concentrations in both artificially and naturally fluoridated water supplies.

Methods: Water fluoridation dose monitoring data were requested from all five English public water suppliers who artificially fluoridate their water, as well as from one water company that supplies naturally fluoridated water. Descriptive statistics were calculated, including annual means, standard deviations, minimum-maximum and absolute and relative frequencies.

Development and pilot study of an oral health literacy tool for older adults.

Aim: Oral health literacy is emerging as an important element in oral health promotion, but few studies have been conducted in older adults. This work aimed to develop and validate the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Dentistry for Older Adults (OA-TOFHLiD).

Methods: The tool was developed by a researcher and then evaluated by experts for face validity.

A comparison of dental fluorosis in adult populations with and without lifetime exposure to water fluoridation.

Objectives: There is a lack of evidence on the proportion and severity of fluorosis in adult populations exposed and not exposed to fluoridated water over their lifetimes. The aim of this study was to compare the proportion and severity of fluorosis in adults with lifetime exposure to water fluoridation with a nonexposed sample. A secondary aim was to report the gradient of fluorosis severity by age.

Connected toothbrushes: Bridging the gap to personalized oral health.

Purpose: To describe the health-related metrics available from a connected toothbrush and potential insights into individualized toothbrushing behavior and performance.

Methods: A total of 1,926 patients used a new connected electronic toothbrush within a 4-month period. Data were collected from the brush using a smartphone application including frequency of use, duration and surface coverage of each brushing session across 16 zones covering occlusal, buccal and lingual surfaces.

Automatic detection and classification of dental fluorosis in vivo using white light and fluorescence imaging.

Objectives: To assess a novel method of automatic fluorosis detection and classification from white light and fluorescent images.

Methods: Dental images from 1,729 children living in two fluoridated and two non-fluoridated UK cities were utilised. A novel detection and classification algorithm was applied to each image and TF scores were obtained using thresholding criteria.

Digital epidemiology - Calibrating readers to score dental images remotely.

Background: There is growing interest to use digital photographs in dental epidemiology. However, the reporting of procedures and metric-based performance outcomes from training to promote data quality prior to actual scoring of digital images has not been optimal.

Methods: A training study was undertaken to assess training methodology and to select a group of scorers to assess images for dental fluorosis captured during the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Further opportunities for digital imaging in dental epidemiology.

Dental epidemiological research permits accurate tracking of the prevalence and distribution of oral disease across population groups, enabling planning and evaluation of public health interventions and healthcare service provision. This first section of this paper aimed to review traditional assessment methods in dental epidemiology and to consider the methodological and logistical benefits provided by digital imaging, both generally and specifically in relation to an established dual-camera system. The remainder of this paper describes the results of a semi-structured examination of an image archive from previous research utilising a dual-camera system, exploring whether the diagnostic yield of the images might be increased.

Bedtime routines child wellbeing & development.

Background: Bedtime routines has shown important associations with areas associated with child wellbeing and development. Research into bedtime routines is limited with studies mainly focusing on quality of sleep. The objectives of the present study were to examine the relationship between bedtime routines and a variety of factors associated with child wellbeing and to examine possible determinants of bedtime routines.