Hazardous alcohol use and receipt of risk-reduction counseling among U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Objective: Military service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF]) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF]) has been associated with high rates of mental health problems. Relatively little is known, however, about the prevalence of risky drinking among OEF/OIF veterans using U.S.

The impact of the 2004-2005 influenza vaccine shortage in the Veterans Health Administration.

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) serves a population at high risk of influenza-related morbidity and mortality. The national public health response to the vaccine shortage of the 2004-2005 season resulted in prioritization of recipients and redistribution of available supply.

Objective: To characterize the impact of the 2004-2005 influenza vaccine shortage on vaccination among users of VHA facilities.

North Carolina dental hygienists' oral cancer knowledge and opinions: implications for education.

Background: Appropriately trained dental hygienists can participate in oral cancer (OC) control.

Method: We assessed knowledge of risk factors, diagnostic procedures, and opinions regarding OC education among 651 dental hygienists practicing in North Carolina using a mail survey. We constructed regression models of factors influencing high knowledge levels.

Adequacy of training in oral cancer prevention and screening as self-assessed by physicians, nurse practitioners, and dental health professionals.

Objective: To assess the educational preparedness of medical and dental professionals to reduce the burden of OPC through planning effective cancer control strategies such as reducing tobacco consumption, suggesting healthy lifestyle and diet, and performing early detection through screening examinations and appropriate follow-up.

Methods: Self-reported adequacy of training in oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) early intervention activities was compared among 4 health care provider groups in North Carolina. Pretested surveys were mailed to random samples of licensed professionals.

Prevention and early detection of oral and pharyngeal cancer in veterans.

Objectives: To assess knowledge of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) clinical signs and risk factors, the association between the risk factors and OPC, and the experience with OPC screening between newly diagnosed OPC patients and controls among a population of veterans in North Carolina.

Study Design: A case-control study with 31 OPC cases and 30 frequency-matched controls recruited from 2003 to 2004. Bivariate analysis using chi-square statistics and multivariate logistic regression was implemented to estimate the association with OPC.

The effect of periodontal therapy on TNF-alpha, IL-6 and metabolic control in type 2 diabetics.

Purpose: This pilot study investigated if scaling and root planing (S&RP) was an effective intervention in reducing levels of inflammatory markers TNF-alpha and IL-6 in a type 2 diabetic population.

Methods: Twenty-five patients with type 2 diabetes, 18-64 years of age were enrolled having 4 or more sites with pocket depths > or = 5mm and 2 or more sites with attachment loss > or = 3mm. Participants received S&RP following collection of gingival crevicular fluid and serum which were analyzed for TNF-alpha and IL-6.

The effects of periodontal therapy on vascular endothelial function: a pilot trial.

Background: Chronic periodontal infection is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Although the mechanism responsible for the relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular events is not fully understood, it is hypothesized that the chronic inflammatory burden of periodontal disease may lead to impaired functioning of the vascular endothelium.

Methods: Twenty-two otherwise healthy adults with moderate to severe periodontitis who underwent complete mouth disinfection were evaluated to determine if periodontal therapy would result in improved endothelial function and a decrease in serum inflammatory markers.

North Carolina dental hygienists' assessment of patients' tobacco and alcohol use.

Purpose: North Carolina is the 11th most populous state and ranks 14th among all states in the age-adjusted mortality rate for oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC). This study assessed North Carolina dental Hygienists' knowledge of tobacco and alcohol use as OPC risk factors, assessment practices of tobacco and alcohol use in patient medical histories, and opinions regarding tobacco and alcohol cessation education. Characteristics of dental hygienists who screen for tobacco and alcohol use in medical histories were also analyzed.

Periodontal disease and coronary heart disease: a reappraisal of the exposure.

Background: Results from studies relating periodontal disease to cardiovascular disease have been mixed. Residual confounding by smoking and use of clinical measures of periodontal disease rather than measures of infection have been 2 major criticisms. The aims of this study were to investigate relationships between prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD) and 2 exposures, (1) clinical periodontal disease and (2) IgG antibodies to 17 oral organisms, and to evaluate the role of smoking in these relationships.

Knowledge of oral cancer risk factors and diagnostic concepts among North Carolina dentists. Implications for diagnosis and referral.

Background: Dentists play a critical role in the early detection of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC). The authors administered a survey that assessed the level of knowledge among dentists regarding risk factors and diagnostic concepts.

Methods: In 2002, the authors mailed a 38-item, pretested survey to a random sample of 1,115 licensed dentists practicing in North Carolina.

Evidence for periodontitis as a tertiary vascular infection.

Periodontal infections create an oral wound that serves as a portal for the systemic dissemination of oral pathogens. Clinical assessments of periodontal disease that account for the number and severity of diseased periodontal sites and teeth; including measurements of pocketing, the degree of redness, inflammation and bleeding on probing, can all provide an estimate of the severity of the clinical condition. However, these clinical signs appear inadequate to completely characterize the size, patency and integrity of the periodontal lesion which serves as a portal for systemic exposure.

Associations between IgG antibody to oral organisms and carotid intima-medial thickness in community-dwelling adults.

Aims: The aims of this study are to describe the relationships between IgG antibodies to 17 oral organisms and atherosclerosis as indexed by carotid intima-medial wall thickness (IMT) and to evaluate the role of smoking.

Methods And Results: Our study is based on a subset of participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, who received a complete periodontal examination during visit 4 (1996-1998). The outcome was mean carotid IMT>/=1mm assessed by B-mode ultrasound.

Incidence rates and trends for oral and pharyngeal cancer in North Carolina: 1990-1999.

This study describes the incidence of oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) in North Carolina (NC) from 1990 to 1999. OPC cases 1990-1999 from the NC Central Cancer Registry were included. Variables included date of diagnosis, county of residence, anatomical site, histology, age at diagnosis, sex, race, stage at diagnosis, grade, tumor behavior, and laterality.

Campylobacter rectus mediates growth restriction in pregnant mice.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that subclinical infection may be an important cause of low birth weight. Campylobacters are important human pathogens, causing septicemia and occasionally abortion, premature labor, or severe perinatal infection. The potential role of oral species of Campylobacter in mediating adverse pregnancy outcomes in animal models has not yet been determined.

Periodontal disease is associated with renal insufficiency in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study.

Background: Periodontitis, a chronic bacterial infection of the oral cavity, is a novel risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Given the numerous shared risk factors for CVD and chronic kidney disease (CKD), we hypothesized that periodontitis also is associated with renal insufficiency in the Dental Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 5,537 middle-aged black and white men and women.

Incidence of occlusal dental caries in asymptomatic third molars.

Purpose: We sought to determine the incidence of caries experience on the occlusal surface of asymptomatic third molars erupted to the occlusal plane and to examine the association between the prevalence of caries experience in third molars and other molars.

Patients And Methods: Clinical data were collected from healthy patients (ASA Class I, II) with asymptomatic third molars enrolled at 2 clinical centers in an institutional review board-approved clinical trial. All patients with at least one third molar at the occlusal plane and with data at baseline and from the most recent of at least 2 follow-up visits were compared in the analysis.

Third molars associated with periodontal pathology in older Americans.

Purpose: The study goal was to assess the association between the presence of visible third molars and periodontal pathology in a community-dwelling sample of middle-aged and older adults.

Materials And Methods: Data were obtained between 1996 and 1999 on 6,793 persons aged 52 to 74 from the Dental ARIC Study, a substudy of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. The main independent variable was presence or absence of third molars assessed visually, and the dependent variable was assessment of periodontal disease as measured by pocket depth of 5 mm or greater (PD5+).

Oral cancer knowledge and examination experiences among North Carolina adults.

Objective: This study assesses knowledge of oral cancer risk factors, clinical signs, and oral cancer examination experience among North Carolina adults.

Methods: A statewide random digit dial, computer-assisted telephone interview was conducted in 2002. Data from 1,096 respondents, with a response rate of 62 percent, were poststratified to 2000 census data by sex, race, and age group to produce population-based estimates.

Relationship of periodontal disease and tooth loss to prevalence of coronary heart disease.

Background: Studies relating periodontal disease to coronary heart disease (CHD) have provided equivocal results using tooth loss and/or clinical signs of periodontal disease as measures of periodontal exposure.

Methods: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationship of tooth loss and periodontitis to prevalent CHD at the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) visit 4 using both tooth loss and clinical signs of disease in a population-based sample of 8,363 men and women aged 52 to 75 years from four U.S.

Third molars associated with periodontal pathology in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Purpose: Assess the association between visible third molars (VTM) and periodontal pathology in Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

Materials And Methods: Data were obtained on 5,831 persons aged 18 to 34 from the NHANES III. Relevant to the present study was the presence of VTM and the assessment of periodontal disease in 2 randomly selected (1 maxillary and 1 mandibular) quadrants.

Incidence of periodontal attachment loss over 5 years among older South Australians.

Objectives: This study described the 5-year incidence of periodontal attachment loss (ALOSS) among older Australians.

Material And Method: Clinical examination data were obtained at baseline and 5 years from participants in a cohort study of South Australians aged 60+. Periodontal measurements (gingival recession, GR; probing depth, PD) were made for each tooth at 3 sites.

Porphyromonas gingivalis infection in pregnant mice is associated with placental dissemination, an increase in the placental Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio, and fetal growth restriction.

Our previous animal studies showed that maternal Porphyromonas gingivalis infection in a subcutaneous chamber is associated with hepatic and uterine translocation, as well as systemic induction of maternal inflammatory responses, both of which were associated with fetal growth restriction (FGR). However, P. gingivalis-challenged dams had fetuses with either FGR (2 standard deviations below mean weight of nonchallenged dams) or normal weight.

Porphyromonas gingivalis infection during pregnancy increases maternal tumor necrosis factor alpha, suppresses maternal interleukin-10, and enhances fetal growth restriction and resorption in mice.

Epidemiological studies have shown a potential association between maternal periodontitis and pregnancy complications. We used a pregnant murine model to study the effect of infection with the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis on pregnancy outcomes. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated with heat-killed P.

Relationship of clinical depression to periodontal treatment outcome.

Background: Depression has been associated with periodontal disease; however, its relationship to periodontal treatment outcome (PTO) has not been investigated.

Methods: Data were obtained by chart abstraction and computer databases on 1,299 health maintenance organization (HMO) patients aged 30 to 64 who had concurrent medical, dental, and pharmacy benefits, and who had an initial periodontal examination during 1996, 1997, or 1998. Depression (yes/no) was the main independent variable and was determined by presence of any diagnosis code for depression on the patient record.