Dental Implant Hygiene and Maintenance Protocols: A survey of oral health practitioners in Australia.

Dental implant care and maintenance is of critical importance as implants grow in popularity as a tooth replacement option. The purpose of this study was to investigate the implant-related training and clinical practices of oral health practitioners (OHPs) in Australia regarding oral hygiene instructions (OHI) and maintenance protocols, and to better understand their role in providing peri-implant services. A 42-item web-based survey was forwarded to the members of the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia and the Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists' Association.

Patient-reported oral hygiene and implant outcomes in general dental practice.

Background: This study investigated the possible correlations between patient-performed implant hygiene and peri-implant success and disease, as well as patient-reported outcomes, in a community-based cohort.

Methods: Fifty-one patients (78 implants) from two private general practices were surveyed on their dental implant treatment history, oral hygiene instructions (OHI) received, home hygiene habits and current implant concerns. Their dentition, plaque/calculus scores and clinical implant parameters were examined.

Dental implant maintenance teaching in Australia-A survey of education providers.

Introduction: Implant treatments and peri-implant maintenance continue apace, while the evidence for implant maintenance and home hygiene continues to be developed. Information sources for dental practitioners and patients in peri-implant health maintenance and disease management are generally not known. This study investigated the implant maintenance topics taught, the discipline backgrounds of convenors and presenters and information delivery methods within implant dentistry teaching in Australia.

Dental educators' attitudes towards the teaching of dental amalgam.

Objective: To ascertain dental educators' attitudes towards the teaching of dental amalgam at dental schools in Australia and identify preferred curricular approaches in a potentially "amalgamless" profession.

Methods: A mixed methods analysis was employed based on an open-ended response survey followed by a closed-ended questionnaire. Identification of key issues from the survey helped frame the questionnaire.

A survey of cariology teaching in Australia and New Zealand.

Background: The Australian and New Zealand chapter of the Alliance for a Cavity Free Future was launched in 2013 and one of its primary aims was to conduct a survey of the local learning and teaching of cariology in dentistry and oral health therapy programs.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed using the framework of the European Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA)/Association of Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) cariology survey conducted in Europe in 2009. The questionnaire was comprised of multiple choice and open-ended questions exploring many aspects of the cariology teaching.

Provision of oral health care to adult patients by dental therapists without the prescription of a dentist.

Objectives: Dental therapists are increasingly been seen as part of the solution to assist in improving access to dental care for underserved populations. The aim of this article is to report the outcomes of an educational bridging program designed to provide university-educated dental therapists with the appropriate knowledge and skills required to enable them to translate their current clinical scope of practice to adult patients aged 26+ years.

Methods: Ten dental therapists completed an educational program approved by the Dental Practice Board of Victoria as a pilot.

Evaluation of a pilot bridging program to enable Australian dental therapists to treat adult patients.

This study evaluated a pilot educational bridging program designed to provide dental therapists in Australia with the appropriate knowledge and skills required to enable them to translate their current clinical scope of practice to adult patients. Ten dental therapists completed a bridging program consisting of forty-two hours of didactic content, fourteen hours of clinical observation, forty-two hours of clinical practicum under direct supervision, and 105 hours of clinical experience with supervision by mentoring dentists. Process and impact evaluation was undertaken at various stages of the program by participants and supervising dentists.

Edentulism and dental caries in Victorian nursing homes.

Objectives: The aim of this project was to investigate edentulism and dental caries in nursing home residents in Victoria, Australia.

Background: The Australian population is ageing with a growing number of people living in nursing homes. These residents are at increased risk for dental caries, have more teeth present now than at any time in the past 50 years and often have difficulty maintaining adequate oral hygiene.

Shortening the xerostomia inventory.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the validity and properties of the Summated Xerostomia Inventory-Dutch Version in samples from Australia, The Netherlands, Japan, and New Zealand.

Study Design: Six cross-sectional samples of older people from The Netherlands (n = 50), Australia (n = 637; n = 245), Japan (n = 401), and New Zealand (n = 167; n = 86) were enrolled. Data were analyzed by using the Summated Xerostomia Inventory-Dutch Version.

Oral hygiene and periodontal disease in Victorian nursing homes.

Objective: To investigate oral hygiene and periodontal disease in residents of Victoria nursing homes.

Background:   The Australian population is ageing with a growing proportion of elderly Australians living in nursing homes. With declining edentulism rates, periodontal disease is becoming more prevalent in this population.

Factors associated with the recruitment and retention of dentists in the public sector.

Objectives: There is an increasing demand for public dental services in Australia, with many community dental clinics unable to meet this demand because of an inadequate number of dentists in the workforce. The aim of this study was to identify factors contributing to the recruitment and retention of dentists in the public sector.

Methods: A postal questionnaire survey of 180 dentists (response rate 75.

Pattern of dental caries experience on tooth surfaces in an adult population.

Objectives: To determine the pattern of caries experience across teeth and surfaces in an adult population depending on age and exposure to water fluoridation.

Methods: Between November 2002 and March 2003 a total of 973 subjects aged 17-51 years had a clinical examination using visual and tactile criteria. Subsequent to this examination, bitewing radiographs were taken and viewed separately.

Comparison of radiographic and clinical diagnosis of approximal and occlusal dental caries in a young adult population.

Objectives: The aims of the study were: (1) to determine if bitewing radiographs provided additional diagnostic yield for occlusal and approximal dental caries in adults aged between 17 and 30 years of age when compared with a clinical examination only, (2) how this translated into the measurement of dental caries experience, and (3) to determine the influence of water fluoridation on the diagnosis of dental caries in occlusal and approximal surfaces by clinical examination alone and by radiographic examination.

Methods: Between November 2002 and March 2003 a total of 879 subjects aged 17-30 years had a clinical examination using visual and tactile criteria. Subsequent to this examination, bitewing radiographs were taken and viewed separately and blind.

Exposure to fluoridated drinking water and dental caries experience in Australian army recruits, 1996.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate a group of young Australian adults to determine their caries experience and measure associations between caries experience and age, gender, socioeconomic status, education level and lifetime exposure to fluoridated water.

Methods: This was achieved through a cross-sectional study involving Australian Army recruits seen for their initial dental examination on enlistment into the Australian Army. A total of 499 recruits had a clinical examination with the aid of bitewing radiographs and an orthopantomograph (OPG).