Factors Associated with Avoiding Referrals by Dental Teleconsulting Sessions in Brazil.

This cross-sectional analytical study assessed the frequency of avoided referrals of primary care to other care levels by dental teleconsulting and its association with individual and contextual variables using a multilevel approach. It appraised asynchronous dental teleconsulting sessions from the secondary database of the Monitoring and Evaluation System of the Telehealth Results during 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcome was "whether referral to secondary care was avoided".

The severity of dental caries in adults aged 35 to 44 years residing in the metropolitan area of a large city in Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In recent decades, studies in the field of public health have increasingly focused on social determinants that affect the health-illness process. The epidemiological perspective considers oral health to be a reflection of socioeconomic and environmental aspects, and it is particularly influenced by the social context. The aim of the present study was to assess the association between the severity of dental caries among adults aged 35 to 44 years and characteristics on the different levels at which the determinants of caries operate (individual, social structure and social context).

The Dental Aesthetic Index and dental health component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need as tools in epidemiological studies.

The present study assesses the validity and reproducibility of two occlusal indices for epidemiological studies--the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and the Dental Health Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (DHC-IOTN) for the identification of orthodontic treatment needs. The total of 131 study models was examined by an examiner (orthodontic specialist) for the determination of the DAI and DHC-IOTN. Thirty days later, further assessment was performed to determine the reproducibility.

Factors associated to endemic dental fluorosis in Brazilian rural communities.

The present paper examines the relationship between hydrochemical characteristics and endemic dental fluorosis, controlling for variables with information on an individual level. An epidemiological survey was carried out in seven rural communities in two municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Thystrup & Fejerskov index was employed by a single examiner for the diagnosis of dental fluorosis.

Accuracy of the simplified Thylstrup & Fejerskov index in rural communities with endemic fluorosis.

The aim of the present study was to compare the values of the Thylstrup & Fejerskov Index (TF index) for the determination of the prevalence of dental fluorosis using either all teeth (gold standard) or six upper anterior teeth (simplified TF index). The sample was made up of 396 individuals aged six to 22 years from three Brazilian cities with endemic fluorosis caused by the ingestion of water with high fluoride concentration. The prevalence of dental fluorosis was evaluated by a single trained examiner with excellent intraexaminer agreement (kappa = 0.