Children's Oral Health Initiative: workers' perspectives on its impact in First Nations communities.

Introduction: Since 2004, the Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI) has been working in many First Nations and Inuit communities in Canada to address oral health disparities, specifically early childhood caries (ECC). The COHI community-based approach improves early childhood oral health (ECOH) by balancing prevention with minimally invasive dentistry. The goal is to reduce the burden of oral disease, mainly by minimizing the need for surgery.

Improvement in Serum Vitamin D Following Dental Rehabilitation to Treat Severe Early Childhood Caries.

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) following rehabilitative surgery using general anesthesia (GA). Children with S-ECC were recruited on the day of surgery for a prospective study investigating changes in nutritional status and well-being before and after surgery. Venipunctures for 25(OH)D were performed while children were in the operating room, and parents completed a questionnaire regarding nutritional intake, oral health, quality of life, and family demographics.

First Nations and Metis peoples' access and equity challenges with early childhood oral health: a qualitative study.

Background: Inequities in early childhood oral health are evident amongst Indigenous peoples and communities in Manitoba, Canada. Early childhood caries (ECC) is decay in primary dentition in children under 6 years of age. A severe form of the disease occurs at a higher rate in Indigenous populations compared to the general population.

Indigenous community members' views on silver diamine fluoride to manage early childhood caries.

Objectives: Early childhood caries (ECC) continues to be the leading reason for pediatric dental surgery in Canada and is particularly prevalent among Indigenous children. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) offers an alternative method to manage non-restoratively caries. It is important to determine Indigenous communities' views on and receptivity toward SDF.

The association of body mass index and severe early childhood caries in young children in Winnipeg, Manitoba: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Associations between body mass index (BMI) and caries have been reported.

Aim: To evaluate the direction of the relationship between BMI and severe early childhood caries (S-ECC).

Design: Children were recruited as part of a larger prospective cohort study assessing changes in nutritional status following dental rehabilitation under general anaesthetic.

The Relation Between Periodontal Disease and Vitamin D.

Background: There is conflicting evidence regarding the association between vitamin D and periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to explore that relation.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey for respondents 13-79 years of age.

Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Canadian Preschoolers with Severe Caries After Dental Rehabilitation Under General Anesthesia.

The purpose was to determine changes in the oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) of children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) following dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia (DRGA). This prospective cohort study involved caregivers completing questionnaires, including the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, effect size, and multiple linear regression.

Parents' and caregivers' perspectives on the Manitoba Dental Association's Free First Visit program.

Objectives: The Free First Visit (FFV) program was implemented in 2010 to promote early preventive dental visits for children <36 months of age in Manitoba, Canada. The purpose was to understand parents' and caregivers' perspectives on the program.

Methods: Three focus groups with 21 participants were conducted in Winnipeg, Canada using an interview guide in this qualitative study.

DENTISTS' PERSPECTIVES ON THE MANITOBA DENTAL ASSOCIATION'S FREE FIRST VISIT PROGRAM.

Background: In 2010, the Manitoba Dental Association implemented the Free First Visit (FFV) program to provide access to dental screenings for children under 3 years of age and promote the concept of the age 1 dental visit. In this article, we report on dentists' views of the program.

Methods: This qualitative study included 3 focus groups held in Winnipeg, Canada.

Prenatal vitamin D and dental caries in infants.

Objectives: Inadequate maternal vitamin D (assessed by using 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25OHD]) levels during pregnancy may affect tooth calcification, predisposing enamel hypoplasia and early childhood caries (ECC). The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between prenatal 25OHD concentrations and dental caries among offspring during the first year of life.

Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited expectant mothers from an economically disadvantaged urban area.

Dentist's views on a province-wide campaign promoting early dental visits for young children.

Introduction: The Canadian Dental Association recommends that children have their first visit to a dental professional no later than 12 months of age. In 2010, the Manitoba Dental Association launched the Free First Visit (FFV) program to increase access to early visits in the province. The purpose of the study reported here was to survey dentists about their views on the FFV program and to gain an understanding of their attitudes and practice patterns relating to the oral health of infants and toddlers and first dental visits.

Impact of a regional acute care surgery model on patient access and outcomes.

Background: The consolidation of acute care surgery (ACS) services at 3 of 6 hospitals in a Canadian health region sought to alleviate a relative shortage of surgeons able to take emergency call. We examined how this affected patient access and outcomes.

Methods: Using the generalized linear model and statistical process control, we analyzed ACS-related episodes that occurred between 39 months prior to and 17 months after the model's implementation (n = 14,713).

Association between iron status, iron deficiency anaemia, and severe early childhood caries: a case-control study.

Background: Severe tooth decay is known to affect the health and well-being of young children. However, little is known about the influence of Severe Early Childhood Caries (S-ECC) on childhood nutritional status. The purpose of this study was to contrast ferritin and haemoglobin levels between preschoolers with S-ECC and caries-free controls.

Oral health of indigenous children and the influence of early childhood caries on childhood health and well-being.

Dental caries in Indigenous children is a child health issue that is multifactorial in origin and strongly influenced by the determinants of health. The evidence suggests that extensive dental caries has an effect on health and well-being of the young child. This article focuses on early childhood caries as an overall proxy for Indigenous childhood oral health because decay during early life sets the foundation for oral health throughout childhood and adolescence.

Caregiver knowledge and attitudes of preschool oral health and early childhood caries (ECC).

Objectives: Prevention strategies are integral to improving the oral health for young Aboriginal children. For such to be effective, it is important to understand the social value that parents and caregivers ascribe to primary teeth. The purpose of this paper is to report caregiver knowledge and attitudes toward preschool oral health and early childhood caries (ECC) from 4 communities in Manitoba.

Sexually transmitted disease thresholds in Manitoba, Canada.

Purpose: Persistence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in a population is due to the activities of a small proportion of the population with STI, who transmit infection on average to one or more susceptible sex partners during an infectious period. Within these groups, the average number of transmissions by infectious people to susceptible people in a closed group is measured by the reproductive number; a threshold, above which endemic infection is likely occur and below which, in the rest of the population, it is unlikely to occur. We hypothesized that people with repeated bacterial STI's and their sex partners include the theoretical core group and that they differ from singly infected noncore individuals.

Review of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy: who is affected?

Objectives: Vitamin D deficiencies have been documented in several populations, including aboriginal Canadians from isolated northern communities. Such deficiencies can impact the health of both the mother and her infant. This review was performed to determine how widespread vitamin deficiency is during pregnancy.

Determinants of early childhood caries (ECC) in a rural Manitoba community: a pilot study.

Purpose: Preschool oral health is often overlooked as an important aspect of childhood health and well-being. The purposes of this study were to: (1) determine the dental status of 3-year-old children in the community of Carman, Manitoba, Canada; and (2) identify the principal determinants of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in 2 consecutive years.

Methods: All children and mothers attending a preschool health screening fair were invited to participate.

Risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women in Manitoba.

In the province of Manitoba, the incidence of preterm birth has been increasing and the rate is higher among Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal women. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth in Manitoba women, and to compare risk factors among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women. A case-control study was performed at two tertiary care hospitals in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from October 1999 to December 2000.

Prevalence of caries among preschool-aged children in a northern Manitoba community.

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a devastating form of dental decay affecting many Canadian children, especially those from northern First Nations communities. ECC is multifactorial in origin, and the notion that the principal etiology is inappropriate feeding modalities is no longer tenable.

Methods: This study was conducted in the community of Garden Hill First Nation, Manitoba, to assess the prevalence of dental decay in young children, to assess risk factors for ECC and to determine the influence of vitamin D supplementation (a modified form of stosstherapy using 100,000 IU vitamin D), both prenatally and at 6 weeks of age, on the oral health of children.

The home environment of Métis, First Nations, and Caucasian adolescent mothers: an examination of quality and influences.

This longitudinal exploratory study compared maternal psychosocial, situational, and home-environment characteristics at 4 weeks and at 12-18 months postnatal for a convenience sample of 71 Métis, First Nations, and Caucasian adolescent mothers. The combined group of Métis/First Nations mothers had significantly higher infant-care emotionality scores than the Caucasian mothers at 4 weeks. The Caucasian mothers scored considerably higher on quality of the home environment; a refined multiple regression model containing infant-care emotionality, education level of the infant's maternal grandmother, ethnicity, and enacted social support explained 49% of the variance, with significant influences being infant-care emotionality and grandmother's education level.

Situational, maternal, and infant influences on parenting stress among adolescent mothers.

This longitudinal study compared infant care competence, infant temperament, and parenting stress of younger (less than 17 years) and older (greater than or equal to 17 years) adolescent mothers. Relationships were examined between situational, maternal infant care competence, and infant temperament. Staged multiple regression was used to quantify the role of various situational, maternal, and infant characteristics as predictors of parenting stress.

Perceived and performed infant care competence of younger and older adolescent mothers.

The investigators examined differences in perceived and performed infant care competence for younger (less than 17 years of age) and older (17 to 19 years of age) adolescent mothers. Associations were tested between perceived infant care competence measured at several time points and performed mothering at 12 to 18 months infant age. A convenience sample of 78 adolescent mothers was recruited from two major teaching hospitals in Winnipeg, Canada.

Plasma lipids in two indigenous Arctic populations with low risk for cardiovascular diseases.

The distribution of plasma lipids and their sociodemographic and metabolic correlates were investigated in two Arctic indigenous populations based on two health surveys conducted during 1990-1991 among adults in eight Inuit communities in the Keewatin region of the Northwest Territories, Canada (n = 387), and in four communities in the Chukotka region in the Russian Far North (n = 362). For comparison, data from the Canadian Heart Health Survey were used. The age-sex-specific mean total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels among Inuit in northern Canada either do not differ significantly from the Canadian national population, or, in the case of younger Inuit women, are higher than in Canadians.