Frequent recreational cannabis use and its association with caries and severe tooth loss: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015-2018.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the association of frequent recreational cannabis (FRC) use with untreated coronal caries, untreated root surface caries, and severe tooth loss.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data obtained from 5,656 people, aged 18 through 59 years, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2015 through 2018. FRC use was defined as self-reported use of marijuana or hashish at least once per month for the past 12 months.

Social Network Size and Severe Tooth Loss among Persons With Diabetes: Findings From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

The aims of this study were to examine the association of social network size with severe tooth loss and the number of missing teeth among Hispanic adults with diabetes in the United States and to assess whether the association varied by glycemic control. Data obtained from 1,007 adults who participated in the Hispanic Community Health Study were analyzed. Structural social support was measured with the Social Network Index (SNI), which assessed network size and frequency of social contacts.

Point-of-care diabetes testing in the dental setting: A national scope of practice survey.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of state dental directors regarding their state's professional practice act, specifically scope of practice laws regarding point-of-care chairside screening for diabetes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to examine the 50 state dental directors' knowledge of policy around point-of-care diabetes testing in their state. A five-item survey instrument was designed in a web-based platform and electronically distributed in 2022.

Social support and oral health among working-age and older adults in the United States.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of social support with untreated dental caries and severe tooth loss in adults in the United States.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by analyzing data obtained from 5,447 individuals, 40 years of age and older, in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2008 who had both a complete dental examination and social support index measures. Sample characteristics, overall and by social support level, were examined through descriptive statistical analyses.

Bridging gaps in oral health education in a medical school in the United States: a pilot study.

Background: Oral health is an important component of medical education given its connection to overall health and quality of life; however, oral health is infrequently incorporated into medical school curricula in the United States. The aim of this study was to pilot a novel oral health care clerkship for United States medical students that implemented the Smiles for Life (SFL) curriculum, in-person clinical activities, and pre and post curricula assessments to assess knowledge acquisition, attitude change, and clinical skill development.

Methods: Third year medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, volunteered (n = 37) for a clerkship in oral health.

The use of dental radiographs for age estimation of unaccompanied migrant minors: Scientific and ethical concerns.

Unaccompanied migrant minors are increasingly seeking asylum status in the United States (U.S.) where guidelines for age assessment call for the use of multiple forms of evidence.

Periodontal disease and incident prediabetes and diabetes: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Aim: To examine whether baseline periodontal disease is independently associated with incident prediabetes and incident diabetes in Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.

Materials And Methods: This study examined 7827 individuals, 18-74 years of age without diabetes, from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Participants received a full-mouth periodontal examination at baseline (2008-2011), and the disease was classified using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/American Academy of Periodontology case definitions.

Chairside Diabetes Screening: A Survey of Dental Providers at the Largest Municipal Healthcare System in the United States.

Purpose: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of dentists at the largest municipal healthcare system in the United States with regard to point-of-care chairside diabetes testing in the dental clinic.

Materials And Methods: A 29-item survey was designed in a web-based platform (Survey Monkey) and distributed in November 2020 to 264 dental providers (attending dentists and residents) within eleven dental departments of the New York City Health + Hospitals municipal healthcare system. The questionnaire included sections on demographics, current practices, level of diabetes training, scope of practice, and attitudes regarding chairside diabetes testing.

Identifying the Utility of Dental Providers in Human Papillomavirus Prevention Efforts: Results From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to (1) examine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in adolescents and young adults in the U.S., including those who had a dental visit in the last year but not a medical visit and (2) to determine an association between last visit to the dentist and HPV vaccination status.

Dental access and expenditures for adults with intellectual and other disabilities.

Objectives: Individuals with disabilities experience greater barriers accessing health care services and have poorer oral health outcomes than those without disabilities. The aims of this study were to examine dental access, utilization, expenditures, and sources of payment between adults with intellectual disabilities (ID), other types of disabilities, and without disabilities.

Methods: Secondary analyses of data from the 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) allowed examination of dental access (being able to get dental care and receiving necessary dental care without delay), dental utilization (having a dental visit in the past year), total dental expenditures, and associated sources of payment between three groups of adults based on disability status using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable statistics.

Interprofessional Oral Health Collaboration: A Survey of Knowledge and Practice Behaviors of Hospital-Based Primary Care Medical Providers in New York City.

Background: The siloed delivery of oral and medical health care in the United States has contributed to a lack of awareness of the consequences of poor oral health and has hampered effective interprofessional education and collaboration. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice behaviors of primary care medical providers in an urban safety-net hospital regarding collaboration with dentists and integration of oral health into overall health-care delivery.

Methods: A 36-item survey was designed in a web-based platform (Survey Monkey) and electronically distributed in September 2020 to 181 primary care medical providers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants) within a municipal hospital in the Bronx, New York.

National Trends and Characteristics in Emergency Department Visits for Nontraumatic Dental Conditions Among Pediatric Patients.

The purpose of this study was to examine trends and characteristics of pediatric nontraumatic dental condition (NTDC) visits to emergency departments (EDs) in the United States from 2010 to 2017. The 2010 to 2017 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) was analyzed for NTDC visits to EDs for children (zero to 20 years old). NTDC visits were identified based on ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes.

Social support and dental caries experience: Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study.

Objective: To examine the association of social support with dental caries experience in Hispanics/Latinos living in the United States (US) and to assess whether the relationship is modified by nativity status.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analysed data for 4459 dentate men and women aged 18-74 years in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study. At baseline (2008-2011), dentists quantified dental caries experience as the number of decayed, missing, and filled permanent tooth surfaces (DMFS) for all teeth excluding third molars.

Prescribing Analgesics for Postoperative Dental Pain.

It is well-known that there is an opioid crisis in the United States. Prescription opioid analgesics contribute to this crisis; in 2012, dentists ranked second to family care physicians as the top prescribers. The medical and dental literature demonstrates that dental prescribing practices have been excessive, resulting in leftover medication that could then be diverted, misused, or abused.

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and caries experience: An examination of children and adults in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014.

Background: The authors' aim was to examine the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and the prevalence and severity of the caries experience in children and adults in the United States.

Methods: The authors analyzed data obtained from 14,192 people aged 2 through 74 years, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 through 2014. Using descriptive analyses, the authors assessed the distributions of sociodemographic characteristics overall and via SSB intake.

Perceived dental care need and actual oral health status in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of subjective self-assessment of dental care need with objective oral disease status in a sample of Hispanics/Latinos.

Methods: Data from 13,561 participants of the 2008-2011 Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos were analyzed using complex survey procedure in SAS 9.4.

Diet quality and dental caries in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Objectives: Fermentable carbohydrate is universally recognized as the major dietary risk factor for dental caries. We assessed the broader relationship between diet quality and dental caries in a diverse Latinx adult population.

Methods: In a cross-sectional probability sample, 14,517 dentate men and women in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) received a dental examination and completed two 24-hours dietary recalls and a food propensity questionnaire.

Social capital and periodontal disease in Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Aims: To examine the association of social capital with periodontal disease severity.

Materials And Methods: We analysed data obtained from 3,994 men and women aged 18-74 years in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study (HCHS/SOL SCAS). From 2008 to 2011, dentists assessed periodontitis status with a full-mouth periodontal examination.

Trends in non-traumatic dental emergency department use in New York and New Jersey: a look at Medicaid expansion from both sides of the Hudson River.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Medicaid expansion on non-traumatic dental condition (NTDC) emergency department visits in New York (NY) and New Jersey (NJ).

Methods: The 2010-2014 State Emergency Department Databases for NY and NJ were analyzed. NTDCs were defined as ICD-9-CM codes 520.

Mother's Caries Experience as a Risk Factor for Child's Oral Health: An Analysis of a High-Risk Population in the Bronx, New York.

The purposes of this study were to: (1) assess the prevalence of dental caries experience in a sample of 543 low-income children, ages six months to 17 years, in the Bronx, New York; and (2) determine the existence of any association between maternal active decay and child's caries experience. Caries risk assessment forms completed in the pediatric clinic of an urban safety-net hospital in the Bronx were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression models assessed associations between maternal active decay and child's caries experience.

Genome-wide association reveals contribution of MRAS to painful temporomandibular disorder in males.

Painful temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are the leading cause of chronic orofacial pain, but its underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Although many environmental factors have been associated with higher risk of developing painful TMD, family and twin studies support a heritable genetic component as well. We performed a genome-wide association study assuming an additive genetic model of TMD in a discovery cohort of 999 cases and 2031 TMD-free controls from the Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment (OPPERA) study.

Better-quality diet is associated with lower odds of severe periodontitis in US Hispanics/Latinos.

Aim: We investigated the cross-sectional association between diet quality and severe periodontitis in a sample of diverse Hispanics from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Materials And Methods: A total of 13,920 Hispanic/Latinos aged 18-74 years of different heritages underwent a full-mouth oral examination and completed two 24-hr dietary recalls during 2008-2011. Severe periodontitis was defined as having ≥30% tooth sites with clinical attachment loss ≥5 mm.

Children's orthodontic utilization in the United States: Socioeconomic and surveillance considerations.

Introduction: There has been no epidemiologic study of malocclusion prevalence and treatment need in the United States since the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 1988 to 1991. In this descriptive study, the authors sought to estimate orthodontic treatment prevalence by examining a nationally representative survey to assess current pediatric dental and orthodontic utilization.

Methods: The 2009 and 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys were used to categorize and compare all types of pediatric dental and orthodontic procedures in children and adolescents up to 20 years old.