The Use of the Slipping Slipper Sign to Explore the Connection between the Feet and the Mouth in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Objective: Both periodontal disease and peripheral neuropathy are complications associated with poorly controlled diabetes. This study aimed to determine whether periodontal disease was more prevalent and more severe among patients with severe diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Methods: A case-control study was performed; 46 patients with and 48 without the slipping slipper sign (SSS)-a surrogate clinical marker for severe peripheral neuropathy-were recruited from a diabetic outpatient clinic.

Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour of Parents and Caregivers of Preschool Children: Implications for Oral Health Promotion.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of parents and caregivers of preschool children in order to inform an oral health promotion strategy.

Materials And Methods: A sample of parents and caregivers of children attending nine randomly selected preschools in central Trinidad were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire on early childhood oral health.

Results: A total of 309 parents and caregivers participated: 88% were female, 74.

Prevalence of Enamel Developmental Defects and Relationship with Early Childhood Caries in Trinidad.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel (DDE) and their relationship with early childhood caries (ECC) among preschool children in Trinidad.

Methods: A cross-sectional oral health survey of 251 three- to five-year-old preschool children was undertaken in central Trinidad. The decayed, missing, and filled primary teeth (dmft) index and the DDE index were used to measure visible caries experience and enamel developmental defects, respectively.

Perceived competency at graduation among dental alumni of the University of the West Indies.

The aims of this study were to describe levels of self-rated competency of dental graduates from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and to investigate relationships with gender and the effect of curriculum change. A thirty-two item self-reported postal questionnaire was sent to UWI dental alumni (1994-2002). The questionnaire included twenty-eight competencies that could be rated on a 5-point scale: 1 (not at all competent) to 5 (very competent).

Sources of stress and psychological disturbance among dental students in the West Indies.

The aim of this study was to investigate sources of stress and psychological disturbance in dental students across the five years of undergraduate study at a dental school in Trinidad. Eighty-three percent of students completed a modified version of the Dental Environment Stress questionnaire (DES) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). On a scale ranging from 0 (not stressful) to 5 (highly stressful), overall mean DES scores for each of the five years of study were 1.