School food policy in secondary schools in England and its impact on adolescents' diets and dental health: the FUEL multiple-methods study.

Background: School food standards are a legal requirement for state-funded schools in England and are designed to promote healthy eating in pupils. However, state-funded academies/free schools established between 2010 and 2014 are exempt from this legislation. To complement the school food standards, the government launched the School Food Plan in 2013, which outlines voluntary actions that schools can take to support healthy eating and increase school meal uptake.

National school food standards in England: a cross-sectional study to explore compliance in secondary schools and impact on pupil nutritional intake.

Background: Many countries have introduced school food standards to improve the dietary intakes of school-aged children. England has school food standards (SFS) legislation in place but little is known about how well secondary schools comply with this. We aimed to assess compliance with the SFS legislation in English secondary schools and explore the impact of the SFS on pupils' nutritional intake.

Parental acceptance of Silver Diamine Fluoride in two lower-middle-income countries: Iran and Tajikistan.

Background: Using Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) may be an effective public health approach for managing dental caries in children. Parental acceptance of SDF has rarely been investigated in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was to evaluate parental acceptance of SDF to manage dental caries in children aged 2-12 in Iran and Tajikistan.

Diagnostic accuracy of tele-dentistry in screening children for dental caries by community health workers in a lower-middle-income country.

Background: Tele-dentistry can be useful for dental caries screening of children, especially in lower-middle-income countries (LMICs).

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of mobile phone photographs taken by a community health worker (CHW) for caries detection in Iran.

Design: Children aged 6-12 years were visually examined by a paediatric dentist.

Area-level inequalities in the provision of NHS orthodontic care in England from 2016 to 2019.

Objective To investigate geographic inequalities in the provision of NHS orthodontic care in England at the area level.Methods NHS dental activity data were analysed for the three financial years April 2016 to March 2019. The measures used were units of dental activity (UDA), units of orthodontic activity (UOA) and commencement of orthodontic treatment.

Trends in self-reported cost barriers to dental care in Ontario.

Background: The affordability of dental care continues to receive attention in Canada. Since most dental care is privately financed, the use of dental care is largely influenced by insurance coverage and the ability to pay-out-of pocket.

Objectives: i) to explore trends in self-reported cost barriers to dental care in Ontario; ii) to assess trends in the socio-demographic characteristics of Ontarians reporting cost barriers to dental care; and iii) to identify the trend in what attributes predicts reporting cost barriers to dental care in Ontario.

Food insecurity and dental caries prevalence in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Food insecurity (FI) is associated with dietary practices, which can act as a risk factor for dental caries.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between FI and dental caries prevalence in children and adolescents.

Design: MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, SCOPUS, ISI web of knowledge, Cochrane, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database (up to April 19, 2022) as well as reference lists were searched.

Oral health inequality in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom.

The objective of this study was to quantify the magnitude of absolute and relative oral health inequality in countries with similar socio-political environments, but differing oral health care systems such as Canada, the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK), in the first decade of the new millennium. Clinical oral health data were obtained from the Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007-2009, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2008, and the Adult Dental Health Survey 2009, for Canada, the US and UK, respectively. The slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII) were used to quantify absolute and relative inequality, respectively.

Comparing the magnitude of oral health inequality over time in Canada and the United States.

Objectives: To assess the magnitude of, and changes in, absolute and relative oral health inequality in Canada and the United States, from the 1970s till the first decade of the new millennium.

Methods: Data were obtained from four national surveys; two Canadian (NCNS 1970-1972 and CHMS 2007-2009) and two American (HANES 1971-1974 and NHANES 2007-2008). The slope and relative index of inequality were used to measure absolute and relative inequality, respectively.

Teaching Minimally Invasive Interventions in Paediatric Dentistry: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Dental Schools in Iran.

Background: Dental caries is a significant public health problem in Iran. Teaching  minimally invasive interventions in paediatric dentistry may facilitate the provision of treatment for untreated dental caries in children. We evaluated the teaching of such interventions in both undergraduate dental curriculum and Paediatric Dentistry Specialty Training Programme (PDSTP) in Iran.

Childhood obesity and dental caries: an ecological investigation of the shape and moderators of the association.

Background: Despite sharing a common risk factor in dietary sugars, the association between obesity and dental caries remains unclear. We investigated the association between obesity and dental caries in young children in England in an ecological study.

Methods: We analysed data from 326 lower tier English local authorities.

Area-level deprivation and oral cancer in England 2012-2016.

Background: The relationship between deprivation and oral cancer is complex. We examined magnitude and shape of deprivation-related inequalities in oral cancer in England 2012-2016.

Methods: Oral cancer was indicated by cancers of the lip and oral cavity (ICD10 C00-C06) and lip, oral cavity and pharynx (C00-C14) and deprivation by the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The Food provision, cUlture and Environment in secondary schooLs (FUEL) study: protocol of a mixed methods evaluation of national School Food Standards implementation in secondary schools and their impact on pupils' dietary intake and dental health.

Introduction: Excess free sugar intake is associated with obesity and poor dental health. Adolescents consume substantially more free sugar than is recommended. National (UK) School Food Standards (SFS) are in place but are not mandatory in all schools, and their impact on the diets of secondary school pupils is unknown.

Changes in income-related inequalities in oral health status in Ontario, Canada.

Objectives: Oral health inequalities impose a substantial burden on society and the healthcare system across Canadian provinces. Monitoring these inequalities is crucial for informing public health policy and action towards reducing inequalities; however, trends within Canada have not been explored. The objectives of this study are as follows: (a) to assess trends in income-related inequalities in oral health in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, from 2003 to 2014, and (b) to determine whether the magnitude of such inequalities differ by age and sex.

Current trends in endodontic irrigation amongst general dental practitioners and dental schools within the United Kingdom and Ireland: a cross-sectional survey.

Aims To investigate current trends in endodontic irrigation amongst general dental practitioners (GDPs) and dental schools within UK and Ireland. Secondly, to evaluate if significant differences exist between the irrigant practices of National Health Service (NHS) and private GDPs.Methodology In 2019, an online questionnaire was distributed to the 18 dental schools within the UK and Ireland and 8,568 GDPs.

Editorial - Child oral health; is there anything more to know?

It seems a strange thing to be writing about child oral health in the middle of a virus pandemic that has, in the UK at least, paused all routine dental care. Perhaps not; as thoughts turn to the return of "normal" opera- tion there are concerns over potential ongoing impacts from COVID-19 on health services including stricter infection-control requirements and economic impacts from the lockdown. It invites ridicule to try and predict what will happen in the coming years, but the economic and social impacts are likely to increase vulnerability among the already vulnerable and the delivery of dental care is likely to be more problematic and more expensive.

Deprivation and child dental attendance in England: exploring the shape and moderators.

Objective: To describe the shape of the relationship between area deprivation and dental attendance (DA) in children aged 5 years and under in England and the modifying effect of caries prevalence, ethnicity, family profile and dentist-to-population ratio.

Basic Research Design: DA rates were calculated at lower-tier local authority level (LA, n=326) using NHS data for the year to March 2017. LA deprivation was determined by Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015.

Persistent but narrowing oral health care inequalities in Canada from 2001 through 2016.

Background: Similar to the United States, inequality in oral health care use is longstanding in Canada. It remains unclear whether this inequality is improving or worsening. In this study, the authors report on income-related inequality in dental visits in Canada and across its provinces over time and interprovincial inequality in dental visits among Canadian provinces.

Greater child dental health inequality in England compared to Wales and Northern Ireland, despite lower average disease levels.

Introduction: Dental caries and inequalities in dental health are major public health concerns.

Aim: To report variation in dental caries experience across deprivation quintiles and the magnitude of inequalities between countries.

Design: Secondary analyses of cross-sectional data from the 2013 Child Dental Health Survey (CDHS) in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Providing dental insurance can positively impact oral health outcomes in Ontario.

Background: Universal coverage for dental care is a topical policy debate across Canada, but the impact of dental insurance on improving oral health-related outcomes remains empirically unexplored in this population.

Methods: We used data on individuals 12 years of age and older from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2013-2014 to estimate the marginal effects (ME) of having dental insurance in Ontario, Canada's most populated province (n = 42,553 representing 11,682,112 Ontarians). ME were derived from multi-variable logistic regression models for dental visiting behaviour and oral health status outcomes.

Persistent Socioeconomic Inequality in Child Dental Caries in England despite Equal Attendance.

Introduction: Despite a decline in the prevalence of dental caries among children in England and ongoing arrangements for the provision of free dental care up to the age of 18 y, there is limited information on the pattern and trend of socioeconomic inequalities in dental caries and dental attendance.

Methods: We estimated the magnitude of deprivation-related inequalities for dental caries and dental attendance in young children, using publicly available data and 2 regression-based summary measures of inequalities: slope index of inequality and relative index of inequality.

Results: We found no significant absolute or relative inequalities in dental attendance across English areas in the past decade, while there were persistent absolute and relative inequalities in dental caries.

Inequalities in orthodontic outcomes in England: treatment utilisation, subjective and normative need.

Objective: To investigate inequalities in three aspects of access to orthodontic care: uptake of orthodontic treatment, normative need and subjective need in England.

Methods: We used data from two surveys in England: 12 and 15-year-olds from the 2013 Child Dental Health Survey (CDHS 2013) and 12-year-olds from the 2008/2009 NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme for England (NDEP 2008/2009). Summary variables representing orthodontic status were calculated.

Low rates of dental attendance by the age of one and inequality between local government administrative areas in England.

Objective: To describe child dental attendance (DA) by 1 year of age in England and its relationship with area deprivation.

Basic Research Design: Analysis of National Health Service data for the 12 months to June 2017. Deprivation was measured by Index of Multiple Deprivation Rank of Average Score (2015) for upper-tier and unitary local authorities in England (LAs, n=151).