Does the Self-Reported Behavioural Automaticity Index provide a valid measure of toothbrushing behaviour in adults?

Background: Studies to promote regular toothbrushing usually rely on self-reports of toothbrushing frequency (SRF). However, toothbrushing frequency measures may be open to responder bias since twice-daily toothbrushing is a commonly accepted social norm. The validity of SRF measures is unclear, meaning that their use as outcomes in interventional work may be flawed.

Screening of atrial fibrillation in dental practices: a qualitative feasibility study.

Objectives: To increase the detection of unknown atrial fibrillation (AF), general practitioners have started screening their patients using small hand-held devices. It is thought that dental settings could be utilized for screening as they have regular access to patients. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of dental staff of screening for AF using a hand-held electronic device in primary dental care.

Designing complex interventions: A description of the development of an intervention to reduce inequalities in planned dental visiting.

Unlabelled: There are multifaceted reasons for a social gradient in planned dental visiting involving various psycho-social variables that interact with each other and the environment. Interventions in this area are therefore inevitably complex interventions. While guidance recommends undertaking theory and modelling work before experimental work is done, there is a shortage of descriptions of how this is done, especially in the field of oral health.

Acute Dental Periapical Abscess and New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation: A Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study.

There are limited data on the relationship of acute dental infections with hospitalisation and new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to assess the relationship between acute periapical abscess and incident AF. This was a retrospective cohort study from a French national database of patients hospitalized in 2013 (3.

Is toothbrushing behaviour habitual? Cues, context, motivators and patient narratives.

Objectives: Toothbrushing is generally considered as a key self-care behaviour necessary for maintaining good oral health. Although twice-daily brushing is widely recommended as beneficial since this provides both biofilm removal and a regular application of fluoride, some people such as those with low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds often brush less regularly. Habit theory identifies that behaviours become habitual when they are undertaken repeatedly in response to a particular cue within a stable context.

Atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmia associated with acute dental infection: A systematic literature review and case report.

Objectives: This paper outlines how oral diseases such as periodontitis and periapical periodontitis may be linked to cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmia. We undertake a systematic review of the literature focused on acute dental infection and types of cardiac arrhythmia and also describe an illustrative case where an acute dental infection diagnosed as periapical periodontitis was associated with the occurrence of atrial fibrillation.

Methods: An electronic search was undertaken using MEDLINE and SCOPUS from 01 Jan 1970 to 30 June 2020.

What are the underlying reasons behind socioeconomic differences in doctor-patient communication in head and neck oncology review clinics?

Objective: To explore socioeconomic status (SES) differences in patterns of doctor-patient communication within head and neck cancer clinics and why such differences exist.

Methods: Thirty-six head and neck cancer review appointments with five Physicians were observed and audio-taped, along with follow-up interviews involving 32 patients. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis, and compared by patient SES (education, occupation and Indices of Multiple Deprivation).

Disentangling a web of causation: An ethnographic study of interlinked patient barriers to planned dental visiting, and strategies to overcome them.

Objective: To explore barriers to planned dental visiting, investigating how barriers interlink, how they accumulate and change, and how individuals envisage overcoming their combination of barriers through personal strategies.

Methods: An ethnographic study was conducted of adult urgent dental care attenders who did not have a dentist, including 155 hours of nonparticipant observations, 97 interviews and 19 follow-up interviews in six urgent dental care settings. Data were analysed using constant comparison, first identifying barriers and personal strategies to overcome them, and subsequently analysing interlinks between barriers and personal strategies.

Changes in dental caries and sugar intake before and during the conflict in Libya: A natural experiment.

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the impact of reduced sugar consumption on caries experience among 12-year-old Libyan schoolchildren during the Libyan conflict, in comparison to preconflict data collected in the same water-fluoridated setting from a similar age group. A further aim was to investigate the socio-demographic and behavioural factors which may impact caries levels during the conflict.

Methods: A natural experiment in which dental caries data before and during the Libyan conflict, over a 9-year period, was compared.

Socio-economic differences in patient participation behaviours in doctor-patient interactions-A systematic mapping review of the literature.

Background: The degree to which patients participate in their care can have a positive impact on health outcomes. This review aimed to map the current literature on patient participation behaviours in interactions with physicians and the extent to which differences in these behaviours can be explained by socio-economic status (SES).

Search Strategy: Four electronic databases were searched from 1980 onwards using key words related to socio-economic status and patient participation behaviours.

Preventive dental visiting: a critical interpretive synthesis of theory explaining how inequalities arise.

Background: In many countries, those with lower socioeconomic status are disproportionately affected by poor oral health. This can be attributed, at least in part, to differences in preventive dental visiting. While several theories have been applied to the area, they generally fail to capture the recursive nature of dental visiting behaviour, and fall short of informing the design of complex interventions to tackle inequalities.

The information filter: how dentists use diet diary information to give patients clear and simple advice.

Objectives: Diet diaries are recommended for dentists to monitor children's sugar consumption. Diaries provide multifaceted dietary information, but patients respond better to simpler advice. We explore how dentists integrate information from diet diaries to deliver useable advice to patients.

Is social inequality related to different patient concerns in routine oral cancer follow-up clinics?

Oral cancer has a higher incidence in the lower social strata, and these patients are less likely to engage in supportive interventions and report a poorer quality of life (QoL). The aim of this paper is to compare the Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI) responses across social groups attending routine oral cancer follow-up clinics with particular focus on the deprivation lower quartile. The PCI package is completed by patients as part of their routine review consultation with SNR.

Dental practitioner concepts of efficiency related to the use of dental therapists.

Objectives: Efficiency is concerned with producing maximum output with the minimum input, although what constitutes inputs and outputs within an organization is not always clear. Labour substitution is one method of achieving efficiency gains, although cost savings are found to be context dependent and may not be achieved in some situations. Because dental therapists (DTs) in England are permitted to work in dental practices, we set out to investigate how efficiency with respect to the use of DTs is conceptualized by practitioners to deepen our understanding of the potential for substitution to realize efficiency gains in dental practice.

Translation of remuneration arrangements into incentives to delegate to English dental therapists.

Objectives: To investigate how changes to the dental remuneration system have translated into disincentives to delegate to dental therapists in dental practices.

Method: A purposive sample of nine practices was identified incorporating a mix of small, medium and large practices, both with and without dental therapists (DTs). Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 48 principal dentists, associate dentists, DTs, practice managers and dental hygienists.

The impact of changes in incentives and governance on the motivation of dental practitioners.

Recent changes to the system of remuneration and contracting arrangements with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) has meant that dental practitioners in the UK have experienced several types of incentive and governance arrangements. This paper uses data from a qualitative study of 20 dental practitioners to examine the influence of different systems of incentives and governance on their motivational system. Results show that a perceived reduction in autonomy was the least acceptable aspect of the health reforms.

The promotion of oral health within the Healthy School context in England: a qualitative research study.

Background: Healthy Schools programmes may assist schools in improving the oral health of children through advocating a common risk factor approach to health promotion and by more explicit consideration of oral health. The objectives of this study were to gain a broad contextual understanding of issues around the delivery of oral health promotion as part of Healthy Schools programmes and to investigate the barriers and drivers to the incorporation of oral health promoting activities in schools taking this holistic approach to health promotion.

Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out with coordinators of Healthy Schools programmes in the Northwest of England.

Unravelling referral paths relating to the dental care of children: a study in Liverpool.

Objective: To describe primary care referral networks relating to children's dental care and the main influences on referral decisions taken by dentists working in a primary care setting.

Design: A postal questionnaire to all 130 general dental practitioners (GDPs) in contract with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), and 24 Community Dental Service (CDS) dentists in Liverpool.

Outcome Measures: Characteristics of patient groups and factors influencing the choice of referral pathway of children referred from primary dental care.