Diagnostic approach used by US general dental practitioners following discovery of oral lesions suspicious for malignancy/premalignancy: findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Objective: Oral cancer examinations seek to clinically identify early oral cancers and discover premalignancies prior to their progression to invasive cancer.

Method And Materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and August 2017 to explore and quantify the diagnostic approach used by United States (US) general dental practitioners following discovery of an oral lesion suspicious for malignancy/premalignancy. US licensed general dental practitioners who were clinically active members of the US National Dental Practice-Based Research Network were eligible to participate.

Dental care access for children in the United States.

Objectives: To evaluate access to dental care for children in the United States.

Methods: The study population included children in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Using multiple data sources, dental care access was estimated at the community level by matching dental care supply and demand using mathematical modeling accounting for access constraints.

Dental patients' communication preferences for learning about HPV-related topics.

Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) has the highest incidence of any cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Oral health providers are urged to support the use of the HPV vaccine, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of OPC in 2020. This study evaluated the preferences of dental patients regarding 11 modalities for learning about HPV-related topics from their oral health providers.

American Board of Dental Public Health diplomate survey, 2021: Competency domains and practice.

Objective: To describe current Dental Public Health diplomates and list the competency domains that diplomates considered either essential or optional elements of their practice.

Methods: The American Board of Dental Public Health administered an electronic survey to active and life member diplomates during September 2021. The survey included 101 items in three sections: (1) Education and Work Experience; (2) Dental Public Health Tasks; and (3) Demographics.

The impact of dentists' availability in delivering dental care in Florida Elementary Schools.

Objective: This study evaluates the dentists' availability to deliver preventive dental care to children in schools and the impact of school-based programs on access.

Methods: The study population included Florida elementary-school children, differentiated by dental insurance (Medicaid, CHIP, private, or none). We considered the implementation of school-based programs using optimization modeling to (re)allocate the dentists' caseload to schools to meet demand for preventive care under resource constraints.

Foreign-trained dentists' reflections on access to care after participating in a community-based dental education curriculum.

Many people suffer poor oral health due to dentists not providing care to them. The number of foreign-trained dentists in the US is increasing, yet little is known about their involvement in providing care to underserved populations. Dental education programs use community-based dental education (CBDE) to expose dental students to access to care issues, and encourage them to provide care to underserved populations upon graduation.

Oral Cancer Prevalence, Mortality, and Costs in Medicaid and Commercial Insurance Claims Data.

Background: This study compared prevalence, incidence, mortality rates, treatment costs, and risk factors for oral and oropharyngeal cancer (OC/OPC) between two large United States adult cohorts in 2012-2019.

Methods: Medicaid and commercial claims data came from the IBM Watson Health MarketScan Database. Logistic regression analyses estimated incidence and risk factors for OC/OPC.

The 2021 report on oral health in America: Directions for the future of dental public health and the oral health care system.

In the two decades between Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General and Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges much good happened but intractable challenges persist. Inequity in oral health status, utilization, and access to care continue to negatively affect the health and economic wellbeing of Americans and their families, local, state, and federal health care systems, and American society overall. To move the nation forward, we argue that: more emphasis is needed in prevention; access to care must be improved to mitigate inequity; newer understandings of oral disease must be leveraged in the service of health and health care; the value that oral health brings to economic wellbeing must be elucidated; better policy choices must be made in all of the above; and more effective oral health care leaders in driving policy change must be trained.

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Dental Care: An Integrative Literature Review.

The goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to increase access to health insurance and decrease health care cost while improving health care quality. With more articles examining the relationship between one of the ACA provisions and dental health outcomes, we systematically reviewed the effect of the ACA on dental care coverage and access to dental services. We searched literature using the National Library of Medicine's Medline (PubMed) and Thomson Reuters' Web of Science between January 2010 and November 2020.

Geographic Distribution of Pediatric Dentists and Community Characteristics of Their Locations in Florida.

To describe the geographic distribution of pediatric dentists (PDs) in Florida and the sociodemographic characteristics of communities in which they are located compared with communities without a PD.
The ratio of PDs to children for each county in Florida and the distribution of PDs in Florida counties at the census tract (CT) level were calculated. Each CT was categorized as having or not having PDs to examine the geographic distribution of PDs, and the sociodemographic differences between CTs with and without a PD were tested by using -tests.

Dental students' comfort discussing nutrition and obesity prevention with parents and caregivers.

Purpose: Dentists can address childhood obesity by educating patients about mediating factors, such as nutrition and dietary habits, facilitating behavioral interventions, and participating in interprofessional collaborations. Dental schools are encouraged to prepare future dentists to address childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to assess dental students' attitudes, comfort, and perceived barriers discussing nutrition and obesity prevention with parents and caregivers of children aged 0-5, after a one-time service-learning experience in a pediatric primary care setting to promote oral health.

The health care utilization model: Application to dental care use for Black and Hispanic children.

Objectives: To explore the pathway associated with dental service use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black children, applying Andersen's model of health care service utilization.

Methods: Samples of Hispanic (n = 5,055) and non-Hispanic (NH) Black (n = 2,695) children aged 2-17 years from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) were included in this study. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the path of the relationship between dental care visits and the three groups of characteristics in Andersen's behavioral model.

Impact of the promotora model on the improvement of oral health knowledge of caregivers.

Objective: The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the impact of the Promotora Model (PM) as an educational strategy to increase oral health knowledge in parents/caregivers of children aged 2-5 years at high risk for dental caries.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-three caregivers who provided informed consent were included in the study. A structured 37-item survey was administered prior to conducting the Promotora educational intervention (PEI) that covered oral health topics and behaviors.

Cues used by dentists in the early detection of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant lesions: findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of clinical cues on risk assessment of cancer-associated mucosal abnormalities.

Study Design: We differentiated lesions with a low risk from those with a high risk for premalignancy or malignancy by using 4 cues: (1) color, (2) location, (3) induration, and (4) pain on exploration. Combinations of color and location were presented through 8 photographs, with induration and pain status variably presented in the standardized history and physical findings.

Silver Diamine Fluoride Helps Prevent Emergency Visits in Children with Early Childhood Caries.

Early childhood caries remains a worldwide disease and often requires treatment under sedation or general anesthesia, with long waitlists. Silver diamine fluoride has been shown to arrest caries lesions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) application reduces emergency visits by waitlisted patients with early childhood caries (ECC).

Hospital Inpatient Admissions of Children and Adolescents for Nontraumatic Dental Conditions in Florida.

Barriers to regular dental care may lead to children being hospitalized for dental problems. The purpose of this study was to examine trends related to pediatric hospital inpatient admissions for nontraumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) in Florida between 2006 and 2016. Data were from the Florida Department of Health inpatient admission database and included zero- to 19-year-old patients.

Duration of Cigarette Smoking Is a Stronger Risk Factor Than Number of Cigarettes Smoked per Day for Head and Neck Cancer, and Quitting Dramatically Lowers the Risk.

Article Title And Bibliographic Information: Joint effects of intensity and duration of cigarette smoking on the risk of head and neck cancer: a bivariate spline model approach. Di Credico G, Edefonti V, Polesel J et al. Oral Oncol 2019;94:47-57.

Self-reported factors associated with dental care utilization among Hispanic migrant farmworkers in South Florida.

Objectives: To explore patterns of dental care utilization among adult Hispanic migrant farmworkers utilizing the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services.

Methods: In 2010, 278 Hispanic migrant workers participated in the oral health assessment. Hierarchical logistic regression modeling was used to assess the effects of multiple factors on having a past-year dental visit.

The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer and rate of human papillomavirus vaccination coverage in Florida, 2011 through 2015.

Objectives: The authors aimed to compare the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) from 2011 through 2015 and the rate of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination from 2015 through 2017 in the United States overall and in Florida.

Methods: Using SEER*Stat software (Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute), the authors calculated age-specific OPC incidence rates for various age groups and age-adjusted rates by sex and race to analyze Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program and National Program of Cancer Registries data. The authors used Joinpoint software (Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute) to model time trends of OPC incidence.

Hospital use for non-traumatic dental conditions among older adults in Florida.

Objective: Older Americans are at risk of many oral diseases and conditions, but limited access to dental care may lead to the use of hospital emergency departments (EDs) or inpatient admissions. This study examined the use of hospitals for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) among persons aged ≥65 years in the Florida.

Methods: We analysed hospital use for NTDCs in Florida in 2018 from health department data sets.

Feasibility and usability of measuring receipt of sealants in 2 states.

Background: The authors examined the reliability and validity of the Dental Quality Alliance childhood sealant measure under actual use conditions in Texas and Florida. The 2 states provide care for almost 20% of children in Medicaid nationally.

Methods: The authors used dental claims data to examine the reliability of the caries risk assessment component of the measure.

Dental Status and Treatment Needs of Children in Foster Care.

This study compared the dental status and treatment needs of children in foster care with other children enrolled in Florida Medicaid. The study was a retrospective dental records review of patients who were associated with a foster care agency and an age-matched group of other Medicaid recipients in 2016. We abstracted the electronic dental records of 548 two- to 18-year-olds in foster care and an age-matched group of 548 Medicaid-enrolled children not in foster care.

Oral cancer examinations and lesion discovery as reported by U.S. general dentists: Findings from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

General dentists (GDs) have the opportunity to examine their patients for oral premalignancy/malignancy. We estimated the annualized per dentist number of oral lesions suspicious for premalignancy/malignancy discovered by United States (U.S.

Hospital inpatient admissions for nontraumatic dental conditions among Florida adults, 2006 through 2016.

Background: In this study, the authors analyzed patterns, trends, and correlates of hospital inpatient admissions for nontraumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) in Florida for the calendar years 2006 through 2016.

Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of hospital inpatient admissions for NTDCs throughout Florida. The authors derived data from a database maintained by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the state's primary health policy and planning entity.