Safety net patients' satisfaction with oral health services by provider type and intent to return for more care.

Objectives: This study examined patients' satisfaction with services provided by different oral health providers, their intent to return for additional care, and associations with patients' demographics and service characteristics.

Methods: Descriptive analyses and multivariable ordinal logistic regressions were conducted using survey data from 898 patients who received care at Apple Tree Dental (ATD) in Minnesota during 2021. The questionnaire included 12 statements on patient satisfaction with the clinician's ability to explain the dental diagnosis and treatment options, to be considerate of the patient's needs and dental anxiety, and to provide technically competent services.

The Impact of Pandemic Concerns on Consumers' Teledentistry Use During the First Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic affected consumers' access to oral health care. This study evaluated factors associated with teledentistry use among US adults from June 2019 through June 2020.

Methods: We used data from a nationally representative survey of 3500 consumers.

Parental Perspectives on Barriers to Pediatric Oral Health Care: Associations with Children's And Families' Characteristics.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to oral health services experienced by children and evaluate variation across demographic and socioeconomic population groups.

Methods: The data were collected from 1,745 parents/legal guardians who responded to a web-based survey regarding their children's access to health services in 2019. Descriptive statistics and binary and multinomial logistic models were used to examine barriers to needed dental care and factors contributing to differential experiences with those barriers.

Exploring the impact of household, personal, and employment characteristics on dentistry's income gap between men and women.

Background: This study provides an update on the income gap between men and women in dentistry, evaluating the impact of dentists' household, personal, and employment characteristics on income differences.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the US Census Bureau's 5-year American Community Survey (2014-2018). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis (ordinary least squares regressions, Oaxaca-Blinder regression decomposition on logged personal income).

Dental Therapists in the United States: Health Equity, Advancing.

Background: Dental therapists (DTs) are primary care dental providers, used globally, and were introduced in the United States (US) in 2005. DTs have now been adopted in 13 states and several Tribal nations.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to qualitatively examine the drivers and outcomes of the US dental therapy movement through a health equity lens, including community engagement, implementation and dissemination, and access to oral health care.

Does Education in Oral Health Competencies in Physician Assistant Education Programs Translate to Delivery of Oral Health Services in Clinical Practice?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which physician assistants (PAs) are educated in oral health competencies and the relationship of education to providing oral health services to patients.

Methods: The study was conducted in 2016 by administering an Internet-based survey to a nationwide sample of 2014 graduates of programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. The survey response rate was 12.

Teledentistry: Increasing utilisation of oral-health services for children in rural areas.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate factors influencing utilisation of follow-up oral-health services in general dentistry clinics among children subsequent to a teledentistry consultation and treatment with a paediatric dental specialist.

Methods: Conducted in 2017, the study included 144 children living in rural upstate New York who experienced a teledentistry consultation in 2015-2016 at one of several local general dentistry clinics. A remotely located paediatric dental specialist provided consultation services in the teledentistry visit and treatment services in the specialty dental clinic.

Dental Workforce Trends: A National Study of Gender Diversity and Practice Patterns.

The dental workforce is increasingly gender diverse. This study analyzed gender differences in dental practice using the American Dental Association's 2010-2016 Masterfile and the 2017 Survey of Dental Practice. Between 2010 and 2016, the proportion of women working in dentistry increased from 24.

The pediatric dental workforce in 2016 and beyond.

Background: Childhood caries is a major oral and general health problem, particularly in certain populations. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the adequacy of the supply of pediatric dentists.

Methods: The authors collected baseline practice information from 2,546 pediatric dentists through an online survey (39.

Low-level arsenic exposure via drinking water consumption and female fecundity - A preliminary investigation.

High level arsenic exposure is associated with reproductive toxicity in experimental and observational studies; however, few data exist to assess risks at low levels. Even less data are available to evaluate the impact of low level arsenic exposure on human fecundity. Our aim in this pilot study was a preliminary evaluation of associations between low level drinking water arsenic contamination and female fecundity.

Expanded Scopes Of Practice For Dental Hygienists Associated With Improved Oral Health Outcomes For Adults.

Dental hygienists are important members of the oral health care team, providing preventive and prophylactic services and oral health education. However, scope-of-practice parameters in some states limit their ability to provide needed services effectively. In 2001 we developed the Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index, a numerical tool to measure the state-level professional practice environment for dental hygienists.

A pilot study of low-moderate drinking water arsenic contamination and chronic diseases among reproductive age women in Timiş County, Romania.

We conducted a pilot study of associations between drinking water contaminated by inorganic arsenic (iAs), mostly <10 μg/L, and self-reported chronic diseases in 297 pregnant women. Adjusted for confounding variables, we identified a positive association between iAs and heart disease (OR = 1.63, 95%CI 0.

Low level arsenic contaminated water consumption and birth outcomes in Romania-An exploratory study.

Women are exposed to drinking water with low arsenic concentrations (<10.0μg/L) worldwide, yet little work has been done to assess the risk. To begin to address this data gap, we conducted an exploratory study of birth outcomes in Timis County, Romania.

Consumption of arsenic-contaminated drinking water and anemia among pregnant and non-pregnant women in northwestern Romania.

Anemia is a global health problem. To evaluate the impact of low-moderate water arsenic exposure (mostly <10 µg/L) on anemia, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 217 Romanian women. The adjusted prevalences for 'any' anemia (prevalence proportion ratio (PPR)=1.

Adoption of oral health curriculum by physician assistant education programs in 2014.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe inclusion of didactic and clinical instruction in oral health in physician assistant (PA) education programs in 2014. A previous study in 2008 found that PA education program directors generally understood the importance of teaching about the linkage of oral health with systemic health; yet, few programs had actually integrated oral health instruction into the PA curriculum. This study was undertaken to ascertain the number of PA programs teaching oral health topics and to evaluate the content of instruction and implementation strategies.

Pregnant women in Timis County, Romania are exposed primarily to low-level (<10μg/l) arsenic through residential drinking water consumption.

Excessive arsenic content in drinking water poses health risks to millions of people worldwide. Inorganic arsenic (iAs) in groundwater exceeding the 10μg/l maximum contaminant level (MCL) set by the World Health Organization (WHO) is characteristic for intermediate-depth aquifers over large areas of the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe. In western Romania, near the border with Hungary, Arad, Bihor, and Timis counties use drinking water coming partially or entirely from iAs contaminated aquifers.

Consumption of low-moderate level arsenic contaminated water does not increase spontaneous pregnancy loss: a case control study.

Background: Previous work suggests an increased risk for spontaneous pregnancy loss linked to high levels of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in drinking water sources (>10 μg/L). However, there has been little focus to date on the impact of low-moderate levels of iAs in drinking water (<10 μg/L). To address this data gap we conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Timis County, Romania.

Non-melanoma skin cancer: occupational risk from UV light and arsenic exposure.

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) has a significant impact on public health and health care costs as a result of high morbidity and disfigurement due to the destruction of surrounding tissues. Although the mortality rates of these tumors are low, the high incidence rates determine a considerable number of deaths. NMSC is the most common type of skin cancer, representing about 1/3 of all malignancies diagnosed worldwide each year.

Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes XRCC1 and XRCC3, occupational exposure to arsenic and sunlight, and the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer in a European case-control study.

X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) and group 3 (XRCC3) polymorphisms are relatively frequent in Caucasian populations and may have implications in skin cancer modulation. A few studies have evaluated their association with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), but the results are inconsistent. In the current study, we aim to assess the impact of XRCC1 R399Q and XRCC3 T241M polymorphisms on the risk of NMSC associated with sunlight and arsenic exposure.

Maternal arsenic exposure and birth outcomes: a comprehensive review of the epidemiologic literature focused on drinking water.

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a human toxicant to which populations may be exposed through consumption of geogenically contaminated groundwater. A growing body of experimental literature corroborates the reproductive toxicity of iAs; however, the results of human studies are inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive review of epidemiologic studies focused on drinking water iAs exposure and birth outcomes to assess the evidence for causality and to make recommendations for future study.

Occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation and risk of non-melanoma skin cancer in a multinational European study.

Background: Studies suggest that ambient sunlight plays an important role in the pathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). However, there is ongoing controversy regarding the relevance of occupational exposure to natural and artificial ultraviolet radiation (UV) radiation.

Objectives: We investigated potential associations between natural and artificial UV radiation exposure at work with NMSC in a case-control study conducted in Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.

Occupational exposure to arsenic and risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer in a multinational European study.

Occupational studies show a high risk of lung cancer related to arsenic exposure by inhalation; however, only a few studies, and with conflicting results, previously examined a potential link between arsenic exposure at work and skin cancer. The aim of this study is to assess airborne arsenic exposures at the workplace and to quantify associations with nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The study sample consists of 618 incident cases of NMSC and 527 hospital-based controls aged 30-79 years from Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

Inorganic arsenic and basal cell carcinoma in areas of Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia: a case-control study.

Background: Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a potent carcinogen, but there is a lack of information about cancer risk for concentrations < 100 μg/L in drinking water.

Objectives: We aimed to quantify skin cancer relative risks in relation to iAs exposure < 100 μg/L and the modifying effects of iAs metabolism.

Methods: The Arsenic Health Risk Assessment and Molecular Epidemiology (ASHRAM) study, a case-control study, was conducted in areas of Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia with reported presence of iAs in groundwater.

Ethical issues in measuring biomarkers in children's environmental health.

Background: Studying the impact of environmental exposures is important in children because they are more vulnerable to adverse effects on growth, development, and health. Assessing exposure in children is difficult, and measuring biomarkers is potentially useful. Research measuring biomarkers in children raises a number of ethical issues, some of which relate to children as research subjects and some of which are specific to biomarker research.