California School Nurses' Knowledge in Identifying Common Dental Conditions and Making Appropriate Dental Referrals.

Introduction: In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended a minimum of 4 clinical oral health competencies for nondental professionals to promote optimal oral health, including (1) recognizing risk for oral disease through competent oral examinations and (2) making and tracking referrals.

Objectives: We determined whether California school nurses (SNs) knew about specific components of the 2 IOM competencies mentioned above using 3 clinical case scenarios following the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors Basic Screening Survey Methodology.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a 23-item pilot-tested online survey was completed by 358 active California School Nurses Organization members between April and June 2023.

Los Angeles County dentists' opinions on discussing human papilloma virus-related oral health issues and recommending vaccine to patients.

Dentists are well-positioned to discuss oral health issues related to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and recommend the HPV vaccine to their patients, mainly because the HPV virus causes oropharyngeal cancers.. We assessed Los Angeles (LA) County dentists' opinions on discussing HPV-related oral health issues and recommending the HPV vaccine to their patients.

Association between more complex special care needs and overweight status and adolescents' difficulty with dental caries.

Objective: Little is known about dental caries experience in adolescents with overweight and complex special health care needs (SHCNs).

Methods: Adolescent data (10-17 years) from the 2016-2020 National Survey of Children's Health (n = 91,196) was analyzed. The sample was grouped into the following: more complex SHCN and overweight, more complex SHCN without overweight, less complex SHCN and overweight, less complex SHCN without overweight, no SHCN but with overweight, and neither SHCN nor overweight.

Childhood dental caries and obesity: Opportunities for interdisciplinary approaches to prevention.

Dental caries and obesity are prevalent and preventable chronic childhood diseases. Evidence shows a strong connection between these two diseases, with overlapping common risk factors, including diet as a key driver of risk. Dental professionals are well-positioned to perform nutritional counseling and obesity prevention in dental clinic settings, but training and clinical integration remain key challenges.

COVID-19 associated oral and oropharyngeal microbiome: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Three years into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there are still growing concerns with the emergence of different variants, unknown long- and short-term effects of the virus, and potential biological mechanisms underlying etiopathogenesis and increased risk for morbidity and mortality. The role of the microbiome in human physiology and the initiation and progression of several oral and systemic diseases have been actively studied in the past decade. With the proof of viral transmission, carriage, and a potential role in etiopathogenesis, saliva and the oral environment have been a focus of COVID-19 research beyond diagnostic purposes.

Dental care utilization among developmentally disabled adolescents experiencing difficulty with decayed teeth: A population-level study.

Aims: To determine if adolescents with developmental disabilities (DDs) who experienced difficulty with dental caries differed by dental visits in the past 12 months and receipt of preventive services (fluoride treatment and dental sealants) during those visits compared to adolescents with no DDs or difficulty with dental caries.

Methods And Results: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data of 91 196 adolescents aged 10-17 years from the 2016-2020 National Survey of Children's Health. Descriptive and bivariate statistics and multivariable regression models were conducted.

Health literacy and its association with human papilloma virus vaccination among adults: Findings from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system.

Health literacy is associated with the utilization of preventive health services. We examined the association between health literacy (HL) levels and receipt of at least one dose of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination. We analyzed the data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) among adults aged 18 to 32.

Pediatric dentists' participation in advocacy and acceptance of new medicaid children in clinical practice.

Introduction: Advocacy involves promoting a noble cause or voicing on behalf of a program, policy, or population group. Previous literature shows that dentists who provide services to Medicaid-enrolled, underserved, and vulnerable children are more compassionate than those who do not.

Aim: To explore the association between pediatric dentists' (PDs) participation in various advocacy-related activities (ARAs) and their monthly acceptance of new Medicaid-enrolled children in their clinical practice to provide dental care services.

Difficulty with Oral Health Complications in Adolescents with Developmental Disability and Obesity.

Introduction: Developmental disabilities (DDs), obesity, and dental caries are highly prevalent health conditions among adolescents. Evidence indicates that a significant proportion of adolescents with DDs are obese, and those with obesity and dental caries share common risk factors.

Objective: In this first-ever US-based cross-sectional national study, we assessed the likelihood of adolescents with DDs and obesity experiencing chronic difficulty with decayed teeth, toothaches, bleeding gums, and eating and swallowing due to a health condition among adolescents with DDs and obesity compared to adolescents with no DDs or obesity.

Assessing oral health content in nondental professional association websites.

Objectives: Determine the prevalence and type of oral health (OH) content among nondental health professional associations' websites.

Methods: Fifty-nine organizations were selected from three lists of health professional associations and categorized as physician-, nurse- and other healthcare-related professions. Eight dental search terms were used on searchable websites.

Oral Health Literacy, Preventive Behavior Measures, and Chronic Medical Conditions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between oral health literacy, preventive orientation and behaviors, and chronic medical conditions-specifically, hypertension and diabetes. A cross-sectional study was conducted with dental school patients attending the dental clinics in Los Angeles, California, and Baltimore, Maryland. Their health literacy levels were measured using the short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (Short-TOFHLA) and the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine and Dentistry (REALM-D).

Did you know Medicare does not usually include a dental benefit? Findings from a multisite investigation of oral health literacy.

Objectives: Medicare does not usually include a dental benefit. Adults who are unaware of this fact risk unanticipated expenses after retirement. This report will explore the sociodemographic and oral health literacy determinants of this knowledge.

The emerging landscape of salivary diagnostics.

Saliva as a diagnostic tool provides a noninvasive, simple and low-cost method for disease detection and screening. Saliva collection is more practical and comfortable compared with other invasive methods, and saliva can be a desirable body fluid for biomarker detection in clinical applications. The integration of omics methods has allowed accurate detection and quantification of transcripts found in saliva and a group of biomarkers has been discovered and validated in a series of studies.

Heterogeneity among studies in rates of decline of antiretroviral therapy adherence over time: results from the multisite adherence collaboration on HIV 14 study.

Objective: To use electronic drug monitoring to determine if adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) changes over time, whether changes are linear, and how the declines vary by study.

Design: We conducted a longitudinal study of pooled data from 11 different studies of HIV-infected adults using ART. The main outcome was ART adherence (percent of prescribed doses taken) measured by electronic drug monitoring.

Diverse osteoclastogenesis of bone marrow from mandible versus long bone.

Background: Mandibles (MB) and maxillae possess unique metabolic and functional properties and demonstrate discrete responses to homeostatic, mechanical, hormonal, and developmental stimuli. Osteogenic potential of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) differs between MB versus long bones (LB). Furthermore, MB- versus LB-derived osteoclasts (OCs) have disparate functional properties.

Interfacial shear strength of endosseous implants.

Purpose: Surface roughness is known to affect the load-bearing strength of implants. However, the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. This study sought to investigate the potential effects of bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and mechanical interlocking on the stability of titanium implants using a newly established assessment system that combines nondestructive microcomputed tomography (ΜCT) and the biomechanical push-in test.

Salivary biomarkers for periodontal disease diagnostics.

Importance Of The Field: Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent of all diseases. The chronic inflammatory process causes tooth loss and is associated with negative systemic effects. There are still major challenges when it comes to precise diagnosis, prognosis and appropriate disease therapy.

Saliva Ontology: an ontology-based framework for a Salivaomics Knowledge Base.

Background: The Salivaomics Knowledge Base (SKB) is designed to serve as a computational infrastructure that can permit global exploration and utilization of data and information relevant to salivaomics. SKB is created by aligning (1) the saliva biomarker discovery and validation resources at UCLA with (2) the ontology resources developed by the OBO (Open Biomedical Ontologies) Foundry, including a new Saliva Ontology (SALO).

Results: We define the Saliva Ontology (SALO; http://www.

Predictors of depressive symptoms following mandibular fracture repair.

Purpose: This study sought to identify sociodemographic, psychosocial, and clinical factors associated with increased postsurgery depressive symptoms among inner-city minority patients recovering from a mandibular fracture.

Patients And Methods: Surveys of African American and Hispanic adults receiving treatment at King/Drew Medical Center for a mandible fracture (n=98) are used to identify factors associated with increased postsurgery depressive symptoms. Using correlation coefficients and t tests, bivariate relationships between patient characteristics and depressive symptoms at first follow-up were examined.

Oxysterols enhance osteoblast differentiation in vitro and bone healing in vivo.

Oxysterols, naturally occurring cholesterol oxidation products, can induce osteoblast differentiation. Here, we investigated short-term 22(S)-hydroxycholesterol + 20(S)-hydroxycholesterol (SS) exposure on osteoblastic differentiation of marrow stromal cells. We further explored oxysterol ability to promote bone healing in vivo.

Three-dimensional bone-implant integration profiling using micro-computed tomography.

Purpose: The capability of micro-computed tomography (microCT) for quantitative analysis of peri-implant bone has not been previously addressed. This study aimed to establish and validate a method to use this technique for 3-dimensional bone-implant integration profiling.

Materials And Methods: Unthreaded cylindric implants with a dual acid-etched surface were placed into the right femurs of 7 Sprague-Dawley rats.

Sexual dimorphism in the Japanese cranial base: a Fourier-wavelet representation.

An approach, computational shape analysis (CSA), is presented here which utilizes a Fourier-wavelet representation to numerically describe shape features of biological forms. Two elements are involved: 1) elliptical Fourier functions (EFFs), to provide estimates of global aspects, and 2) continuous wavelet transforms (CWTs) to generate an objective estimate of localized features. EFFs are computed, using a set of pseudohomologous points, to create a precise analog of the boundary.

[Improvement of chewing ability by complete denture: a case report].

Patient: A 58 year-old female patient visited the clinic with chief complaint of chewing difficulty with her complete dentures. These dentures did not have a sufficient size of denture base and the resin teeth were completely ground down. Treatment dentures were inserted and the form was transferred to final dentures.

Web-based continuing dental education in California.

This article asks and answers a series of questions about Web-based continuing education for dentists. A summary of these answers are: (1) all indicators point to a substantive increase in the number and types of continuing education courses in the next five years; (2) the main reasons to take an online dental C.E.

Clinical considerations in adhesive restorative dentistry--influence of adjunctive procedures.

Several adjunctive procedures commonly performed during placement of adhesively bonded restorations can significantly influence a restoration's immediate and long-term clinical performance and the maintenance of pulp vitality. This article reviews some of these procedures to highlight and characterize their potential effects on the restorative outcome and to offer suggestions for appropriately incorporating these procedures into routine clinical practice.