Inequalities in the dental health needs and access to dental services among looked after children in Scotland: a population data linkage study.

Background: There is limited evidence on the health needs and service access among children and young people who are looked after by the state. The aim of this study was to compare dental treatment needs and access to dental services (as an exemplar of wider health and well-being concerns) among children and young people who are looked after with the general child population.

Methods: Population data linkage study utilising national datasets of social work referrals for 'looked after' placements, the Scottish census of children in local authority schools, and national health service's dental health and service datasets.

Evaluation of dental therapists undertaking dental examinations in a school setting in Scotland.

Objective: To measure agreement between dental therapists and the Scottish gold-standard dentist undertaking National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) examinations.

Methods: A study of interexaminer agreement between 19 dental therapists and the national gold-standard dentist was carried out. Pre-calibration training used the caries diagnostic criteria and examination techniques agreed by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD).

The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among children and their mothers attending for dental care in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

This paper describes a voluntary anonymous survey to investigate the seroprevalence of Hepatitis C (HCV) in children in Glasgow, UK attending a Dental Hospital and the proportion of HCV positive mothers who have a child who is HCV seropositive. The study was undertaken among children and accompanying parents and household contacts attending a general anaesthetic assessment clinic at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. Children were asked to provide an oral fluid specimen for HCV testing.

The effect of periodontal scaling and root polishing on serum IL-17E concentrations and the IL-17A:IL-17E ratio.

Objectives: The serum IL-17A:IL-17E ratio has previously been demonstrated to be a clinical marker of periodontitis. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of non-surgical periodontal treatment on the serum IL-17A:IL-17E ratio.

Materials And Methods: Forty chronic periodontitis patients completed this study and received periodontal treatment comprising scaling and root planing plus ultrasonic debridement.

Comparison of the caries-protective effect of fluoride varnish with treatment as usual in nursery school attendees receiving preventive oral health support through the Childsmile oral health improvement programme - the Protecting Teeth@3 Study: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: The Scottish Government set out its policy on addressing the poor oral health of Scottish children in 2005. This led to the establishment of Childsmile, a national programme designed to improve the oral health of children in Scotland. One element of the programme promotes daily tooth brushing in all nurseries in Scotland (Childsmile Core).

Smoking, Porphyromonas gingivalis and the immune response to citrullinated autoantigens before the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis in a Southern European nested case-control study.

Background: Antibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA) occur years before RA diagnosis. Porphyromonas gingivalis expresses its own peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD), and is a proposed aetiological factor for the ACPA response. Smoking is a risk factor for both ACPA-positive RA and periodontitis.

Use of Vandetanib in Metastatic Medullary Carcinoma of Thyroid in a Pediatric Patient With Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia 2B.

We describe a child with advanced, metastatic, inoperable medullary carcinoma of thyroid associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B and rearranged during transfection mutation with a positive response to vandetanib treatment. He responded well with a fall in calcitonin levels and a reduction in size of the thyroid malignancy, lymph nodes, and pulmonary metastases. He has been on vandetanib for 4 years with good clinical and biochemical response.

A case report: retigabine induced oral mucosal dyspigmentation of the hard palate.

Background: Dyspigmentation of the oral mucosa has a multitude of aetiological causes. Retigabine, a new antiepileptic drug, has the potential side effect of inducing a blue/purple pigmentation of the oral mucosa in addition to the skin, lips, nails and retina of the eyes. This article presents a unique case of dyspigmentation present in the oral mucosa of the hard palate which has previously been unreported in the dental literature.

Dentists, antibiotics and Clostridium difficile-associated disease.

Dentists prescribe significant volumes of antimicrobial drugs within primary care settings. There is good evidence that many of the prescriptions are not justified by current clinical guidance and that that there is considerable misuse of these drugs in dentistry. One of the risks associated with antibiotic administration is Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD), an entity of which many healthcare workers, including dentists, have little knowledge or understanding.

The Influence of Glycated Hemoglobin on the Cross Susceptibility Between Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Periodontal Disease.

Background: Periodontal disease is a major complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between glycated hemoglobin and circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CXCL5) in non-smoking patients suffering from T1DM, with and without periodontitis. In addition, to determine the effect of advanced glycation end products (AGE) in the presence and absence of Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on IL-6, IL-8, and CXCL5 expression by THP-1 monocytes and OKF6/TERT-2 cells.

Payment methods may influence behaviour of primary care dentists.

Data Sources: The Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, Embase, EconLit the NHS Economic Evaluation Database (EED) and the Health Economic Evaluations Database (HEED).

Study Selection: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled clinical trials (NRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies and interrupted time series (ITS) studies were considered. Study selection was undertaken independently by three reviewers.

Elimination of 'the Glasgow effect' in levels of dental caries in Scotland's five-year-old children: 10 cross-sectional surveys (1994-2012).

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in health within Glasgow, Scotland, are among the widest in the world. This is largely attributed to socio-economic conditions. The 'Glasgow Effect' labels the finding that the high prevalence of some diseases cannot be fully explained by a conventional area-based socio-economic metric.

A rare truncating BRCA2 variant and genetic susceptibility to upper aerodigestive tract cancer.

Deleterious BRCA2 genetic variants markedly increase risk of developing breast cancer. A rare truncating BRCA2 genetic variant, rs11571833 (K3326X), has been associated with a 2.5-fold risk of lung squamous cell carcinoma but only a modest 26% increase in breast cancer risk.

The 12p13.33/RAD52 locus and genetic susceptibility to squamous cell cancers of upper aerodigestive tract.

Genetic variants located within the 12p13.33/RAD52 locus have been associated with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Here, within 5,947 UADT cancers and 7,789 controls from 9 different studies, we found rs10849605, a common intronic variant in RAD52, to be also associated with upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) squamous cell carcinoma cases (OR = 1.

Croatian dentists' knowledge, experience, and attitudes in regard to child abuse and neglect.

Background: Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a widespread social phenomenon encompassing all forms of maltreatment with serious lifelong consequences. Dentists and dental team members are in the unique position to identify the symptoms of CAN often visible in craniofacial region.

Aim: To evaluate Croatian dentists' level of knowledge, experience, and attitude towards CAN issue.

Timing of adiposity rebound and adiposity in adolescence.

Objectives: To investigate associations between timing of adiposity rebound (AR; the period in childhood where BMI begins to increase from its nadir) and adiposity (BMI, fat mass) at age 15 years in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

Methods: The sample consisted of 546 children with AR derived in childhood and BMI and fat mass index (FMI; fat mass measured by dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry/height in m(2)) measured at 15 years. Multivariable linear regression models were based on standardized residuals of log BMI and log FMI to allow comparison of regression coefficients across outcomes.

Summary of: general dental practitioners' perceptions of antimicrobial use and resistance: a qualitative interview study.

Background: Dentists are responsible for 9-10% of all antibiotics dispensed in primary care in the UK, many of which may be provided contrary to clinical guidelines. Since antibiotic consumption has been identified as a major cause of antibiotic resistance, dental prescribing may be a significant contributor to this important public health problem.

Objective: This study aims to explore general dental practitioners' (GDPs) perceptions and attitudes towards antibiotic use and resistance.

Energy density of the Scottish diet estimated from food purchase data: relationship with socio-economic position and dietary targets.

Frequent consumption of energy-dense foods has been strongly implicated in the global increase of obesity. The World Cancer Research Fund suggests a population-level energy density (ED) goal for diets of 523 kJ/100 g (125 kcal/100 g) as desirable for reducing weight gain and related co-morbidities. However, there is limited information about the ED of diets of contemporary populations.

A prospective survey of secondary care tooth wear referrals: demographics, reasons for concern and referral outcomes.

Aim: To provide a descriptive investigation of general dental practitioners' (GDPs) referrals to Glasgow Dental Hospital and School for management of tooth wear.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and twenty-four patient-referrals were reviewed over a 12 month period. A questionnaire was also completed by patients and three reviewing consultants to identify patient demographics, patient perception, consultant's diagnosis and referral outcome.

Summary of: the development of a designated dental pathway for looked after children.

Objective: To explore the impact of a community-based dental care pathway on the dental care of children entering residential or foster care.

Design: The study used qualitative data collected during interviews with children who used the service, their carers and key professionals involved in the pathway, and routine quantitative data concerned with care entry and the dental service use.

Results: The dental pathway facilitated dental care access for children entering statutory care, met the dental needs of service users even when dental care provision proved challenging, and offered a consistent dental service regardless of care moves.

Reaction time-monitored patient-maintained propofol sedation: a pilot study in oral surgery patients.

Previous volunteer studies of an effect-site controlled patient-maintained sedation system using propofol have demonstrated a risk of oversedation. We have incorporated a reaction time monitor into the handset to add an individualised patient-feedback mechanism. This pilot study assessed if the reaction time-feedback modification would prove safe and effective in 20 healthy patients receiving sedation while undergoing oral surgery.

Influence of periodontal disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis and cigarette smoking on systemic anti-citrullinated peptide antibody titres.

Background: Anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) responses may precede clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Porphyromonas gingivalis peptidylarginine deiminase can citrullinate proteins possibly inducing autoimmunity in susceptible individuals.

Aim: To determine whether periodontitis, carriage of P.

Summary of: Influence of dental care on children's oral health and wellbeing.

Background: Dental problems in early childhood can have a very significant effect not only on the oral health of young children but on their quality of life and that of their families. Added to this are the long term risks they carry into the permanent dentition.

Aim: To review current literature on the management of early childhood caries and its influence on wider oral and general health.