Characteristics of patients attending rapid access clinics during the West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Programme oral cancer campaign.

Aim: In 2003, the West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Programme (WoSCAP) launched their oral cancer campaign to raise public awareness of the disease in five NHS boards across the West of Scotland. The aim of this study was to evaluate the campaign by reviewing patients attending rapid access clinics in the 11 secondary care units across the five boards.

Design: Data were collected in 2004 during the second phase of the campaign via a two part self-completing questionnaire; the first part collected information from the patients and the second part from the clinicians, in rapid access clinics in the secondary care units.

Towards building a photo-realistic virtual human face for craniomaxillofacial diagnosis and treatment planning.

The aim of this investigation was to assess the feasibility of building a virtual human face digitally by superimposing a photo-realistic three-dimensional (3D) soft-tissue surface on bone in the correct relationship and evaluating the registration errors associated with this method. The 3D soft-tissue surface of the face was captured using a fast stereophotogrammetry method and the underlying bone was recorded using a 3D computed tomography (CT) scanner. Using the Procrustes registration method, the outer surface of the 3D CT scan and the photo-realistic soft-tissue surfaces were merged into a single Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) file and displayed using a standard VRML viewer.

Oral health care and status of elderly care home residents in Glasgow.

Objectives: To investigate variations in reported oral health care provision and unmet dental need within a sample of care homes for the elderly in Glasgow.

Basic Research Design: Two-phase study of a 50% random sample of 120 care homes (n = 60). Phase 1: telephone interviews with care home managers.

Each portion of fruit or vegetable consumed halves the risk of oral cancer.

Data Sources: Medline was used to find relevant papers; reference lists of retrieved publications were also searched.

Study Selection: Studies were included if they met all of the following criteria: 1) they contained original data from case-control or cohort studies; 2) the primary outcome was clearly defined as cancers of the mouth, pharynx and hypopharynx (as defined by codes 141, 143-146,148 and 149 of the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases or other classifications that included these sites); 3) the exposure of interest was measured as servings (per day, week or month) of fruit, vegetables or both (other exposure measurements, such as mass per day, were excluded unless data were provided to transform information to servings per day); 4) they provided relative risk (RR) estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CI), or sufficient data to calculate these parameters; 5) were published in the English language; and 6) were published before September 2005. If a study appeared in more than one article, data from the most recent publication were used for the statistical analysis.

Widening socio-economic inequalities in oral cancer incidence in Scotland, 1976-2002.

Oral cancer incidence was investigated among 10 857 individuals using Scottish Cancer Registry data. Since 1980 the incidence of oral cancer among males in Scotland has significantly increased, the rise occurring almost entirely in the most deprived areas of residence.

Clinical examination of subjects with halitosis.

Objective: To develop and apply a detailed clinical protocol for screening and assessing subjects with a complaint of halitosis.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Subjects And Methods: Several methods were used to recruit subjects with a complaint of halitosis, including a newspaper advertisement.

Identification of bacteria associated with spreading odontogenic infections by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Objective: To determine the bacterial species associated with spreading odontogenic infections (SOIs).

Study Design: Pus samples from 4 cases of SOI were analyzed by microbiological culture methods for the presence of bacteria, and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, cloning, and sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes.

Results: Culture methods identified species from the genera Prevotella, Streptococcus, and Fusobacterium, as well as anaerobic streptococci.

Managing dentin hypersensitivity.

Background: The objective of this review is to inform practitioners about dentin hypersensitivity (DH) and its management. This clinical information is described in the context of the underlying biology.

Types Of Studies Reviewed: The authors used MEDLINE to find relevant English-language literature published in the period 1999 to 2005.

Susceptibility to Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil of yeasts isolated from the mouths of patients with advanced cancer.

Yeasts that are resistant to azole antifungal drugs are increasingly isolated from the mouths of cancer patients suffering from oral fungal infections. Tea tree oil is an agent possessing antimicrobial properties that may prove useful in the prevention and management of infections caused by these organisms. In this study, 301 yeasts isolated from the mouths of 199 patients suffering from advanced cancer were examined by an in vitro agar dilution assay for susceptibility to tea tree oil.

Dental anxiety, distress at induction and postoperative morbidity in children undergoing tooth extraction using general anaesthesia.

Objective: To report on the prevalence of postoperative morbidity in children undergoing tooth extraction under chair dental general anaesthetic (CDGA) in relation to pre-operative dental anxiety and anaesthetic induction distress.

Design: A prospective national study.

Setting: Twenty-five Scottish DGA centres in 2001.

Factors influencing referral of children for dental extractions under general and local anaesthesia.

Objective: To investigate the relative importance of a range of explanatory variables concerning why child patients in Scotland enter pathways for tooth extractions under either Dental General Anaesthesia (DGA) or local anaesthesia (LA).

Basic Research Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out involving DGA centres across Scotland. Data collected related to demographic characteristics of child DGA patients, reported anxiety and dental attendance levels of patients and parents, reasons given by referring practitioners for requesting DGA, number and type of teeth extracted and parental beliefs and attitudes to DGA.

A study of visual and blood contamination on reprocessed endodontic files from general dental practice.

Objective: This study examined methods used for reprocessing endodontic instruments in general dental practice and determined the degree of residual visual contamination and blood contamination on 250 reprocessed files collected from 25 general dental practices.

Materials And Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 25 general dental practitioners to obtain information on the re-processing of used endodontic files. Ten files which had been used and reprocessed were also collected from each practice.

The dental practitioner and child protection in Scotland.

Objectives: To identify from general dental practitioners: undergraduate and postgraduate training experience in child protection; numbers of suspected cases of child physical abuse; reasons for failing to report suspicious cases of child physical abuse; knowledge of local child protection protocols and procedures for referral.

Materials And Methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to 500 randomly selected general dental practitioners in Scotland, with a further 200 sent to a random sample of the original 500 to increase response rate.

Results: Sixty-one per cent (306) of the original 500 questionnaires, and 35% (69) of the second random mail shot of 200 questionnaires were returned.

Alcohol consumption and the risk for disease. Is there a dose-risk relationship between alcohol and disease?

Data Sources: Searches for studies were made using MEDLINE, Current Contents, EMbase, CAB Abstracts and Core Biomedical Collection, and the reference lists of selected articles. A search was also made by hand of relevant journals.

Study Selection: Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (i) case-control or cohort study published as an original article; (ii) findings expressed as odds ratio or relative risk (RR) considering at least three levels of alcohol consumption; (iii) papers reported the number of cases and controls and the estimates of the odds ratios or RR for each exposure level.

Injuries to the head, face, mouth and neck in physically abused children in a community setting.

Objectives: The aims of the present study were to identify the incidence of orofacial injuries found within a cohort of physically abused children, and examine demographic data surrounding the alleged perpetrator, the location in which the alleged assault occurred, the mechanism of injury and the actual orofacial injury incurred.

Methods: The research took the form of a retrospective study of clinical case records of children with suspected physical abuse from 1 June 1998 to 31 May 2003. Seven hundred and fifty case records were identified and 390 (46.

Immune processes in periodontal disease: a review.

The inflammatory and immune processes in periodontitis are complex and, although a great deal of information is available, many questions remain. Variation in human susceptibility to periodontitis has long been accepted, but the pathological basis of this is poorly understood. Similarly, we know little of the differences, if any, between the pathology of chronic and aggressive periodontitis.

An assessment of teenagers' perceptions of dental fluorosis using digital simulation and web-based testing.

Objectives: To develop a new model to establish teenagers' perceptions of the aesthetic impact of fluorosis, in the context of overall facial appearance. This web-based model was used to compare different degrees of fluorosis at any one distance, while also comparing the same level of fluorosis at different 'distances'.

Methods: A 14-year-old subject was used as the model face.

Detection of bacteraemias during non-surgicalroot canal treatment.

Unlabelled: Some dental procedures initiate a bacteraemia. In certain compromised patients, this bacteraemia may lead to distant site infections, most notably infective endocarditis.

Objective: To investigate whether a detectable bacteraemia was produced during non-surgical root canal therapy.

Automatic external defibrillators--time for a change?

Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for cardiac arrest. Until relatively recently the use of defibrillators was restricted to medical staff and paramedics. The development of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) now means that this life-saving equipment may be used by anyone with a short period of training.

A novel species-specific PCR assay for identifying Lactobacillus fermentum.

Lactobacillus fermentum is a Gram-positive bacterium that is associated with active caries lesions. Methods for identifying Lactobacillus species traditionally have been based upon culture methods coupled with biochemical tests, which are generally unreliable. The aim of this study was to develop a species-specific PCR assay for the direct detection of L.

A partially blinded randomised controlled trial of patient-maintained propofol sedation and operator controlled midazolam sedation in third molar extractions.

Patient-maintained sedation using propofol has recently been shown to be effective for dental surgery. We compared this new technique to the established technique of operator administered midazolam. The two groups were compared before, during and after sedation.

Assessment of children prior to dental extractions under general anaesthesia in Scotland.

Objective: To determine the type of dental assessment service offered to children prior to exodontia under chair dental general anaesthesia (CDGA) in the community and hospital dental services (CDS, HDS) in Scotland.

Design And Setting: Telephone interviews were conducted with CDS and HDS clinical directors in Scotland using a semi-structured questionnaire, with written follow-up confirmation. Copies of CDGA referral forms were also requested.

Treatment planning in general dental practice: case presentation and communicating with the patient.

Presentation of treatment plan options to patients in general dental practice involves the collation of information and its presentation in a clear and uncluttered environment. Visual aids are of value, as are effective verbal and written communications with the patient. Fees should be discussed openly, as should guarantees for, and limitations of, proposed treatment.

Evaluation of the recurrence of denture stomatitis and Candida colonization in a small group of patients who received itraconazole.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the recurrence rate of denture stomatitis and persistence of Candida in 22 patients (5 male and 17 female, mean age 71 years) over a 3-year period.

Study Design: Denture hygiene practice, denture cleanliness, and the presence of palatal erythema were assessed for each patient at the start of the study (baseline). The oral cavity was sampled for yeasts by imprint culture and denture discs.