Invasive colonial influences and continuing neoliberal policies have a detrimental impact on Land, health, food and culture for Indigenous Communities. Food security and sovereignty have significant impacts on Indigenous well-being and, specifically, oral health. Aspects relating to food security, such as availability of nutritious foods, are a common risk factor of oral diseases. This scoping review aimed to collate existing evidence regarding the relationship between food sovereignty and/or food security and oral health for Indigenous Communities, globally.

Four databases were searched using keywords related to ‘Food security’ or ‘Food sovereignty,’ ‘Indigenous Peoples’ and ‘Oral health.’ Duplicates were removed, and two independent reviewers screened the titles and abstracts to identify articles for full-text review. Extracted data were summarised narratively, presenting a conceptual model which illustrates the findings and relationships between food security and/or food sovereignty and oral health.

The search identified 369 articles, with forty-one suitable for full-text review and a final nine that met inclusion criteria. The impact of food security and food sovereignty on oral health was discussed across different populations and sample sizes, ranging from eighteen Kichwa families in Brazil to 533 First Nations and Metis households in Canada. Pathways of influence between food sovereignty and/or food security are explored clinically, quantitatively and qualitatively across oral health outcomes, including early childhood caries, dental caries and oral health-related quality of life for Indigenous Communities.

Innovative strategies underpinned by concepts of Indigenous food sovereignty are needed to promote oral health equity for Indigenous Communities. The nexus between oral health and Indigenous food sovereignty remains largely unexplored, but has immense potential for empowering Indigenous rights to self-determination of health that honour Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.

To develop and internally validate a Free Sugars Screener (FSS) for Australian children aged 2 and 5 years.

Using data collected from a ninety-nine-item (2-year-olds) and ninety-eight-item (5-year-olds) FFQ in the Study of Mothers’ and Infants’ Life Events affecting oral health (SMILE-FFQ), a regression-based prediction modelling approach was employed to identify a subset of items that accurately estimate total free sugars intake (FSI). The predictors were grams of free sugars (FSg) for individual items in the SMILE-FFQ and child’s age and sex. The outcome variable was total FSI per person. To internally validate the SMILE-FSS items, the estimated FSg was converted to percent energy from free sugars (%EFS) for comparison to the WHO free sugars guideline categories (< 5 %, 5–< 10 % and ≥ 10 %EFS) using cross-classification analysis.

Australia.

858 and 652 2- and 5-year-old children, respectively, with complete dietary (< 5 % missing) and sociodemographic data.

Twenty-two and twenty-six items were important in predicting FSI at 2 and 5 years, respectively. Items were similar between ages with more discretionary beverage items (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages) at 5 years. %EFS was overestimated by 4·4 % and 2·6 %. Most children (75 % and 82 %) were categorised into the same WHO free sugars category with most (87 % and 95 %) correctly identified as having < 10 %EFS in line with the WHO recommendation.

The SMILE-FSS has good internal validity and can be used in research and practice to estimate young Australian children’s FSI and compare to the WHO free sugars guidelines to identify those ‘at risk’.

This work aimed to identify, appraise, and summarize existing knowledge about oral health interventions in the context of natural disasters and verify the main research gaps.

We searched in PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Maryland, USA), EMBASE (Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Epistemonikos (Epistemonikos Foundation, Santiago, Chile) until 2021 for primary studies and systematic reviews, assessing any oral health intervention in the context of natural disasters. The interventions were classified according to Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care (EPOC) categories, and the type of natural disaster was defined according to the classification by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED).

We assessed a total of 19 studies (majorly in Japan, n = 8), all performed in the context of an earthquake or mixed natural disasters (earthquake and tsunami). Regarding interventions, 12 studies reported a promotional/ preventive intervention, with oral examination being the most frequent. 7 studies reported therapeutic interventions, mainly related to emergency management of fractures and injuries.

The evidence accessed in our study was limited, highlighting the need for further research to focus on different oral health care interventions and outcomes in the context of different natural disasters, thus enhancing the formulation and implementation of recommendations and protocols worldwide.

Health technology assessment (HTA) is the systematic evaluation of various properties and effects of a health technology. HTA can serve as a bridge between the world of knowledge and that of decision making, offering decision makers the best summary of scientific evidence. Scoping HTA reports in the context of dentistry can help researchers identify grey areas; help practitioners make evidence-based decisions and further initiate better policy making.

To provide an overview on HTAs pertaining to oral health and dentistry in the past decade, map the extension and scope of the methodological practices, key findings, and limitations.

A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute framework. A comprehensive search for HTA reports was done through the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment Database from January 2010 to December 2020. Consecutively, electronic databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) were searched. Finally, thirty-six reports were included in this review and analyzed.

A total of 709 articles were initially identified, of which thirty-six met the inclusion criteria. Reviewed HTAs focused on various specialties of dentistry worldwide. Maximum number of reports (N = 5) were related to “prosthodontics and dental implants” and technologies related to preventive dentistry were most commonly assessed (N = 4).

Functional, appropriate, and evidence-based information provided through HTA pertaining to oral health on a regular basis will enable decision makers to have enough data to make decisions on the future use of new technology, modify existing policies, accelerate its translation into practice, and ensure provision of robust dental healthcare services.

There is a greater prevalence of oral problems in patients suffering from severe mental illness than in the general population. The psychiatrist use to be, naturally, a health professional with great clinical influence over these patients. Do young psychiatrists in training include oral evaluations on their patients? How does this doctor perceive oral health care in the context of follow-up of people with chronic mental disorders?

To interpret the meanings of the practice or not, regarding oral health guidelines, as reported by residents in psychiatry working in care and follow-up services to patients with severe disorders at a public university.

Clinical-qualitative design. Semi-directed interviews with open-ended questions in-depth carried out with six participants. Sample closed by saturation information criterion. Residents see their patients at the General Hospital of the State University of Campinas. Interview material, audio-recorded and transcribed in full, was treated by Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis, using concepts of theoretical framework from Medical Psychology. Interviewer was a female professor of dentistry.

From the discussion, two categories of analysis were selected for this presentation. (1) medical practice obeys the natural logic of construction of paradigmatic areas: historically, dentistry has created a care model with independence from medicine; (2) dentist is not called to participate in “collusion of anonymity”. This is an expression construct by the psychoanalyst Balint to describe the taking of relevant clinical decisions, without no professional assume the responsibility for these.

These meanings may guide changes in professional conduct as well as in the curriculum of medical training programs.

No significant relationships.

Oral health behavior is based on an acquired experience and cultural traditions. University education may smooth out cultural differences in oral health practice.

Our goal is to study self-reported oral health attitudes and behavior of university students and the cultural basis for it.

We used the English version of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioral Inventory to carry out an online survey of 136 university students of Morocco and Russia.

Over half of the students (60.3%) do not feel anxious when visiting a dentist. Most of them take care of their gums (41.2%), teeth color (49.3%) and the degree of their cleanness (38.2%). The overwhelming majority of the students brush their each tooth very thoroughly (62.5%), they regularly examine their teeth in the mirror after brushing them (90.4%). They are well aware that tooth brushing alone cannot prevent a gum disease (63.2%), and they feel concerned about the possibility of having bad breath (73.6%). At the same time, over half of the students (61.7%) put off their visit to a dentist until they have a toothache, which is a negative behavioral factor. We did not reveal any gender or cultural differences between the students of the two countries, which can be regarded as a universalization factor of oral health behavior in young people who get higher education in universities.

The majority of the surveyed Russian and Moroccan university students have similar patterns of oral health attitudes and behavior. This assumption needs verification on a larger sample of students.

No significant relationships.

Inadequate nutrient intakes have been linked with poor dentition in older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the composition of functional tooth units (FTU) and nutrient intakes in older men.

A cross-sectional study with a standardised validated diet history assessment and comprehensive oral health assessments. FTU were categorised by dentition type: (i) Group A (Natural FTU Only), (ii) Group B (Natural and Replaced FTU) and (iii) Group C (No Natural FTU). Attainment of nutrient reference values (NRV) for sixteen micronutrients was incorporated into a micronutrient risk variable, dichotomised ‘good’ (≥ 12) or ‘poor’ (≤ 11), and for seven macronutrients into a macronutrient risk variable, dichotomised ‘good’ (≥ 5) or ‘poor’ (≤ 4).

Subjects selected from the local Sydney geographical areas.

Community-dwelling older men (n 608).

32 % (n 197) of participants were categorised as Group A, 27 % (n 167) as Group B and 40 % (n 244) as Group C. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, being in Group C, compared with Group A, was associated with intakes below NRV recommendations for fibre (OR: 2·30, 95 % CI 1·30, 4·05). Adjusted analysis also showed that men in Group C, compared with Group A, were more likely to have poor intake of macronutrients (OR: 2·00, 95 % CI 1·01, 3·94).

Our study shows statistically significant associations between the composition of FTU and poor macronutrient intakes. Maintaining natural pairs of occluding FTU may be important for attaining adequate nutrient intakes in older men.

An examination of invasive procedure cancellations found that the lack of pre-procedural oral screening was a preventable cause, for children with congenital heart disease. The purpose of this study was to implement an oral screening tool within the paediatric cardiology clinic, with referral to paediatric dental providers for positive screens. The target population were children aged ≥6 months to <18 years old, being referred for cardiac procedures.

The quality implementation framework method was used for this study design. The multi-modal intervention included education, audit and feedback, screening guidelines, environmental support, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Baseline rates for oral screenings were determined by retrospective chart audit from January 2018 to January 2019 (n = 211). Provider adherence to the oral screening tool was the outcome measure. Positive oral screens, resulting in referral to the paediatric dental clinic, were measured as a secondary outcome. Provider adherence rates were used as a process measure.

Data collected over 14 weeks showed a 29% increase in documentation of oral screenings prior to referral, as compared to the retrospective chart audit. During the study period, 13% of completed screenings were positive (n = 5). Provider compliance for the period was averaged at 70% adherence.

A substantial increase in pre-procedural oral screenings by paediatric cardiologists was achieved using the quality implementation framework and targeted interventions.

To examine associations between childcare type and nutrition and oral health indicators.

Cross-sectional data extracted from a longitudinal birth cohort. Parent-completed FFQ and questions regarding oral health and childcare use. The associations between childcare type, classified into four groups: parent care only (PCO), formal childcare only (FCO), informal childcare only (ICO) or combination of care (F&I), and nutrition and oral health indicators were examined.

Home and childcare.

Families with children aged 3 years (n 273) and 4 years (n 249) in Victoria, Australia.

No associations were observed between childcare type and core food/beverage consumption or oral health indicators. For discretionary beverages, compared with children receiving PCO at age 3 years, children in FCO or F&I were less likely to frequently consume fruit juice/drinks (FCO: adjusted OR (AOR) 0·41, 95 % CI 0·17, 0·96, P = 0·04; F&I: AOR 0·32, 95 % CI 0·14, 0·74, P = 0·008). At age 4 years, children receiving FCO or ICO were less likely to consume sweet beverages frequently compared with children receiving PCO: fruit juice/drink (ICO: AOR 0·42, 95 % CI 0·19, 0·94, P = 0·03; FCO: AOR 0·35, 95 % CI 0·14, 0·88, P = 0·03) and soft drink (ICO: AOR 0·23, 95 % CI 0·07, 0·74, P = 0·01; FCO: AOR 0·14, 95 % CI 0·03, 0·76, P = 0·02).

Associations between childcare type and discretionary beverage intake were observed. Investigation into knowledge, attitudes and activities in formal and informal childcare settings is required to explore different health promotion practices that may influence nutrition and oral health.

Nicotine replacement therapy sampling (NRTS) refers to providing all smokers, regardless of interest in quitting, with free samples of over-the-counter NRT. NRTS has been shown to increase quit attempts and abstinence.

We conducted a pilot trial with a goal to establish the feasibility and acceptability of NRTS in a dental clinic, where providing free samples is routine and universal.

Participants (N = 30) completed a baseline survey and were randomized to receive or not receive a 2-week supply of NRT samples (14 mg patches and 4 mg lozenges) in a 3:1 ratio.

We enrolled 30 of 50 potentially eligible patients, of whom 26 completed a 4-week follow-up survey. At follow-up, 61% of the NRT group reported use of the samples and 26% said they used more NRT obtained on their own. In the No NRT group, only one patient reported using NRT. No patients reported past week abstinence, but 43% of the NRT group vs. 29% of the No NRT group reported making a quit attempt lasting longer than 24 h.

The pattern of results suggests that conducting a larger trial would be feasible and that the NRTS intervention was acceptable to dental patients.