The Role of Oral Health in Complex Emergencies and Disaster Rehabilitation Medicine

Disasters in pediatric dentistry: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Disasters can harm many people, especially children, in unpredictable and public ways. One of the neglected aspects of children's health in disasters is oral and dental hygiene, which can affect their physical and mental well-being. This systematic review explores how dentistry can help children in disasters, focusing on two aspects: providing oral health care and identifying disaster victims.

METHODS

A thorough search of databases, such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Embase, ProQuest, and Web of Science, was done to find English-language publications from 1930 to August 31, 2023. The screening, data collection, and quality assessment followed the PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS

Out of 37,795 articles found in the databases, seven research articles were chosen. Five articles were retrospective, and two articles were prospective. The results showed that dentistry for children is very important in disasters by giving information about the oral and dental problems and identifying the victims. The results also showed some of the challenges and difficulties in giving dental care for children in disaster situations, such as changing control, referral systems, and parental fear of infection.

CONCLUSION

Dentistry for children can improve the health and well-being of children affected by disasters.

Impact of natural disaster on oral health: A scoping review

Natural disasters may affect oral health as a result of serious damage to social function and public health. However, no article has systematically summarized the impact of natural disasters on oral health. This review aimed to map the existing literature on the impact of natural disasters on oral health. Targeted literature was searched using PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL databases with the keywords "disaster" and "oral health." Eligibility criteria were established based on the Participant-Concept-Context model, and eligible studies were identified based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 flow diagram. Eight eligible studies related to earthquakes were included in this review. Of these, 7 studies were related to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Oral health status of victims of disaster was analyzed by assessing the following parameters: questionnaire surveys; examination for fungal infection; and analyses of the teeth, periodontal, and oral hygiene condition. Six studies suggested that natural disasters had a negative impact on oral health. Two studies could not determine the impact of natural disasters on oral health. Only 1 study analyzed the impact of disasters on oral health based on pre- and postdisaster surveys. This scoping review found that there was insufficient evidence to suggest a relationship between natural disasters and oral health and that there are biases in geographical areas and types of natural disasters in this research field. Further research is needed to promote evidence-based support by dental professionals during different disaster phases.

Syria Profile of the Epidemiology and Management of Early Childhood Caries Before and During the Time of Crisis

Syria has witnessed the greatest humanitarian crisis of forcibly displaced population since World War II. The present review aimed to outline Syria's profile of the epidemiology and management of early childhood caries (ECC). Before the crisis, the burden of ECC amongst Syrian pre-schoolers had been growing in prevalence and severity. Comparable data showed an increase in the burden of ECC amongst Syrian children aged five years, rising from 74% in 1991 to 81% in 2011, with a dmft value of 8.6. A similar increase was observed in the burden of ECC amongst Syrian children aged three years, rising from 50% in 1991 to 56% in 2011, with a dmft value of 6.1. Whilst there are no data on the burden of ECC during the current crisis, estimates could be extrapolated from data on the current burden of dental caries amongst Syrian primary school children living inside Syria or in informal settlements outside Syria. Such data suggested that the burden of ECC might have further increased amongst Syrian pre-schoolers during the crisis time. This is due to the crisis exacerbating effect on ECC risk factors, in terms of increasing the existing high sugar intake amongst Syrian pre-schoolers as well as increasing different barriers Syrian families face to fresh foods, sugar-free medicines, oral hygiene and fluoride products and accessing essential preventative dental care. Tackling the growing burden of ECC amongst Syrian pre-schoolers should not be postponed till post-crisis time. The seed work for relevant public health interventions could start and be embedded in different health and social initiatives taking place during the time of crisis. A number of public health interventions informed by relevant international and local (Syrian) studies conducted during the time of crisis have been suggested to tackle the burden of ECC amongst Syrian young children. They include a mix of upstream, midstream, and downstream interventions that aim to reduce sugar intake, improve feeding and oral hygiene practices, increase access to an appropriate source of fluoride and build the capacity of the Syrian dental and wider workforce to tackle the growing burden of ECC in Syrian pre-schoolers.