Factors affecting dental diseases presenting at the University of Ghana Hospital

Assessment of oral health status and treatment needs among people of Foklyan area, Dharan, Nepal

Background

Oral diseases are a major public health problem globally due to high prevalence and significant social impact. Foklyan is a peri urban area with people belonging to indigenous population of low socioeconomic status. This study was conducted to assess the oral health status and treatment needs among the people of Foklyan area, Dharan.

Methods

Cross-sectional house to house survey was conducted on 310 randomly selected participants. The participants were stratified into five age groups as per WHO Basic Oral Health Survey Methods 1997 and further categorized by gender. WHO Oral Health Assessment form 1997, WHO oral health assessment questionnaire for adult/children 2013 and questionnaire for oral hygiene practice and cost as a treatment barrier were used. The examinations were done as per WHO standard guidelines.

Results

Most of the participants were from low socioeconomic background (71.3%). About 40% of the participants deferred dental visit due to financial burden. Although 99% of the participants brushed their teeth, there was high caries experience (DMFT: 3.18 ± 5.85; dft: 2.40 ± 2.65). Mean sextant score for bleeding was 5.58 in 35–44 years age group and 5.61 in 65–74 years age group. Tobacco consumption was seen in 70.9% of the adults. Prevalence of alcohol consumption was 58.8% among adult age groups.

Conclusion

The prevalence of dental caries, periodontal diseases, and prosthetic needs were more compared to national data. There is a need for oral health promotion in this area.

AMELX Gene Association with Dental Caries in Iranian Adults

Dental decay is a disease that is greatly affected by environmental components, but recently there have been an increasing number of documents supporting a genetic factor in the development of caries. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between dental caries and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the AMELX gene. This research was carried out on 360 individuals of both sexes, who were referred to the dental school at the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. In this research, individuals aged 20–65 years were divided into two groups: controls (decayed, missed, or filled teeth (DMFT) ≤ 5; n = 180) and cases (DMFT ≥ 14; n = 180). The tetra-primer ARMS-PCR technique was performed for genotyping the DNA extracted from blood cells. Analysis of the AMELX rs946252 polymorphism showed that the T allele of rs946252 was a significant protective factor against dental caries in Iranian adults (T vs. C: OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.49–0.98, P = 0.04). We demonstrated the significant differences in the genotype frequencies under two genetic models: overdominant (TC vs. TT + CC: OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.19–0.64, P = 0.0006) and recessive (CC vs. TC + TT: OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.39–4.76, P = 0.002). Our results show that the SNPs of the AMELX gene may be related with susceptibility to dental caries in Iranian adults.

Screening at the dental office: An opportunity for bridging the gap in the early diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes in Ghana

Background:

The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes is increasing in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. Screening is a useful tool in improving the early detection of both diseases to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with the conditions. This study set out to determine the prevalence of patients with hypertension and hyperglycemia attending a dental clinic in Accra.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study, modeling a screening exercise, was conducted in a major dental clinic in Accra. Hypertension and diabetes were screened for with serial blood pressure checks at rest and random blood glucose measurements, respectively. Other variables were the pulse rate, the respiratory rate, and the background characteristics of respondents. Data were analyzed with Stata Version 14, and descriptive statistics were generated and reported.

Results:

There were a total of 175 participants in the study, comprising 76 males (43.4%) and 99 females (56.6%). This represented a male-to-female ratio of 0.8:1. The ages ranged from 18 to 86 years, with the median and mean ages of 40 years and 43.1 years (±16.9), respectively. This study found the prevalence of hypertension and hyperglycemia in the dental clinic to be 31.4% and 24.6%, respectively.

Conclusion:

The results of this study demonstrate the importance of the dental clinic in detecting both undiagnosed hypertension and diabetes, as well as those who have previously been diagnosed, but do not have their blood pressure and blood sugar under adequate control. With efficient referrals and follow-up systems in place at dental offices, they could be harnessed as a fertile place for hypertension and diabetes screening.

Trends and clinicopathological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinomas reported at a tertiary cancer hospital in Nepal during 1999 to 2009

OBJECTIVE

Reliable data describing the trends and clinicopathological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Nepalese population are very limited. The current study aimed to examine the demographics, trend, and clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC reported to the main referral/tertiary cancer hospital, the B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital (BPKMCH) in Nepal for a period of 11 years (1999-2009).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. Data were retrieved retrospectively from hospital register maintained in the Department of Ear, Nose, Throat at BPKMCH, categorized into demographic and clinicopathological variables and SPSS (V25) was used for the analysis.

RESULTS

In a period of 11 years, 3,452 cases of head and neck cancer were registered at the Department of Ear, Nose, Throat, BPKMCH. Out of 1,111 oral cancer cases, 1,081 (97.3%) were OSCC. A trend for increasing number of OSCCs presenting to BPKMCH was observed during that period. OSCC was found to be more common among males (73.0%), Brahmin/Chhetri ethnic groups (33.0%), in age group of 51-60 years (31.9%), and in Terai region (62.0%). Tongue (42.8%) was the most common site, followed by buccal mucosa (27.2%). Nevertheless, when stratified with respect to the geographical location and ethnicity, buccal mucosa was the most common site for OSCC in Terai region (63.9%, p = .002) and in Madhesi ethnic group (34.2%, p < .001). Majority of OSCC cases were diagnosed at advanced stage (49.7%, Stage IV) and received a combination therapy (42.0%).

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital-based records can provide valuable information on disease characteristics in countries like Nepal. This study revealed that the clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC in Nepal follow the global trend. Nevertheless, relationship between specific intraoral sites for OSCC with geographic location and ethnic groups is an interesting observation and requires further population-based studies to clarify these findings.