Nutrition Care Practices of Dietitians and Oral Health Professionals for Oral Health Conditions: A Scoping Review

Exploring the Threefold Viewpoint on Children's Oral Health in a Cross-Sectional Study

Oral health is situated within the framework of the global health agenda, addressing facets pertaining to well-being and quality of life. The research is based on the need to address variables at the community level to improve schoolchildren's oral health and promote healthy behaviors and aims to carry out an in-depth analysis from the perspective of the factors that influence children's oral health. Step 1, designed by the World Health Organization, was utilized. An easy-to-use web interface was created for data collection. The statistical analysis consisted of using multinomial and binominal logistic regression models. The level of education of the adult has a high probability of influencing the consumption of unhealthy or healthy foods, it has a significant probability of exerting influence on social or medical problems and a correlation was found between the level of academic education and the pattern of dental visits. The development of health-promoting behaviors begins in childhood and involves parents, who have an essential role in the education of their children. Oral health promotion programs in schools need to target the child-adult-teacher-dentist relationships. Taking into consideration the aforementioned, a threefold viewpoint is necessary for the development of a national program aimed at promoting the oral health of schoolchildren in Romania.

Exploring the attitudes of general dental practitioners to providing dietary advice alongside oral rehabilitation for older adults

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to capture General Dental Practitioners' (GDPs) views on delivering dietary advice to older adults in combination with treatment to replace missing teeth and identify solutions to help inform the development and implementation of future dietary interventions within primary dental care.

BACKGROUND

As natural teeth are lost, older adults may need to choose softer, more manageable foods which might be of lower nutrient density. Previous research has indicated that prosthodontic rehabilitation can improve masticatory function but not the intake of nutrients, highlighting a potential need for a combined approach of oral rehabilitation and dietary counselling.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with a purposive sampling strategy of 12 GDPs. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. An iterative coding process using theme-analytic methods was used.

RESULTS

Twelve interviews were conducted with GDPs in the United Kingdom. The themes that emerged from the interviews included: the awareness of the importance of dietary advice among GDPs; the concerns GDPs had on patients' adherence to dietary advice; uncertainty over roles and responsibilities in the provision of dietary advice; and the limited time and remuneration for dietary advice in dental practice. A minor theme identified was the motivation of GDPs to implement dietary advice alongside oral rehabilitation. All reported that they were already providing dietary advice to their patients but that this was limited to caries prevention.

CONCLUSION

The GDPs interviewed expressed positive attitudes towards providing dietary advice alongside oral rehabilitation for older adults. However, a lack of confidence, awareness, time and remuneration are barriers to its provision in primary dental care. To facilitate the implementation of dietary advice alongside oral rehabilitation, clear guidance on and training in delivering dietary advice and multidisciplinary cooperation are required.

Oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices of dietitians in Australia: A national survey

AIM

Dietitians are a well-placed profession to be providing pre-emptive oral health promotion. Despite recommendations that oral health promotion should be routinely part of dietetic practice, there is limited data informing the current practices of clinical dietitians in this area across Australia. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and practices of Australian dietitians and oral health promotion.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was undertaken involving registered clinical dietitians in Australia using purposive and snowballing sampling (social media/dietetic organisations/public databases). Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 149 dietitians participated in the national survey. Overall, dietitians were knowledgeable about oral health risk factors and preventative measures across general health domains. Majority of dietitians agreed that oral health can affect nutrition interventions (95.5%) and dietitians should be discussing oral health (88.0%). However, nearly half were not confident in providing counselling or education and felt that undergraduate training for oral health promotion was inadequate (78.2%). A small proportion (6.0%) of dietitians were already providing oral health promotion regularly. Key barriers included a lack of clear guidelines for practice, limited training opportunities and indistinct referral pathways.

CONCLUSION

Dietitians have acknowledged that oral health promotion should be incorporated into their practice. However, they are challenged by a lack of resources and training to support this in clinical practice. SO WHAT?: Capacity building dietitians to promote oral health allows opportunity for improvement in the oral health, nutritional status and quality of life of priority population groups.

Development of a dental diet-tracking mobile app for improved caries-related dietary behaviours: Key features and pilot evaluation of quality

Objective

Diet significantly contributes to dental decay (caries) yet monitoring and modifying patients' diets is a challenge for many dental practitioners. While many oral health and diet-tracking mHealth apps are available, few focus on the dietary risk factors for caries. This study aims to present the development and key features of a dental-specific mobile app for diet monitoring and dietary behaviour change to prevent caries, and pilot data from initial user evaluation.

Methods

A mobile app incorporating a novel photo recognition algorithm and a localised database of 208,718 images for food item identification was developed. The design and development process were iterative and incorporated several behaviour change techniques commonly used in mHealth. Pilot evaluation of app quality was assessed using the end-user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS).

Results

User feedback from the beta-testing of the prototype app spurred the improvement of the photo recognition algorithm and addition of more user-centric features. Other key features of the final app include real-time prompts to drive actionable behaviour change, goal setting, comprehensive oral health education modules, and visual metrics for caries-related dietary factors (sugar intake, meal frequency, etc.). The final app scored an overall mean (standard deviation) of 3.6 (0.5) out of 5 on the uMARS scale.

Conclusion

We developed a novel diet-tracking mobile app tailored for oral health, addressing a gap in the mHealth landscape. Pilot user evaluations indicated good app quality, suggesting its potential as a useful clinical tool for dentists and empowering patients for self-monitoring and behavioural management.

YouTube Videos on Nutrition and Dental Caries: Content Analysis

BACKGROUND

Dental caries is the most common health condition worldwide, and nutrition and dental caries have a strong interconnected relationship. Foods and eating behaviors can be both harmful (eg, sugar) and healthful (eg, meal spacing) for dental caries. YouTube is a popular source for the public to access information. To date, there is no information available on the nutrition and dental caries content of easily accessible YouTube videos.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to analyze the content of YouTube videos on nutrition and dental caries.

METHODS

In total, 6 YouTube searches were conducted using keywords related to nutrition and dental caries. The first 20 videos were selected from each search. Video content was scored (17 possible points; higher scores were associated with more topics covered) by 2 individuals based on the inclusion of information regarding various foods and eating behaviors that impact dental caries risk. For each video, information on video characteristics (ie, view count, length, number of likes, number of dislikes, and video age) was captured. Videos were divided into 2 groups by view rate (views/day); differences in scores and types of nutrition messages between groups were determined using nonparametric statistics.

RESULTS

In total, 42 videos were included. Most videos were posted by or featured oral health professionals (24/42, 57%). The mean score was 4.9 (SD 3.4) out of 17 points. Videos with >30 views/day (high view rate; 20/42, 48% videos) had a trend toward a lower score (mean 4.0, SD 3.7) than videos with ≤30 views/day (low view rate; 22/42, 52%; mean 5.8, SD 3.0; P=.06), but this result was not statistically significant. Sugar was the most consistently mentioned topic in the videos (31/42, 74%). No other topics were mentioned in more than 50% of videos. Low-view rate videos were more likely to mention messaging on acidic foods and beverages (P=.04), water (P=.09), and frequency of sugar intake (P=.047) than high-view rate videos.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the analyzed videos had low scores for nutritional and dental caries content. This study provides insights into the messaging available on nutrition and dental caries for the public and guidance on how to make improvements in this area.

Association between the Mediterranean Diet Index and self-reported Gingival Health Status Indicators in a population of Chilean adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Despite the recognized impact of diet on non-communicable diseases, the association between the Mediterranean diet and periodontal diseases is still uncertain. This study aimed to determine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Index (MDI) and self-reported gingival health status in Chilean adults, exploring the feasibility of using validated web-based survey questionnaires.

METHODOLOGY

Cross-sectional data were collected from a representative sample of a population of Chilean adults (18-60 years old) using a low-cost and time-saving methodology. By the PsyToolkit platform, anonymous survey data were downloaded and analyzed in bivariate (crude) and backward stepwise selection multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic determinants, smoking, and dental attendance using STATA 17. Odds ratios (OR) [95% confidence intervals] were estimated.

RESULTS

In total, 351 complete statistical data were mostly obtained from female university students who had never smoked and reported having visited a dentist in the previous year. Multivariate regression models showed an association between MDI and very good/good gingival health status (OR 1.18 [95% CI 1.04-1.34], p=0.013), absence of bleeding on toothbrushing (OR 1.12 [95% CI 1.01-1.25], p=0.035), and absence of clinical signs of gingival inflammation (OR 1.24 [95% CI 1.10-1.40], p<0.001), after controlling for age, sex, educational level, smoking, and dental attendance.

CONCLUSIONS

We associated adherence to the Mediterranean diet with better self-reported gingival health status in a population of Chilean adults in an entirely web-based research environment. Longitudinal studies with random sampling are required to establish the effect of diet on gingival and periodontal health. Nevertheless, this evidence could contribute to the design of low-cost surveillance programs to reduce the burden of periodontal disease and related "common risk factors".

Dietitians' Experiences of Providing Oral Health Promotion to Clients with an Eating Disorder: A Qualitative Study

(1) Background: Eating disorders (EDs) can seriously impact oral health, leading to irreversible dental damage. Dietitians play a key role in the care of people with an ED and are well-placed to promote oral health. However, there is currently little understanding of how dietitians perceive their role in this space. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and role of dietitians in providing oral health promotion to their clients in an ED clinical setting. (2) Methods: This descriptive qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore the perceptions of 14 registered dietitians practicing across seven states in Australia. Participants were recruited using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. A hybrid thematic analysis approach was undertaken to identify and describe the key themes generated from the data. (3) Results: Generally, dietitians were insightful and knowledgeable of the oral health issues that clients with an ED may be experiencing. However, dietitians' practices across education, screening, and referrals were inconsistent. Challenges such as inadequate training, unknown referral pathways, and clear guidelines were cited as significant barriers to practice. (4) Conclusions: The results reinforce the need for education and the development of targeted strategies that address challenges to oral health promotion in dietetic practice.

Characterizing the Content Related to Oral Health Education on TikTok

Neglecting oral hygiene in adolescents negatively affects dental caries and periodontal diseases, in addition to social and emotional well-being. Thus, the TikTok platform (ByteDance, Beijing, China)as a social media could be a powerful channel to provide health-related information and educational content. This study aims to assess the quality of the TikTok videos corresponding to #oralhealtheducation. Sixty-nine videos were identified. Three oral health professionals (OHP), three health education professionals (HEP), and ten of TikTok's target audience watched and evaluated the videos from a qualitative questionnaire. OHP detected false or incorrect information in 11.6% (8/69) of the videos. At least two HEPs reported being unable to detect this type of content or whether the video met dental ethics standards in both the videos. Disagreement was observed among the professionals themselves. The evaluation indicated that TikTok's target audience was satisfied with the products viewed with an average score of >2.5, unlike the professionals, whose average score was <2.5 on a scale of 0 to 5. Users are advised to think critically and to consider the content of TikTok oral health videos with caution. The involvement of health professionals in the writing and validation of the videos could be an added value to positively respond to the needs of the adolescents.