Dental Public Health Flashcards
Define risk factor
A characteristic that has been directly shown to cause disease (e.g. sugar and dental decay, smoking and lung cancer)
Causal
Presence does not mean you WILL get a disease/a particular outcome, but the factor is CAUSALLY related
Define risk indicator
The behavioural and socioeconomic characteristics that are associated with disease but are not considered to cause the disease
(e.g. caries experience in the deciduous dentition, socioeconomic status and cancer).
Association – may be complex interactions with confounding factors (e.g ice cream and drowning)
Doesn’t mean they are not useful
Risk factor or risk indicator?
The presence of dental caries is seen in people who have a high frequency of sugar in their diet.
Frequent sugar intake a risk factor for dental caries
Risk factor or risk indicator?
The prevalence of periodontal disease is higher in the older generation than the younger generation.
Age is a risk indicator of periodontal disease
Risk factor or risk indicator?
The presence of dental caries is seen in children who have siblings who also have high caries rates.
Having siblings with a high caries rate is a risk indicator of having high caries rate
Risk factor or risk indicator?
The presence of dental erosion is seen in people with a high acid intake.
Acid intake a risk factor for dental erosion
Recall the Bradford Hill Criteria (9 points)
Some Canadians Say That Buying Big Cars Excites Americans:
- Strength (effect size): A small association does not mean that there is not a causal effect, though the larger the association, the more likely that it is causal
- Consistency (reproducibility): Consistent findings observed by different persons in different places with different samples strengthens the likelihood of an effect.
- Specificity: Causation is likely if there is a very specific population at a specific site and disease with no other likely explanation. The more specific an association between a factor and an effect is, the bigger the probability of a causal relationship.
- Temporality: The effect has to occur after the cause (and if there is an expected delay between the cause and expected effect, then the effect must occur after that delay).
- Biological gradient (dose-response relationship): Greater exposure should generally lead to greater incidence of the effect. However, in some cases, the mere presence of the factor can trigger the effect. In other cases, an inverse proportion is observed: greater exposure leads to lower incidence.
- Biological plausibility: A plausible mechanism between cause and effect is helpful (but Hill noted that knowledge of the mechanism is limited by current knowledge).
- Coherence: Coherence between epidemiological and laboratory findings increases the likelihood of an effect. However, Hill noted that “… lack of such [laboratory] evidence cannot nullify the epidemiological effect on associations”.
- Experiment:“Occasionally it is possible to appeal to experimental evidence”.
- Analogy: The use of analogies or similarities between the observed association and any other associations.
Define prevention
Actions aimed at eradicating, eliminating, or minimising the impact of disease and disability, or if none is feasible, retarding the progress of disease and disability
Define index and give 5 examples used in dentistry
An index is an instrument that enables the quantity of a disease or state to be measured
Examples:
- D3MFT/d3mft
- BPE
- IOTN
- Developmental defects in enamel (DDE)
- Thylstrup Fejekov index (fluorosis)
List 7 properties of an ideal index
Ideal index:
- Simple
- Objective
- Valid
- Reliable
- Quantifiable
- Sensitive
- Acceptable - volunteer and user
Recall the 3 levels of prevention
- Primary prevention - preventing disease initiation (e.g. immunisation)
Secondary prevention - identifying disease early and impeding progression and recurrence (e.g. screening)
- Tertiary prevention - reduce onset or impact of complications (e.g. rehabilitation)
What is screening?
National Screening Committee:
Screening is a process of identifying apparently healthy people who may be at increased risk of a disease or condition.
They can then be offered information, further tests and appropriate treatment to reduce their risk and/or any complications arising from the disease or condition.
A screening test is not intended to be diagnostic
It is to interrupt the natural history of a disease at its asymptomatic stage when it is treatable and progression can be halted
Based on the principle that there is a detectable preclinical phase or latent phase
Early detection and treatment of asymptomatic disease must offer some benefit in terms of reducing morbidity and mortality over later treatment
List 7 properties of a screening test
7 properties of a screening test:
- Cheap
- Easy to use
- Easy to interpret
- Safe
- Acceptable
- Reliable
- Valid
Define test sensitivity
Sensitivity – the ability of the test to identify those with the disease
What does high sensitivity mean?
The ability of the test to identify people with the disease
TP / (TP + FN) = N of people with the disease who test positive
We won’t miss many cases
However, this increases the chance of getting a false positive result
What does high specificity mean?
The ability of the test to identify people without the disease
TN / (TN + FP) = N of people without the disease who test negative
We won’t put too many people through unnecessary further tests and/or treatment
However, this increases the chance of getting a false negative result
What type of screening programme does this describe?
Large scale screening of population groups
Usually by invitation
Mass (population) screening
What type of screening programme does this describe?
Targeted screening of high-risk groups
Selective screening
What type of screening programme does this describe?
Examining individuals when they attend for some other, often unrelated, purpose
Opportunistic screening
List 10 important components of a screening programme
Important components of a screening programme:
- Test
- People to take the test
- Register to invite participants
- Infrastructure to invite (and re-invite) participants
- People and infrastructure to read the test
- People to record the test finding
- People and infrastructure to take and read further tests
- People and infrastructure to treat
- Support mechanisms
- Quality assurance mechanisms
List 4 advantages a screening programme
Screen programme advantages:
- Improved prognosis for some cases
- Less radical treatment which cures some early cases
- Resource savings
- Reassurance for those with negative test results