Dental public health

Question 1

what are the 3 oral diseases with significant public health impact?

Answer 1

tooth decay (dental caries)
gum disease (periodontal disease)
Oral cancer

Question 2

what 3 things can oral health impact?

Answer 2

physical health
social health
psychological health

Question 3

what are the 3 main risk factors for oral disease?

Answer 3

smoking
alcohol
diet

Question 4

what 3 things are required for tooth decay?

Answer 4

tooth
sugar
bacteria

Question 5

what are the recommendations for daily sugar?

Answer 5

no more than 11% (now brought down to 5%) of daily energy intake should be from sugar

Question 6

what are the 6 stages of tooth decay?

Answer 6

1) sub-clinical lesion
2) small lesions detectable with aids
3) clinically detectable enamel lesions
4) clinically detectable cavities limited to enamel
5) clinically detectable lesions in dentine
6) lesions into the pulp

Question 7

if a patient has 32 teeth, 2 decayed, 4 missing and 6 filled, what is their DMF score?

Answer 7

2+4+6

= 12

Question 8

if a patient has 32 teeth, 2 decayed, 4 missing and 6 filled, what is their DMFT score?

Answer 8

2+4+6

= 12

Question 9

what are the problems with DMFT?

Answer 9

not all teeth lost via cavities (eg. for braces, trauma etc)
only allows tooth to be in 1 of 3 conditions
irreversible so not good for measuring benefit of interventions
doesn’t account for impact (i.e extracted tooth not equivalent to filled tooth)

Question 10

what is the difference between DMFT and def?

Answer 10

def = count of primary teeth decayed, extracted due to caries or filled

Question 11

compare DMFT in 12 year olds and 35 year olds

Answer 11

much higher in 35 year olds world-wide

Question 12

what is NDIP?

Answer 12

national dental inspection programme
basic examination of all P1 and P7 children
detailed examination of representative sample of P1 and P7 children

Question 13

describe the trend in caries?

Answer 13

world-wide reduction in cases since the 1970s

due to fluoride in toothpaste

Question 14

how has the number of dental general anaesthetics in children changed since 2002?

Answer 14

decreased

Question 15

what is the biggest factor involved in the unequal distribution of dental caries?

Answer 15

socio-economic status

more deprived groups struggle to meet targets while least deprive have surpassed target every year (in P1s)

Question 16

where are caries most likely to occur in the mouth?

Answer 16

the back teeth

Question 17

how has tooth loss in adults changed since the 1970s?

Answer 17

decreased

Question 18

what causes periodontal disease?

Answer 18

failure to maintain clean mouth

Question 19

whats the most common form of periodontal disease?

Answer 19

gingivitis

Question 20

what is periodontal disease?

Answer 20

group of conditions, acute and chronic, characterised by inflammation of periodontal tissues in response to presence of dental plaque

Question 21

what conditions is periodontal disease associated with?

Answer 21

atherosclerosis, stroke, MI
pregnancy
diabetes
resp infections
rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis
obesity

Question 22

describe the 4 stages of periodontal disease

Answer 22

1) superficial redness, swelling and inflammation
2) initial destruction of supporting bone and ligament forming pockets
3) further destruction of bone and deepening of pockets
4) severe destruction of bone/ligament leads to tooth mobility and eventually loss

Question 23

how is periodontal disease assessed?

Answer 23

Basic periodontal examination (BPE)

Insert probe, measure how deep it can go in relation to black band on probe

Question 24

how is periodontal disease treated?

Answer 24

oral hygiene
stop smoking
scaling and root planning
surgery
long term maintenance
extraction

Question 25

what is fluoride varnish application?

Answer 25

fluoride varnish applied to children in nurseries which decreases chance of tooth decay by up to 40%