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Biomedical subjects

H C Gift

Publications and source records attributed to H C Gift.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Regular pattern of preventive dental services--a measure of access.

Having a regular pattern of care should be an indicator of access to and periodic use of preventive and health maintenance services. The analyses reported in this study are intended to provide a better understanding of the factors related to having a regular pattern of preventive dental care. The data were collected in 1981 as part of a U.S. household survey, 'A Study of Dental Health Related and Process Outcomes Associated with Prepaid Dental Care', the most comprehensive cross-sectional data base available in dentistry. Descriptive analyses of a constructed variable, representing perceived and realized access and a preventive orientation, indicate that 53% of the population had a regular pattern of preventive care. Those with a regular pattern of care were more likely to be white, younger, have dental insurance, have no cost barriers, have more than 12 years of education, be dentate, have no perceived symptoms, and no fear of pain. Logistic regressions indicated that there was an increased probability of having a regular pattern of preventive care if individuals had no economic access problems, had positive attitudes, had higher income, reported few oral symptoms, and were non-Black. Overall, the descriptive models used suggested that individuals with resources in the form of finances and education, and a sense of self-efficacy as expressed in attitudes toward oral health, had the greatest probability of having a regular pattern of preventive care.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1992

The social impact of dental problems and visits.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this analysis was to assess selected social consequences of maintaining oral health and treating oral diseases. The associations among socioeconomic and demographic factors with time lost from work or school and reductions in normal activities are explored. METHODS: Data were gathered as part of the 1989 National Health Interview Survey from 50,000 US households (117,000 individuals), representing 240 million persons. The oral health care supplement was analyzed using the software SUDAAN to produce standard errors for estimates based on complex multistage sample designs. RESULTS: Because of dental visits or problems, 148,000 hours of work were lost per 100,000 workers, 117,000 hours of school were lost per 100,000 school-age children, and 17,000 activity days beyond work and school time were restricted per 100,000 individuals in 1989. Exploratory analyses suggest that sociodemographic groups have different patterns of such time loss and of reduced normal activities. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there is low social impact individually from dental visits and oral conditions. At the societal level, however, such problems and treatments among disadvantaged groups appear to have a greater impact.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1992

Research directions in oral health promotion for older adults.

Health education and health promotion facilitate voluntary adoption of behaviors and provide educational, organizational, economic, and environmental supports for behaviors conductive to health. Health education and health promotion are complementary and any effort to eliminate oral disease requires both activities. Federal research initiatives in oral health promotion have encouraged more biomedical and behavioral research on oral health and aging through the establishment of research centers. Other initiatives have been established to speed the generation of basic and clinical research. Recent initiatives encourage research on aging and provide opportunities for oral health promotion during the coming decade. These include Healthy People 2000, the nation's health objectives for the decade; the NIH framework for the development of a strategic plan, and the NIDR Long-Range Research Plan, Broadening the Scope.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Oral health and the quality of life.

The study of the impact of oral diseases and conditions on individuals and societies has been slow to develop but has made major progress during the 1980s. Not only did improvements in understanding oral quality of life require developing and using more social and behavioral outcome measures, it required reassessing clinical indices. Reports on oral quality of life to date are often based on investigations that originally had other purposes; consequently there is inconsistent evidence about the associations among oral health, general health, and quality of life. In fact, in much of the cited literature the evidence is equivocal. Yet, in more recent research designed specifically to investigate quality of life (Meei-Shia Chen, PhD, personal communication, 1991), it is evident that orofacial conditions, diseases, and pain can be disruptive and can have considerable impacts at both the individual and societal levels in terms of reduction in normal activities; conversely, medical and social conditions can affect oral health. It is notable that across studies there is an incongruence between health care professional and patient assessments of quality of life--they view the issues differently. Although oral diseases are very prevalent, the early symptoms are often not severe, leading many individuals to disregard them, or if acknowledged, to define them as normal or unimportant. This may reflect a form of fatalism, i.e., their oral health is as good as could be expected. It is necessary to assess oral health and quality of life over time. Individuals indicating satisfaction or dissatisfaction with appearance, function, and self-esteem at one point in time are doing so against a framework of immediate or long-term expectations. In regard to specific procedures, such as surgery or dentures, it is necessary to know what the individual expects if the health care professional is to provide improvements in perceived and actual quality of life. Similarly, it is difficult to provide meaningful interpretation of self-assessed physical and social functioning and appearance against clinical measures, if the level of earlier dysfunction is not known. For example, in the case of full denture wearers, the evidence might be interpreted to suggest that these individuals have excellent oral quality of life. Without taking into account the extent of physical and social dysfunction and poor appearance prior to the dentures, and the consequent improvement against this base, it is impossible to evaluate and consequently improve quality of life. Understanding this process requires longitudinal studies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Prevention of oral diseases and oral health promotion.

Research and activities, as promoted in 1989 and 1990, in oral disease prevention and health promotion are summarized. Significant syntheses of research findings have occurred, as a result of planning and workship activities, which will direct oral health promotion in the 1990s. Original research on established and new preventive therapies for dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral mucosal alterations, soft-tissue lesions, precancers and cancers, and trauma are reported, opportunities to prevent oral diseases or maintain oral health through changes in individual behaviors, professional orientation, and social and environmental changes are addressed.

Dental Caries↗
PubMed1988

Awareness and assessment of periodontal problems among dentists and the public.

Awareness of periodontal problems by the public and their assessment by the practising dentist affect the levels of periodontal health. Many people do not recognize the symptoms of periodontal disease nor do they associate existing symptoms with the disease. Thus they do not perceive a need for professional or self-care. Most people in industrialized nations clean their teeth daily and visit the dentist at least once every 2 years. Yet, evidence suggests that levels of plaque and the incidence of bleeding gums are higher than expected either because people have not received individual instruction or they are not complying with appropriate regimens. Further, evidence suggests that many general dentists have low interest in the aetiology, prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases. It appears that such dentists have not retained their skills in the early recognition and diagnosis of periodontal diseases, nor in oral hygiene education or skill transfer. Likewise, only a small proportion of the general dentist's time is spent on prevention and periodontal care. To improve periodontal health, recommendations for the dental profession to pursue at the community, professional and individual levels are offered.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1986

Sealants: changing patterns.

Although the use of and the attitude toward sealants as a caries-preventive method have improved in the 8-year period between 1974 and 1982, the acceptance still is low, considering the potential value of sealants to patients who are at risk for occlusal caries. More efforts should be directed toward both increasing dentists' and patients' understanding and appreciation of the procedure in preventing caries. It is possible that such a "good sell" has been done with fluorides and oral hygiene that patients do not understand the added value of sealants for the prevention of occlusal caries. Dentists appear to underrate the value of sealants and overrate the value of oral hygiene procedures in the control of caries. Given that some dentists have less-than-positive attitudes toward sealants, it may not be enough to wait for the transmission of knowledge regarding sealants to proceed through the practicing dentist to the patient. Both patient and dentist groups need further appreciation of the value of this procedure if the control of occlusal caries is to be maximized.

Adolescent↗