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Biomedical subjects

R Bedi

Publications and source records attributed to R Bedi.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

The relationship between erosion, caries and rampant caries and dietary habits in preschool children in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between dental erosion and caries, and variables including socio-economic status, reported dietary practices and oral hygiene behaviour, in a sample of children in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study including dental examination and questionnaire survey was carried out at a number of kindergartens. SAMPLE AND METHODS: A sample of 987 children (2-5-year-olds) was drawn from 17 kindergartens. Clinical examinations were carried out under standardized conditions by a trained and calibrated examiner (MAM). Information regarding diet and socio-economic factors was drawn from questionnaires distributed to the parents through the schools. These were completed before the dental examination. RESULTS: Of the 987 children, 309 (31%) showed signs of erosion. Caries were diagnosed in 720 (73%) of the children and rampant caries in 336 (34%). Vitamin C supplements, frequent consumption of carbonated drinks and the drinking of fruit syrup from a feeding bottle at bed- or nap-time when the child was a baby, were all related to erosion. Consumption of carbonated drinks and fruit syrups was also related to caries but they were part of a larger number of significant factors including socio-demographic measures and oral hygiene practices. CONCLUSIONS: There was no clear relationship between erosion and social class, or between erosion and oral hygiene practices; the reverse was true for caries. Dietary factors relating to both erosion and caries and/or rampant caries were found in this sample of children.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

Clinical and photographic assessment of erosion in 2-5-year-old children in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare findings from photographs of incisor teeth in pre-school children in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to those on clinical examination for dental erosion. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross sectional study of 2-5-year-old Saudi Arabian children using two methods of examination. MEASUREMENT: of erosion was carried out clinically using a scoring system and criteria based on those used in the United Kingdom national surveys. Photographs of labial and palatal surfaces of maxillary primary incisors were taken for each child and scored in the same way. SETTING: Kindergarten schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. PARTICIPANTS: 987 children from 17 randomly selected schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Readable photographs were available for 727 children. Two hundred and twenty (30%) had photographic evidence of tooth tissue loss. Prevalence estimates derived from clinical examination were higher than those for photographs (36% compared to 30%). Agreement was seen between the two methods for 93% of the surfaces included. CONCLUSIONS: Photographs have been employed in research in dentistry as well as for documentation and illustration. In epidemiology they have proved to be valuable in measuring enamel defects but have not been used for other conditions. Photographs have potential in measuring erosion, but may benefit from refinement.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2000

Ethnic and gender variations in university applicants to United Kingdom medical and dental schools.

AIM: To explore ethnic and gender variations amongst applicants to undergraduate United Kingdom medical and dental schools. METHOD: Retrospective analyses of University and College Admissions Services (UCAS) data on all students applying to study pre-clinical medicine and dentistry, during the academic years 1994/5, 1995/6 and 1996/7. Information for each medical and dental applicant included age, gender, social class and ethnic group. RESULTS: Of all applicants, just over half (50.2%) were male, though a greater proportion of applicants to dentistry were male (54.1%) than for medicine (49.3%) (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.15, 1.28). Over one third (36.4%) of all students were from minority ethnic groups, a larger proportion of which were dental students (48.3%) than were medical students (33.8%) (OR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.73, 1.94). There were also marked differences between medicine and dentistry when the ethnic groups were examined separately. The largest number of applicants from minority ethnic groups came from the Indian community, and this group increased in size annually by 4.1% (P < 0.05) for medicine, and 29% (P < 0.05) for dentistry. CONCLUSIONS: Significant inter-ethnic and gender differences are observed amongst applicants to medicine and dentistry. Dentistry appears to be relatively more attractive to minority ethnic applicants.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2000

Social background of minority ethnic applicants to medicine and dentistry.

AIM: To explore ethnic variations in social background of successful applicants to undergraduate United Kingdom medical and dental schools. METHOD: Retrospective analyses of University and College Admissions Services data on all students to commence study in pre-clinical medicine and dentistry, during the academic years 1994/5, 1995/6 and 1996/7. Analyses were undertaken for two categories of social class, namely higher (professional and intermediate) and lower (skilled non-manual, skilled manual, partly skilled, and unskilled) social class. RESULTS: Over 15 thousand students were accepted to study medicine and dentistry during the three-year study period, of which 80% were from high social class backgrounds. More medical (80.9%) students were from high social class backgrounds than dental (73.3%) students (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.39, 1.70). Social class differences were observed, with a greater proportion of higher social class students amongst the white students than amongst the minority ethnic students (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.30, 1.55). This was more marked in dentistry (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.22, 1.79) than in medicine (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.22, 1.49). More students from higher social class backgrounds were observed in medicine than in dentistry amongst the black (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 0.59, 4.00), Indian (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.58, 2.62) and white (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.64) groups. CONCLUSIONS: Significant inter-ethnic differences are observed in the social background of students entering medicine and dentistry. Dentistry accepted a greater proportion of students from lower social class backgrounds and from black and minority ethnic groups.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2000

Changes in oral health over ten years amongst UK children aged 4-5 years living in a deprived multiethnic area.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the changes over a decade in caries experience amongst children aged 4-5 years living in a deprived multiethnic community in the United Kingdom. DESIGN: Cross-sectional surveys. SETTING: Schools and nurseries in the Old Trafford area, Manchester, England, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean dmft, oral cleanliness and proportion of children with rampant caries. RESULTS: The unadjusted Odds Ratio for caries free children examined in 1998 compared with children examined prior to 1998, was only significant amongst the white group. White children examined in 1998 were over three times more likely to be caries free than white children examined previously. South Asian children whose mothers were non English speaking examined in 1998 were almost twice as likely to have good/fair oral cleanliness than those examined prior to 1998. Moreover, South Asian children whose mothers were non-English speaking in 1998 were over three times more likely not to have rampant caries than their counterparts in the earlier years. CONCLUSION: There were significant improvements in caries and oral health amongst white children over the decade, and although less marked these were mirrored amongst South Asian children.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence of caries and developmental defects of enamel in 9-10 year old children living in areas in Brazil with differing water fluoride histories.

AIMS: To assess the prevalences of caries, of developmental defects of enamel and their interrelationship in Brazilian 9-10-year-olds from areas of contrasting fluoridation histories. METHODS: Systematic random sampling procedures were used to select children from an area where water had been fluoridated in 1963 and from a second area where water had been fluoridated since 1998. Clinical examinations for caries were carried out using the DMFT index and WHO diagnostic criteria. Developmental defects of enamel on upper incisors were diagnosed using the DDE index. RESULTS: A difference of 40% in DMFT was observed, with a lower prevalence of disease in the area fluoridated since 1963. Diffuse opacities affected 14.3% of the children from the area fluoridated since 1963 compared with only 2.4% in the area fluoridated in 1998. Children living in the area fluoridated in 1963 who had diffuse defects had twice the chance of being free from caries compared with those living in the same area who had no defects or who had only demarcated or hypoplastic defects. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms previous ones in showing the benefits of water fluoridation. Diffuse opacities of upper incisors affected relatively few subjects in either of the two areas.

Brazil↗
PubMed2000

Ethnicity and oral cancer.

Oral squamous-cell carcinoma, the main type of oral cancer, is among the ten most common cancers in the world. The aims of this paper were first, to consider whether there was evidence of marked ethnic variations in the incidence, management, and survival of oral cancer, and then, to review possible explanations for these variations. Evidence from the literature suggests that there is marked, inter-country variation in both the incidence and mortality from oral cancer. There is also growing evidence of intracountry ethnic differences, mostly reported in the UK and USA. These variations among ethnic groups have been attributed mainly to specific risk factors, such as alcohol and tobacco (smoking and smokeless), but dietary factors and the existence of genetic predispositions may also play a part. Variations in access to care services are also an apparent factor. The extent of ethnic differences in oral cancer is masked by the scarcity of information available. Where such data are accessible, there are clear disparities in both incidence and mortality of oral cancer between ethnic groups.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2000

Caries and its association with infant feeding and oral health-related behaviours in 3-4-year-old Brazilian children.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationships between socio-demographic factors, infant feeding habits, oral hygiene and the prevalence and patterns of caries in Brazilian 3-4-year-olds. METHODS: Systematic random sampling was used to select children enrolled in municipal nurseries in Araraquara, Brazil, in 1998. Clinical examinations were carried out by one examiner using dmft and dmfs indices and WHO criteria. Questionnaires for information related to the socio-demographic background, oral hygiene and dietary history of the children were completed by their mothers. RESULTS: Caries was seen in 46% of the children; 17% of them had the more extensive pattern involving molars and incisors. Social class, mother's education, and age at which breast-feeding terminated showed statistically significant associations with caries. Feeding bottles with added sugars were still being given to 80% of the children. When the significant variables were taken into account only age at which breast-feeding terminated showed a significant relationship to the pattern of disease. Children who were never breast-fed or were breast-fed beyond the age of 24 months had a higher prevalence of the more extensive pattern of caries. CONCLUSIONS: The association between the length of time a mother breast-feeds and extensive caries should be a consideration in any local infant feeding policies or health promotion strategies. The duration for appropriate breast- or bottle-feeding should be emphasised.

Bottle Feeding↗
PubMed2000

Factors associated with dental anxiety among older people in Britain.

OBJECTIVE: This paper reports on a study of dental anxiety among adults aged 60 years living independently in Britain. DESIGN: A national cross-sectional study carried out with the assistance of the Office for National Statistics' Omnibus Surveys in 1999. SETTING: Data was collected by face to face interviews with older people in their homes. MEASUREMENTS: Data on dental anxiety were collected from 973 subjects by means of face to face interviews and was measured by the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) (Corah, 1969). In addition, data on dental service use and oral health status (self-reported) was collected. RESULTS: The mean DAS score was 8.4 (sd 3.5), and 13% (129) of subjects were classified as dentally anxious (DAS > or = 13). DAS scores were associated with numerous socio-demographic factors (P < 0.01), self-reported oral health status (P < 0.01) and dental service (P < 0.01) factors. A series of regression analyses revealed that dental anxiety was a significant predictor of a number of behavioural and oral health outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in eight older people in Britain are dentally anxious and this is associated with their use of services and oral health status (self-reported).

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2000

Caries patterns and their relationship to infant feeding and socio-economic status in 2-4-year-old Chinese children.

AIMS: To describe the prevalence, severity and patterns of caries in 2-4-year-old children and to evaluate the association between caries experience of the children and their feeding patterns and socio-economic background in terms of mothers' education and family income. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Suburban area of Hanchuan in Hubei province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 426 children (250 boys and 176 girls). METHODS: Dental-examinations were undertaken in kindergartens using World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for dental caries. Mothers completed a short questionnaire. OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of caries; rampant caries; caries in incisors; caries in incisors and/or canines and molars; mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth/surfaces (dmft/s). RESULTS: 36% of the children had caries, 7% had rampant caries. The more extensive pattern of caries involving primary molars as well as incisors and/or canines was seen in 12% of children. Children who had been wholly bottle-fed had five times the risk of having rampant caries compared to children who were breast-fed. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that infant feeding practice might be a key risk factor for the development of caries at an early age in this country as elsewhere.

Bottle Feeding↗
PubMed2000

An in vitro study of the effect of fluoridated milk on oral bacterial biofilms.

Microcosmic dental plaques were grown in artificial saliva and supplemented with either milk or fluoridated milk. The presence of fluoride in the milk increased the pH of the biofilms and reduced the proportions of streptococci, demonstrating that in this model, fluoridation of milk produces biofilms with reduced cariogenic potential.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Transcultural oral health care: 3. Dental care and treatment during the fast of Ramadan.

The aim of this paper is to highlight issues that may affect dental treatment and care of Muslim patients when they are fasting during Ramadan. Recommendations are provided on how to provide culturally sensitive oral health care for this community. By taking into account the beliefs and wishes of the individual, dentists will provide a service that is acceptable and appropriate to both the Muslim community and individual Muslims.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed2000

Transcultural oral health care: 4. Dental medication for Muslim patients.

The aim of this paper is to provide a guide for general dental practitioners who may need to prescribe medication to Muslim patients, particularly during the month of Ramadan. An understanding and appreciation of the patient's religious background will aid treatment compliance and allow dentists to provide a culturally sensitive service for their Muslim patients. Drug therapy compliance is important, but it is likely to be poor among Muslim patients during the month of Ramadan, when fasting and religious practices may cause problems. The authors provide guidelines on good clinical practice and prescribing regimens for general dental practitioners treating Muslim patients, particularly during Ramadan.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

Oral health related quality of life--views of the public in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the United Kingdom public's perception of how oral health affects quality of life (QoL) and to determine socio-demographic variations in these perceptions. RESEARCH DESIGN: The vehicle for this study was the ONS Omnibus Survey in the UK. A random probability sample of 2,668 eligible addresses was selected from the British Postcode Address File. Setting The data were collected by qualitative, face-to-face interviews with respondents, nation-wide, in their homes, about how their oral health status affected their QoL. PARTICIPANTS: 1,778 adults aged 16 years or older across the UK took part in the study. RESULTS: 75% (1,340) believed their oral health either enhanced or reduced their QoL. Most frequently, this was perceived as being the result of its effect on eating. comfort and appearance. Other ways in which QoL was affected are also presented. Sociodemographic variations were apparent. For example, people from higher socio-economic backgrounds believed that their oral health enhanced their QoL to a greater degree (OR=1.46, CI=1.20, 1.78) than the lower socio-economic groups. Women claimed that their oral health had a greater negative effect on QoL than did men (OR=1.36, CI=1.11, 1.64). Younger people (16-64 years old) reported that their oral health status reduced and enhanced QoL more than older adults (65 years and over) (OR=1.59, CI=1.23, 2.04). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that the UK public perceives oral health as affecting their QoL in a variety of physical, social and psychological ways and that significant socio-demographic variations exist in these perceptions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The development of a tactile graphic version of IOTN for visually impaired patients.

The Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) is a visual-based index and has been widely used. This paper describes the development and evaluation of tactile graphics representing the aesthetic component (AC) of IOTN for the use of visually impaired patients (VI). Four tactile graphics were produced corresponding to IOTN photographs 1 (graphic 1, no treatment - mild need), 5 (graphic 2, moderate need), 8 (graphic 3, severe need; increased overjet) and 10 (graphic 4, severe need). Nine (30-50 years) expert consumers from the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and 13 VI schoolchildren (11-16 years) evaluated the graphics. The evaluation was in terms of design features, complexity of information and ease of use. Each individual was asked to arrange the graphics in order of severity of malocclusion. The procedure was repeated after 30 min to test individual reliability (www.clinorthodres.com/cor-c-084/). The consumer group was able to identify the main features in each graphic and found them easy to use. Six had arranged the graphics correctly at the first attempt and five on their second. The children were able to distinguish the different oral features, except the overjet presentation in graphic 2. Nine children arranged the graphics correctly at the first attempt, but only six at the second. The confusion centred for both groups on presenting an increased overjet with graphic 2. A modification was undertaken to enhance the anterior-posterior nature of the image. Fifteen VI schoolchildren reassessed the modified graphics, 14 arranged them correctly at the first attempt and 13 at the second. The study concluded that IOTN tactile graphics were well accepted and showed a good reliability.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Is modelling dental caries a 'normal' thing to do?

OBJECTIVE: To introduce and encourage the use of generalised linear models (GLMs) in analysing caries data that do not require the response to be treated necessarily as a sample from a normal distribution. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: At the present time, it is most likely that the sampling distribution of dmf/DMF in industrialised countries will not approximate normality. Generalised linear modelling can be conducted assuming many underlying distributions which, in fact, includes the normal distribution. In this paper three GLMs are employed (normal, Poisson, negative binomial) for modelling an example caries data set. In addition, a binomial model is used to model the dichotomous outcome of caries-free/caries-present. CLINICAL SETTING: The data comprised 871 Old Trafford, Manchester primary school children aged between 4 years 0 months and 5 years 11 months. RESULTS: The effect of one study covariate was prominent in a normal model applied to all available dmf data but not in two non-normal models which used dmf > 0 data only. Furthermore, the same covariate was significant at the 5% level in a binomial model indicating that it influenced whether or not caries was present and not the level of dmf. CONCLUSION: A suitable modelling approach for caries data is to employ a Poisson or a negative binomial model for the dmf/DMF response and a binomial model for the caries-free/caries-present outcome. This allows separate estimation of those factors which influence the magnitude of caries and those factors which influence whether caries is actually present or not.

Binomial Distribution↗