Dental care received by children in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) was compared to National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) data for children without special healthcare needs and children with parent-reported ASD. Correlates of obtained preventive dental services were examined within the ATN sample. Participants included 375…

Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) have been shown to offer substantial benefits to students but we know little about how the public thinks about them. We sought to assess US public attitudes about SBHCs and the provision of 7 health service lines--primary care, preventive care, vaccinations, preventive dental care, preventive vision…

Early preventive dental visits are vital to the oral health of children. Yet many children, especially preschool-age children enrolled in Medicaid, do not receive early visits. This study attempts to uncover factors that can be used to encourage parents to seek preventive dental care for preschool-age children enrolled in Medicaid. The extended…

In both developed and developing countries, population aging has attained unprecedented levels. Public health strategies to deliver services in community-based settings are key to enhancing the utilization of preventive care and reducing costs for this segment of the population. Motivated by concerns of inadequate access to oral health care by…

Dental caries, periodontal diseases, tooth loss and oral cancers have significant burden of disease effects, quality of life and cost implications for the Australian community. Oral health promotion is a key approach to addressing these conditions endorsed as part of the National Oral Health Plan. Understanding the evidence for effectiveness of…

Objective: (1) to provide a commentary on a conference held at the University of Manchester entitled Researching Water Fluoridation: Evaluation and Surveillance; (2) to synthesize from the proceedings of the meeting suggestions for future research and public health surveillance. Method: The main points and problematic issues raised by the speakers…

Argues for the importance of fluoridation in childhood as a preventive health measure and critically examines objections raised against its use. (Author/SS)

Suggestions on how to choose a good dentist are given in this article. (JD)

This paper reports on one of the main goals of preventive dentistry, that is, encouraging children to remove plaque at least once a day. Two self-scoring systems were combined with two disclosants for a total of four experimental systems administered to 128 children. In the count method, the child counts the number of stained teeth; in the rating…

A weekly "swish and spit" program takes about ten minutes of class time, effectively prevents dental caries, and promotes an awareness and greater concern for good dental practices in the school community. (MJB)

Dental caries and periodontal disease in Mexican American children of the southwestern United States occur mainly in molars, lending strong support for the use of fissure sealants as a preventive procedure. This study also reports on the prevalence of fillings decay and gingivitis in this population. (VM)

The graphs in this pamphlet illustrate the decline of the incidence of tooth decay in the nation's schoolchildren. The report, based on a study of more than 40,000 children, found that students have 36 percent less tooth decay than they did in the beginning of 1980. Appended to the graphs is a National Institutes of Health press release which…

Poor oral health is an important public health issue. Adolescents represent a challenging group in terms of oral health because they have vulnerable permanent teeth erupting at a time when they are establishing their independence from parental influence. Preventing oral disease by attempting to influence the behaviours that impact adversely on…

Suggests need for cooperative programs of education whereby professionals traing nonprofessionals in aspects of dental health, so needed information can reach users in language they can understand. (CJ)

A school-based fluoride program promises to decrease the amount of dental decay among elementary school children. (JD)