The mother of a moderately retarded 11-year-old boy describes her reactions to having her son's teeth straightened. The author realized that the anxiety she felt about the orthodontic procedure was not so much concern for her son as her own fear of dental work. (PHR)

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

Researchers have repeatedly found negative attitudes toward the aged among health professionals. Evaluates the impact of oral health status upon dental student attitudes toward the aged. Suggests that attitudes of students may become initially more negative due to exposure to generally poor oral conditions of elderly patients. (Author)

Nutriment habits and oral hygiene in a preschool population in Madrid were studied by stratification in public or private schools. Significant differences were found only with regard to consumption of fish. Vegetable and fruit consumption was low in both groups, but not statistically significant. (SH)

Review of 57 studies of effectiveness of intervention in changing dental health behavior showed that education can improve behavior and oral health but has limited success in changing attitudes and achieves only short-term knowledge gains. (SK)

Describes predictors of expenditures for dental services using data on 975 elderly persons. Forty-four percent of elderly persons reported using some dental services within a year. Persons with separate dental insurance, younger and better educated persons, and those with greater financial resources were more likely to use dental services. (JBJ)

Marion D. Francis and Rosemary L. Centner tell the story of a special group of compounds, developments at their home company, Procter and Gamble, and contributions by researchers in Europe and the U.S., in "The Development of Diphosphonates as Significant Health Care Products."

Dental anxiety remains a pervasive barrier to dental treatment for many individuals, including college-age patients. In this article, the author reviews dental anxiety and examines the usefulness of assessment instruments for identifying dental anxiety. Using 2 unique assessment instruments, he examines the prevalence of dental anxiety in his…

Tooth avulsions occur when a tooth is displaced from its socket. Tooth avulsions are common dental injuries that may occur before, during, or after school. Therefore, it is essential that school nurses be well prepared to intervene when such a dental emergency arises. It is also imperative that school nurses and school personnel are fully equipped…

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…

Instructional activities in this manual are designed for integration into the existing curriculum framework for health education. The activities are organized in sections corresponding to major topics. Each section begins with background information intended to provide content background for the teacher. Each activity includes a curriculum…

The National Preventive Dentistry Demonstration Program assessed the cost and effectiveness of various types and combinations of school-based preventive dental care procedures. The program involved 20,052 first, second, and fifth graders from five fluoridated and five non-fluoridated communities. These children were examined at baseline and…