OBJECTIVES:We evaluated the relationship between child dental anxiety and selected child and parental characteristics.STUDY DESIGN:Children and their parents were interviewed at the New York University, College of Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry Clinic. The Children's Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) evaluated child self-reported anxiety; the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) measured self-reported parental anxiety when the parent received dental treatment.RESULTS:Ninety-three children and their parents completed the questionnaires. Mean CFSS-DS scores were higher for girls than boys (32.5 vs. 26.3, p=0.003) and for children whose accompanying parents had MDAS scores of 11+ vs. ≥ 11 (32.8 vs. 26.6, p=0.001). There was little difference in mean CFSS-DS scores among those aged 6-10 yrs. vs. 11-14 yrs. (30.1 vs. 29.3). Significant correlations were found between CFSS-DS and both gender (Spearman's rho, rs=0.31) and MDAS scores (rs=0.33), but not between CFSS-DS and child age (rs=-0.05). Controlling simultaneously for gender, MDAS score and child age, a high CFSS-DS score (38+ vs. ≥ 38) was positively associated with girls (ORadj=3.76, 95% CI: 1.13-12.54) and an MDAS score of ≤ 15 vs. ≥ 11 (ORadj=2.50, 0.73-8.54), but weakly and inversely associated with age (ORadj=0.80, 0.25-2.52).CONCLUSION:Child gender and parental anxiety are indicators of child dental anxiety.

The etiology and pathogenic mechanisms for AD have not been defined, although peripheral inflammation is thought to play a role. Periodontal disease is a prevalent, peripheral infection associated with gram negative, anaerobic bacteria that through localized and systemic inflammatory pathways could contribute to cognitive dysfunction. We hypothesized that subjects with periodontal inflammation (PI) having a genetic profile indicative of a proinflammatory phenotype have lower cognition compared to those lacking this genetic profile or subjects without PI. We analyzed in cross-section 45, 70-year-old Danish subjects with periodontal data as well as data on, cognitive function and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the Il-10 gene promoter region. The combined effect of periodontal inflammation and IL-10-1082 genotype on Digit Symbol Test (DST) was assessed by analysis of variance that showed a significant interaction between the two independent variables even after adjustments for DST at age 50 and education [F (Interaction) = 3.8, p = 0.03]. This interaction was due to the differential effect of AA/AG and GG genotype combined with periodontal condition on the cognitive scores: subjects with IL-1082 AA/AG genotype and periodontal inflammation tested lower on the DST (33 ± 6.5 and 30 ± 8.0) compared to periodontal subjects with IL-1082 GG genotype (41 ± 7.9) and subjects without periodontal inflammation (42 ± 12). These results are consistent with the literature showing that subjects with IL-10-1082 GG genotype have increased production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 compared to subjects with IL-10-1082 AA/AG genotype. These results also support our general hypothesis that periodontal disease may be associated with cognitive dysfunction through its inflammatory component.

BACKGROUND:Studies assessing risk factors for oral cancer do not generally report results for specific oral sites. The purpose of the current study was to examine differences in the distribution of age, gender, and tobacco use by intraoral site in a series of oral cancer cases.METHODS:Information on gender, age at diagnosis, and lesion location was obtained for all incident cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed through the University of Connecticut Oral Pathology Biopsy Service during the period 1987-1991 (N = 150). Information on tobacco use was obtained through a telephone interview or from medical or dental records.RESULTS:The tongue, floor of the mouth (FOM), and gingiva, respectively, were the most commonly affected sites. The male-to-female ratio was greatest for FOM cancer (3.4) and lowest for gingival cancer (0.5). The mean age at diagnosis did not differ significantly by site. The percentage of smokers among cases of FOM, tongue, and gingival cancer was 97%, 64%, and 50%, respectively. When multiple logistic regression was used to compare FOM and gingival cancer, gender and smoking remained significant predictors. The odds of smoking among patients with FOM cancer were 32 times the odds of smoking among patients with gingival cancer (odds ratio for age, gender adjusted = 32.6, 3.3-323.5).CONCLUSIONS:The findings suggest that cancer of the FOM is more strongly associated with smoking than is cancer of the gingiva and, perhaps, the tongue. The reported results should be interpreted cautiously in light of study limitations, which include the absence of information on alcohol consumption and lack of a noncancer control group.

As part of a case-control study that investigated risk factors of enamel fluorosis, a fluoride/residency history was obtained covering the first six years of life by means of a mailed questionnaire, with a reliability factor of 90 percent. Of the 677 participating seventh-grade and eighth-grade children, demonstrating either mild-to-moderate dental fluorosis (fluorosis cases) or were fluorosis-free (fluorosis controls), 11 percent (N = 74) had lived in a fluoridated community for at least a year during their first six years of life. Forty percent of the fluorosis cases and 22 percent of the fluorosis controls were reported to have taken fluoride supplements during their residency in a fluoridated community, with 79 percent of the supplementation for both groups in the form of vitamins with fluoride. Further, these children had resided in more then twenty cities across ten states, and therefore do not represent just a localized problem. Such findings indicate that fluoride supplements had been incorrectly prescribed for a sizeable percentage of children residing in fluoridated areas; they also suggest an explanation for the recent increased prevalence of fluorosis in similar age-groups in some fluoridated areas. Given that the recent literature does not show that the appropriateness of supplemental prescription practices has improved for post-1975 birth cohorts, these findings suggest the need for enhanced professional education and monitoring to ensure that this occurs.