This article examines current global oral health initiatives to underserved dental populations and assesses the level of familiarity with these initiatives among dental students. The World Health Organization (WHO)'s basic package of oral care (BPOC) is described, as well as successes and difficulties in global oral health initiatives. A survey was conducted of third-year dental students at a North American dental school to determine their familiarity with global oral health initiatives set out by the WHO and the World Dental Federation (FDI). The majority of the surveyed students (87 percent) expressed interest in volunteering their professional services in international settings. However, none of the surveyed students knew about the BPOC or the FDI's role in global oral health. The findings indicate that predoctoral dental public health courses in dental schools ought to include a course on global oral health to expose students to global oral health issues and equip them with interventions like the BPOC so they can provide better care to globally underserved dental populations.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need according to the Index of Complexity, Outcome, and Need (ICON) among schoolchildren of the island community of Haida Gwaii in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Two elementary and two high schools in Haida Gwaii were approached for census sampling. Out of 535 schoolchildren, 215 (90 boys and 125 girls) agreed to participate (40.2% response) in this cross-sectional epidemiological study. A trained examiner assessed orthodontic treatment need in children employing the ICON score and the ICON complexity grade. The mean age (N = 215) was 12.9 ± 2.8 years. Of the examined schoolchildren, 67% had Aboriginal ancestry (at least one Aboriginal parent). The mean ICON score (N = 215) was 43.5 ± 26.2. There were no statistically significant differences in ICON scores for gender (t test, p = 0.207), ethnicity (t tests: paternal ethnicity, p = 0.886 and maternal ethnicity, p = 0.389), or school (ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni adjustment, p = 0.317). Overall, 43.7% of the surveyed Haida Gwaii adolescents needed orthodontic treatment (ICON > 43). Based on the ICON complexity grade, 31% of the schoolchildren had moderate to very difficult malocclusions; therefore, specialty orthodontic services are recommended in this remote community.
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