The consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of oral cancer.

The purpose of the study is to collect information on the reasons given by dentists, randomly selected from the Italian Dental and Maxillo-Facial Association's, for extracting permanent teeth in Italy. From the 164 dentists responding, 1056 teeth in 839 patients were extracted during two weeks of working activity. More than two-thirds of the teeth were extracted for dental caries (34.4%) and periodontal disease (33.1%). The mean number of teeth extracted per patient showed a significant increasing trend with increasing age, being 1.09 in those from 16 to 39 yr, 1.25 in the 40-59-yr-old group, to 1.54 in those over 59 yr of age (F = 21.44; P< 0.0001). The third molar was the most frequently extracted tooth and 41.3% were removed due to impaction reasons, in particular from the mandible. The first and second molars and the premolars were extracted most often because of caries; more than half of the incisors and the canines were extracted for periodontal reasons; the majority of the teeth removed for prosthetic reasons, 57.1%, were incisors and canines, especially in the mandible; of the teeth extracted for orthodontic reasons, 47.4% were first and second premolars. The prevalence of subjects with at least one tooth extracted for dental caries and for orthodontic reasons were respectively significantly higher in the irregular than the regular attenders (chi-square = 46.55; P < 0.0001), and in the regular than the irregular dental attenders (chi-square = 63.12; P < 0.0001). Dental practitioners should promote targeted initiatives for prevention and treatment of diseases in order to reduce in particular the incidence of tooth extraction because of caries and periodontal disease.

The caries prevalence, oral hygiene status, periodontal health and the treatment needs were assessed in a group of institutionalized psychiatric patients in Catanzaro, Italy. Of the total sample of 297 subjects, 165 (55.6%) were males, the mean age was 55.1 yr, the great majority (90.6%) was able to care for themselves, on average they had been institutionalized for 12.9 yr, and almost two-thirds were schizophrenic (65%). They did not receive any assistance in daily oral hygiene procedures, only 7.4% had visited a dentist and exclusively for emergency care. A total of 33 (11.1%) patients were edentulous, and the multiple logistic regression analysis showed a highly significant increase of edentulousness with increasing age (P < 0.001). No caries-free subjects were found and among the dentate the DMFT and DMFS scores for all age groups were respectively 15.5 and 88.6. The stepwise linear regression analysis showed that the mean DMFT index increased with age (t = 6.86; P < 0.001), and in the partly or totally helpless patients it was significantly higher than in the self-sufficient patients (t = 2.78; P = 0.006). Of the 264 dentate subjects, only 25 (9.5%) had no need of dental treatment; 213 (80.7%) required extractions with a mean number per person of 6.3 and the need for conservative dental care was recorded in 154 (58.3%) patients with a mean need for patient of 2.8. Mean OHI-S score was 4.2 and the stepwise linear regression analysis showed that it increased with age (t = 5.73; P < 0.001) and with the length of institutionalization (t = 3.42; P < 0.001). Only 0.9% of the entire sample was found with healthy periodontal tissue; bleeding on probing or a higher score was found in 4.6% of examined sextants; calculus in 10.1%; shallow pockets and deep pockets in 19.6% and 64.8% of all sextants. The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the number of subjects with deep pockets as highest score increased with increasing age (P<0.001), and with the increasing length of institutionalization (P=0.005). The findings of this study demonstrate high caries prevalence, poor oral hygiene and periodontal health, and extensive unmet needs for dental treatment. More coordinated efforts between the social and dental care sector must be maintained to serve adequately the need of this disadvantaged group.

This survey emphasises the need for programmes to improve the oral health of prisoners.