The aim of this study was to compare oral health attitudes and behaviour between British and Chinese dental students. A cross-national survey using the Hiroshima University - Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) was completed at the University of Leeds in Britain and West China University of Medical Sciences in China. In Britain and China, 192 of 266 and 180 of 303 dental students answered English and Chinese versions of the HU-DBI questionnaire, respectively. Data were statistically analyzed by logistic regression and the following results were obtained: 1) Self-reported gingival bleeding was more prevalent in Chinese students than in British students, although the number of students who had professional oral hygiene instruction was higher in China than in Britain; 2) 29% of Chinese students believed wearing dentures in old age was inevitable, whereas 7% of British students believed so; 3) Chinese students were substantially more concerned about the appearance of their teeth, gums and halitosis; and 4) 54% of Chinese students seek dental care only when symptoms arise, as compared to 13% of British students. In conclusion, bilateral comparison of countries using HU-DBI revealed interesting differences in oral health attitudes and behaviour, while the logistic regression model made it possible to differentiate British from Chinese students with a probability of nearly 95%.

Controversy continues over the optimal extent of lymphadenectomy (regional versus three-field) for a potentially resectable squamous cell carcinoma in the thoracic esophagus. In the Consensus Conference of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE), held in Munich in 1994, the types of lymphadenectomy were classified as standard, extended, total, or three-field lymphadenectomy. The objective of the present study was to determine the optimal procedure among these four types of lymphadenectomy. The mortality and morbidity rates, postoperative course, and survival rates were compared among 302 patients who underwent curative (R0) transthoracic esophagectomy with one of these four types of lymphadenectomy at Kurume University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan, from 1986 to 1998. Three-field lymphadenectomy resulted in better survival than any other type of lymphadenectomy for patients with positive lymph node metastasis from a cancer in the upper or middle thoracic esophagus. A postoperative complication, such as recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, anastomotic leakage, and tracheal ischemic lesion, was significantly more common after three-field lymphadenectomy. However, the mortality rate was the same among the four procedures. Three-field lymphadenectomy was optimal for an upper or middle thoracic esophageal cancer with metastasis in the lymph node(s) based on improved long-term survival, whereas there was not a large difference in short-term and long-term outcomes after the four types of lymphadenectomy for a lower thoracic esophageal cancer.

Many studies on toothbrushing have concentrated on clinically diagnosing plaque and measuring periodontal status as indicators of oral health behaviour. From a behavioural point of view, however, the more important objective is the health behaviour itself. To investigate the relationship of oral health behaviour to periodontal status, 517 urban employees in Japan (249 men and 268 women aged 20-59 years) responded to a 20-item dental health behaviour questionnaire, entitled the HU-DBI, and had their periodontal conditions examined using the CPITN. Only 1 per cent were found with a healthy periodontium (Code 0), and 9 per cent had bleeding on probing (Code 1). Calculus (Code 2) was the most prevalent condition with 51 per cent of subjects having this code as the worst condition, followed by shallow pockets (Code 3) in 30 per cent, and deep pockets (Code 4) in 9 per cent of the sample. The mean HU-DBI score was 4.2 (out of 12). Females had somewhat higher scores than males (4.4 vs. 4.0, p < 0.05). CPITN had a negative relationship with the HU-DBI (r = -0.26, p < 0.001), and a positive relationship with age (r = 0.40, p < 0.001). Similar relationships were observed in each gender. These data demonstrate the relationship of age with periodontal status, and periodontal status with oral health behaviour. A two-dimensional matrix of HU-DBI score by CPITN may provide a simple and effective means of identifying low and high risk individuals.

IntroductionThe positive attitude and behaviour of dental students can be improved during their undergraduate studies and is considered an essential factor in promoting the oral self-care habits of their patients and society in general.AimThis study was conducted to evaluate the oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours among undergraduate dental students at a private university, based on the year of undergraduate studies.Material and methodsA self-administered questionnaire based on the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioural Inventory was distributed among 783 undergraduate dental students from 1st to 5th year. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. The Mann–Whitney U test and one-way ANOVA tests (Kruskal–Wallis test) were used.ResultsThe scores of oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour between preclinical and clinical dental students were found to have statistically significant differences (P < 0.001). The variation of knowledge, attitude and behaviour scores from 1st to 5th year undergraduate studies was shown to be statistically significant with the year of study (P < 0.001). The study showed significant improvement in the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the final year dental students as compared with the 1st year dental students.ConclusionPreclinical students need properly designed oral health educational programs to increase their attitude and behaviour toward oral health.

Although the difference in the HU-DBI score across time was not major, the variation in HU-DBI and the favourable attitudes/behaviour toward oral health appeared to reflect the differences in schooling between student hygienists and student nurses.

We investigated sex and age group differences in attitudes to oral health among school-age children using an Oral Self-Care Appraisal (OSCA) to systematically determine changes in oral health knowledge, attitude, and behavior across developmental stages. The subjects (n = 1584) were stratified after random sampling so that each school grade analyzed contained 88 boys and 88 girls. Factor analysis was undertaken to identify a set of underlying factors, with 10 factors considered in the cross-sectional study. Our results showed that the factors toothbrushing, persistence, and sociability were more predominant in primary school children than in junior high and senior high school students. Furthermore, postponement of visiting the dentist and resignation to one's own dental cavities became more predominant in proportion to the level of school education. Girls had significantly higher scores than boys for desire to improve oral care, dental anxiety, dependency on snacks, toothbrushing, concern over number of cavities, and sociability. Together, the results indicated that the oral health care behavior of girls was better than that of boys, and that the tendency to postpone visiting the dentist and resignation to one's own dental cavities increased markedly with age.

Mothers' gingival condition was associated with the prevalence and severity of dental caries of their children.

The severity of the 2 diseases seemed to be connected indirectly through health behaviors such as diet behavior and oral health behavior.