The prevalence of edentulism was relatively low, while the need for prosthodontic rehabilitation, especially for men, was still very high. The dental hygiene was globally inadequate. This evaluation emphasises the care demand and the need for help in oral hygiene procedures for the dependent institutionalised elderly.

General health problems as well as a poor oral condition were significant risk indicators for tooth loss among the long-term institutionalised elderly. This suggests that the number of remaining teeth has a strong effect on oral health-related quality of life.

This study was undertaken to qualitatively analyze patients' profiles and to identify the sociodemographic and oral health factors associated with emergency visits to the public dental service in Montpellier, France. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the dental care service at Montpellier Hospital. Socioeconomic and clinical variables were compared between the patients using the emergency dental care service and those utilizing the general dental services, which were by appointment. An evaluation of the results indicated that younger patients and people from lower socioeconomic groups used the emergency dental service more frequently. Unemployed people (OR = 1.60) and manual workers (OR = 1.86) were also more likely to use this service. The need for treatment of caries was significantly higher in the group that used the emergency service. It appeared that the two groups of patients had different attendance behavior and showed significantly different socioeconomic and oral health status.

Purpose In France, all incarcerated prisoners are required to undergo a dental examination (Ministère de la santé et de la protection sociale, 2004 and Ministère de la justice, 2004). However, only one in two prisoners benefits from this oral health check-up. Oral teleconsultation could improve the quality of oral care in prisons. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The focus of this study was therefore to apply oral teleconsultation as an experiment. Using an oral teleconsultation system, a dentist and a nurse were separately asked to give patients a score, according to how urgently their dental issue needed to be treated. This score will henceforth be referred to as the "dental emergency scores given". Findings The separate dental emergency scores given by the dentist and the nurse were compared and the results demonstrate the following: - 36.7 per cent (11) of the two scores were equal - 53.3 per cent (16) of the two scores differed by 1 point - 10 per cent (3) of the two scores differed by 2 points. The average score of the nurse was 2.23 and that of the dentist was 2.13. The small disparity should not obscure the fact that 63 per cent of the diagnoses turned out to be incorrect. Practical implications Dental care could easily be improved with oral teleconsultation as a care plan could be developed for each patient. Social implications The condition of one's dental health is, of course, very important for general health, but it also affects social aspects. Good oral hygiene and health are very important when looking for a job after having been released from prison. Originality/value This is the first study on oral teleconsultation in prisons. Dental care is rarely studied on prisoners. Telemedicine in dentistry is just beginning all over the world. This study is the first step of an extensive project in the University Hospital of Montpellier and the Villeneuve-les-Maguelone prison.

Confocal Raman microspectrometry allows a thorough molecular analysis of mineralised dental tissues. The output information is provided in the form of curves representing the intensity of the signal according to the frequency, and its mathematical exploitation permits all sorts of comparative and quantitative analyses. By this process, we investigated the in vitro action of lactic acid on enamel and dentin from human permanent teeth. Modifications due to the acidic attack essentially concern phosphate grouping PO₄^3–, which represents the mineral phase in enamel and dentin (hydroxyapatite): on Raman spectra, changes in intensity of the PO₄^3– band are linked to the type of dentin, to its anatomical location, and to the age of the subject. The variability of the dentinal chemical structure was confirmed by a quantitative statistical analysis, revealing a significant spectral difference between coronal and root dentin.