Global epidemiology of dental caries and severe periodontitis -a comprehensive review. J Clin Periodontol 2017; 44 (Suppl. 18): S94-S105. doi: 10.1111/jcpe.12677. AbstractBackground: Dental caries and periodontitis are the most common oral diseases and major causes of tooth loss. Aim: To perform a review of global prevalence and incidence of dental caries and periodontitis. Methodology: Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed. MEDLINE database and EMBASE database were used to search for eligible publications using keywords and MeSH terms. Additionally, WHO databank was used for obtaining dental caries information and PUBMED for a search on trends of dental caries prevalence and severity. Results: Over the last four decades, the prevalence and severity of dentine carious lesions among 5-and 12-year-olds have declined; the decay-component is very high, with the lowest prevalence among 12-year-olds in high-income countries, which also had the lowest prevalence among 35-to 44-year-olds; and the number of retained teeth has increased around the globe. The prevalence of periodontitis is high, with approximately 10% of the global population affected by severe periodontitis. Study heterogeneity and methodological issues hamper comparisons across studies and over time. Conclusion: While the prevalence of dental caries has decreased, the disease is prevalent in all age groups. The prevalence of periodontitis is high. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the prevalence of periodontitis has changed over time.

Aim This paper reports on one review of four rapid reviews undertaken to explore the relationships between oral health and general medical conditions, in order to support teams within Public Health England, health practitioners and policy makers. This review aimed to explore the most contemporary evidence on whether poor oral health and cardiovascular disease occurs in the same individuals or populations, to outline the nature of the relationship between these two health outcomes and to discuss the implication of any findings for health services and future research.Methods The review was undertaken by a group comprising consultant clinicians from medicine and dentistry, trainees, public health and academics. The methodology involved a streamlined rapid review process and synthesis of the data.Results The results identified a number of systematic reviews of low to high quality, which suggests that there is: (1) fairly robust evidence of an increased risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) amongst individuals with chronic periodontitis, independent of other established cardiovascular risk factors; (2) there is some evidence that the incidence of caries and tooth loss is higher in patients with cardiovascular disease; and (3) that orofacial pain can presents as the sole symptom of stroke in some patients. The findings are discussed in relation to implications for service and future research.Conclusion There is high quality evidence to support an association between cardiovascular disease and oral health. This evidence is mainly related to the association between chronic periodontitis and atherosclerotic heart disease, and is independent of confounding factors as drawn from epidemiological observational studies.

Patients with cardiac disease, cardiac symptoms and related co-morbidities are increasingly being encountered in dental practice. Current methods of medical risk assessment can however be problematic. This paper represents a multi-speciality consensus on how to identify patients that may be more at risk of an adverse cardiac event occurring perio-operatively i.e. during or in the first few weeks after a dental procedure. Drawing on guidelines for surgery and the available literature, we present on an algorithm which aims to inform dental practitioners' decisions about which patients can be managed in primary care and which should be considered for assessment by a dental specialist together with a methodology thereof.