Background Edentulism is a state of having no teeth in the oral cavity, an irreversible condition popularly known as the marker of disease burden on the oral health. For edentulous patients (EDPs) Complete Denture Prostheses (CDP) is a means to improve oral health. Due to limited studies in this area, this research aimed to explore the challenges faced by the EDPs during CDP service delivery in Fiji. Methods A directed descriptive qualitative study was conducted among EDPs attending Dental Prosthetic Clinics (DPCs) at the four centres in Fiji under purposive sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire with open ended questions was used for in-depth interview with EDPs who had worn CDP for 1 year via telephone. Participant responses were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed manually using thematic analysis. Results A total of 30 EDPs participated in the study. Six themes were identified as challenges faced by the EDPs during CDP service delivery in Fiji: lack of information, non-compliance, overwhelmed by illness, reduction on quality of life (QoL) financial barriers to CDP treatment care and personal acceptance. 77% of EDPs felt they did not receive adequate information on CDP when attending DPCs which indicated the non-compliance nature irrespective of using and cleaning CDP on a daily basis. The Dental Professionals (DPs) at the DPCs gave their full support in attending to the CDP challenges faced by the EDPs in Fiji during the review clinics. Conclusion The EDPs expressed a variety of challenges that was faced while seeking appropriate CDP services in Fiji. The findings demonstrate the need to explore approaches to develop patients’ engagement practices during CDP service delivery by the Dental professionals (DPs), which leads to effective oral health promotion in Fiji for CDP wearers.

Background Little is known about girls’ use of a broad range of digital technologies to support a healthy lifestyle, particularly during the later adolescent years when they are expected to take greater responsibility for individually managing their health and wellbeing. The present study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of adolescent girls’, 15 to 17 years of age, use of a broad range of digital technologies to support multiple healthy lifestyle purposes. Methods This study used a mixed-methods sequential research design (i.e. quantitative and qualitative data in two consecutive phases). A quantitative online survey was conducted to determine the use of digital technologies for healthy lifestyle purposes. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subset of survey respondents to explore factors influencing their technology use and preferences. Results Descriptive analysis of survey data (online survey, n = 336) demonstrated the popularity of social media and online video sharing platforms, with evidence that the use of digital technologies does not occur in isolation and girls draw on several resources simultaneously to achieve their desired healthy lifestyle outcomes. Thematic analysis of interview data (semi-structured interviews, n = 29) revealed seven interrelated themes around factors influencing girls’ use of, and satisfaction with, different digital technologies: accessibility, social connectivity, credibility, relatability, inspiration, safety, and customisability. Conclusions The findings reiterate that one size doesn’t fit all girls, and often one size might not even fit one girl, and thus highlight the challenge of catering to such varied use cases. Overall, it appears that current digital technology offerings meet the needs and preferences of adolescent girls for healthy lifestyle purposes, however there may be benefit in allowing greater customisation of use, and consumer driven tailoring of content, according to personal preferences and changing circumstances.

A BSTRACT Introduction: Effective communication can aid in improving oral healthcare measures such as treatment outcomes and satisfaction of edentulous patients (EDPs) toward the treatment process. The triangle of communication (ToC) involves communication between the dentist, dental technician (DTech), and EDPs. This research aimed to explore the ToC between dental professionals (DPs) and patients undergoing complete denture prostheses (CDP) treatment in Fiji. Materials and Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among DPs under purposive sampling where focus group discussions were conducted at the four dental prosthetic clinics in Fiji. A semi-structured questionnaire with open-ended questions was applied to participants virtually via Zoom. The collected data were collated and analyzed manually using thematic analysis. Results: A total of 28 DPs participated in the study. Three themes were identified while exploring the ToC from DPs’ perspectives on CDP treatment and care in Fiji: staff communication—dentist and DTech, ToC and information sharing (dentist–DTech and EDPs), and stage-by-stage procedural checks for CDP between DPs. Effective collaboration between dentists and DTechs is an essence of a successful CDP treatment outcome. Most DPs agreed to undergo continuous communication throughout the treatment to keep EDPs engaged throughout the treatment process. In addition, stage-by-stage procedural checks in dental clinics as well as in dental laboratories improved the quality of CDPs. Conclusion: DPs highlighted predominantly the ToC between DPs and EDPs when receiving CDP treatment in Fiji as an essential tool for effective DP and patient engagement. Discussions should be complemented with the use of verbal, nonverbal, and written modes together with the utilization of interpreters to improve CDP treatment and care in Fiji.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of edentulism which is a major public health concern globally relating to extensive loss of teeth had reduced. For Edentulous Patients (EDPs), Complete Denture Prostheses (CDP) therapy is a known mode of treatment to improve the overall health and the Oral Health Related-Quality of Life (OHRQoL) with appropriate care and maintenance for its longevity. AIM: This literature review had been conducted containing the aim to gather the proficiency and ideas related to the factors that affect the care and maintenance of CDP and how it benefits the EDPs related to good CDP care practices. METHODS: Numerous electronic databases which included Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar and Open Grey literature in English language was used to search for the articles from January 1st 2005 to October 1st 2021 on factors that influenced care and maintenance of CDP. Associated article titles were chosen which was narrowed down to abstract of interested articles and the final 20 preferred full articles were reviewed. The selected articles in this study was analyzed using thematic analysis and their themes were grouped accordingly. RESULTS: Five themes were thematically identified as factors affecting care and maintenance of CDP: social and cultural factors, economic and demographical factors, policy related factors, physical factors and health service related factors. All articles reviewed demonstrated that every factor is highly essential when it comes to taking appropriate care and maintenance of CDP for EDPs. CONCLUSION: The current evidence suggests that social, cultural, economical, demographical, policy, physical and health service related factors all significantly constitute towards effective care and maintenance of CDP for EDPs. Furthermore, the results derived from this research is essential in the development of effective post-operative guidelines for appropriate care and maintenance of CDP.

Background and objectives. Edentulism is a major public health concern globally relating to extensive loss of teeth. Due to paucity of study, this research aimed to explore the perception of edentulous patients (EDPs) and dental professionals (DPs) towards care and maintenance given to complete denture prostheses (CDP) in Fiji. Methods. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 30 EDPs attending dental prosthetic clinics (DPCs) at the four centres in Fiji and 28 DPs at the four DPCs under purposive sampling. Semi-structured questionnaire with open-ended questions was used for in-depth interview (IDI) with EDPs via telephone and focus group discussion (FGD) with DPs virtually via Zoom. Participant responses were recorded and thematic analysis was used to manually analyze the verbatim transcripts. Results. Five themes were identified as perceptions of EDPs towards care and maintenance of CDP in Fiji: patient perceptions towards CDP, CDP care and maintenance, communication between DPs and EDPs, challenges faced in CDP, and management strategies to CDP care and maintenance. Seven themes were identified as perceptions of DPs: CDP guidelines, post-denture insertion advice, care and maintenance, challenges while treating EDPs, management strategies to challenges faced, communication and teamwork, and recommendations to improving quality of CDP delivery in Fiji. Conclusion. Patients’ perception towards care and maintenance of CDP was low. It is highly recommended for EDPs to adhere to CDP advice given by DPs whilst for DPs, it had been recommended to provide written, oral, and visual forms of CDP care and maintenance advice to EDPs for effectiveness.