Background The ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has impacted dental students training across the U.S. academic dental institutions by moving classroom instruction to an online modality, limiting patient care, canceling external rotations, and rescheduling of licensure examinations. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the immediate impacts of COVID‐19 on students’ readiness to enter clinical practice or residency and its association with well‐being (anxiety, perceived stress, coping and social support, and resilience). Methods An online REDCap survey was distributed to 407 D1–D4 year dental students and 29 DH3–DH4 year dental hygiene students enrolled at a U.S. dental school. The survey consisted of readiness and wellness measures as well as socio‐demographic variables. Results Overall response rate was 58% (N = 252) ranging from 40% among D4 students to 72% among D1 students. About half (55%) of the respondents were White, a third (34%) Asians and 5% were African Americans. Ninety‐two percent were non‐Hispanics while 62% were female. Overall mean (SD) anxiety score was 6.5 (5.3) and 26% of respondents reported moderate or severe levels of anxiety. Anxiety score differed significantly by gender with females reporting higher anxiety levels, mean (SD) = 7.3 (5.5) versus 5.2 (4.7) for males; P = 0.002). Furthermore, mean anxiety score differed significantly among the dental school classes, ranging from 5.5 (5.3) among D2 students to 11.8 (6.2) in DH4 students (P = 0.02). Conclusion Academic dental institutions need to be responsive to the heightened anxiety and uncertainly levels of students and provide responsive training and support to mitigate its effects.

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are negative life events occurring before the age of 18 y. ACEs are risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in adult life. Furthermore, individuals who experience ACEs are more likely to smoke and become obese-factors associated with poor oral health. Objective: This study investigated likely associations between ACEs and the oral health measures of the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Methods: Data from 16,354 participants of the 2010 BRFSS were analyzed with SAS 9.4. ACE scores were calculated in 2 domains: abuse (emotional, physical, or sexual) and household challenges (parental separation or divorce, intimate partner violence, household substance abuse, household mental illness, and incarceration). ACE scores, ranging from 0 to 8, were categorized into 0, 1, 2, 3, and ≥4. The 2010 BRFSS oral health measures included >1 y since last dental visit, ≥6 teeth extracted, and ≥2 y since last dental cleaning. Survey logistic regression estimated prevalence odds ratios and 95% CIs, adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment. Results: The weighted mean ACE score was 1.74 (95% CI = 1.68 to 1.81), and the weighted and agestandardized percentages of study participants with ACE scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, and ≥4 were 33.1%, 24.3%, 14.9%, 9.69%, and 18.1%, respectively. There appeared to be a dose-response association between categories of ACE scores and the oral health measures.

With a significant need for more general dentists to provide care for pediatric patients, previous studies have found that community-based clinical training experience with children increased dental students' willingness to provide care to pediatric patients after graduation. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of community-based clinical training with pediatric patients on dental students' self-perceived confidence in treating pediatric patients, both overall and related to specific procedures. Of the total 105 fourth-year dental students at one U.S. dental school invited to participate in the study in academic year 2011-12, 76 completed the survey about their community-based dental education (CBDE), for a 72% response rate. Over half of the respondents (55%) reported feeling more confident in treating pediatric patients after their rotations. The increase in confidence was not associated with demographics. The placement of sealants (p=0.0022) and experience in giving local anesthesia (p=0.0008) were the two procedures most strongly associated with the increase in confidence. Also, these students received more experience in pulp therapy, extractions, and treating children up to three years of age during their community-based rotations than in the school-based clinic. In this study, greater exposure to pediatric dental clinical experiences during CBDE increased the students' confidence in treating pediatric patients. These results suggest that community-based experiences are useful in supplementing the school-based pediatric clinical experience, including increasing entry-level dentists' confidence in treating pediatric patients.

Although brief alcohol interventions have proven effective in a variety of health care settings, the present article describes the development of the first brief intervention for heavy drinkers in dental practice. Elements of motivational interviewing and personalized normative feedback were incorporated in a 3- to 5-minute intervention delivered by dental hygienists. The intervention is guided by a one-page feedback report providing personalized normative feedback regarding the patient’s current oral health practices, their drinking in comparison to others, and oral cancer risk associated with current smoking and drinking. Future publications will present data regarding intervention effectiveness from an ongoing randomized trial.

Untreated tooth decay continues to be a significant problem for children with public insurance coverage. Children who participated in a separate SCHIP program had fewer untreated dental caries than did children enrolled in Medicaid.

BACKGROUND: Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIP) of Roanoke Valley is a home visiting program that promotes children’s health and family self-sufficiency. CHIP’s Begin With a Grin program provides preventive dental services in the home (oral health anticipatory guidance and fluoride varnish) for children aged 0 to 6 years. The purpose of this study was to compare the dental utilization of Medicaid-enrolled children in CHIP versus Medicaid-enrolled children not in CHIP. METHODS: Using the propensity score method, control subjects were selected from the statewide Medicaid database by using a caliper-matching algorithm. A vector of chosen covariates was used to match control subjects; these covariates included risk factors, estimated propensity score, age, race, gender, and days of Medicaid eligibility. Propensity scores were developed by using a logistic regression. Differences in dental utilization outcomes were tested: ≥1 dental claim (logistic regression) and number of dental claims (Poisson regression) for each subject within the test period. RESULTS: When CHIP children were compared with Medicaid-only children, the CHIP child was 3 times more likely to have at least 1 dental visit (odds ratio: 3.0 [95% confidence interval: 1.9–4.7]) and have a higher number of dental claims (ratio of estimated average number of dental claims [cases/control]: 8.60/3.05 = 2.82 [95% confidence interval: 2.56–3.12]). CONCLUSIONS: A home visiting model can introduce children and their families to dental prevention, improve dental health literacy, establish a dental home, and provide application of fluoride varnish.

The goal of this study was to examine the oral health status and utilization of dental care reported by hospitalized children. A bedside oral examination was performed on hospitalized children. Past dental treatment and current oral health needs were assessed. The mean age (+/- SD) of 120 enrolled patients was 6.7 (+/- 2.9) years (range 3 to 12); 60% were males. The age of the patients' first dental office visit was 3.5 +/- 1.8 years, with 28% having never seen a dentist. Unmet oral health needs (e.g., untreated dental caries) were noted in 42% of children, and soft tissue (mucosal) abnormalities in 59% of children. Children with chronic medical conditions reported barriers to receiving dental care more often (24%) than children with acute medical conditions (3.5%) (p=0.04). A high prevalance of unmet oral health needs and soft tissue abnormalities was identified in a hospitalized pediatric population. Children with chronic medical conditions were more likely to experience barriers to obtaining dental care.

Background Oral cancers account for 3% of annual U.S. cancer diagnosis, 2 in 5 of which are diagnosed late when prognosis is poor. The purpose of this study was to report the population-level prevalence of oral cancer examination among adult smokers and alcohol drinkers and assess if these modifiable lifestyle factors are associated with receiving an oral cancer examination. Methods Adult participants ≥30 years (n = 9374) of the 2013–2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included. Oral cancer examination (yes/no), smoking (never, former, current) and alcohol use (abstainers, former, current) were self-reported. Survey-logistic regression estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of ever and past year oral cancer examination adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, and time since last dental visit. Results One third (33%) reported ever been examined for oral cancer, 66% of whom reported an examination in the past year. Adjusted OR (95% CI) of past year examination comparing current and former smokers to non-smokers were 0.51 (0.29, 0.88) and 0.74 (0.53, 1.04) respectively. Similarly, current and former alcohol drinkers relative to abstainers were less likely to report a past year oral cancer examination, OR (95% CI) = 0.84 (0.53, 1.30) and 0.50 (0.30, 0.83) respectively. Conclusion This study showed that smokers and alcohol users were less likely than abstainers to self-report a past year oral cancer examination. Access to affordable and targeted oral cancer examination within the dental care setting might ensure that these high-risk individuals get timely examinations and earlier diagnosis that might improve prognosis and survival.