Training dental students is a complex process as it requires the acquisition of fine motor skills, and hand-foot and eye coordination to perform clinical work, in addition to the attainment of knowledge. Before performing invasive clinical procedures on patients, it is important that dental students reach adequate competency and this is achieved through extended use of pre-clinical simulated practice. 1,2 In Australian dental schools, students primarily receive pre-clinical training in a conventional pre-clinical laboratory for operative dentistry, prosthodontics, endodontics, and paediatric dentistry restorative procedures. Working with paediatric patients is often stressful for dental students, as child patients often lack

BackgroundThere is relatively little literature on the oral health experiences of individuals with Rett syndrome. This study described the incidence of dental extractions and restorations in a population-based cohort, according to a range of demographic and clinical factors. The association between bruxism and age was also investigated.MethodsExisting questionnaire data in the population-based Australian Rett Syndrome Database for the years 2004, 2006, 2009 or 2011 on genetically confirmed female cases (n = 242) were analysed.ResultsThe incidence rate of restorations and extractions were 6.8 per 100 person years (py) and 9.3 per 100 py respectively. The incidence of extractions decreased with increasing levels of income. Compared to those with a C-terminal mutation, the incidence rate of extraction was higher for those with large deletions (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) 4.93; 95% CI 1.46–16.7, p = 0.01). There was a 5% decrease in the risk of frequent bruxism for every one-year increase in age (Risk Ratio 0.95; 95% CI 0.94–0.97).ConclusionsSocial advantage may provide some protection for dental health in individuals with Rett syndrome. Those with more severe genotypes seemed to have poorer oral health outcomes.

This study has resulted in the development of a preliminary version of an ACS for adults aged 18-64 years. Further work is required to determine the psychometric properties of the tool.

Intellectual disability (ID) is characterised by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviours (Schalock et al., 2010). Its onset occurs during the developmental period (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), before 18 years of age (Schalock et al., 2010), while the classification for severity (mild, moderate, severe or profound) reflects the level of support required for functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).Developmental disability is "a severe, long-term disability that can affect cognitive ability, physical functioning or both," is considered to appear before age 22 and is likely to be life-long (National Institutes of Health, 2010).The literature suggests that those with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) experience poorer health, as reflected in frequency of emergency hospital admissions (Hosking et al., 2017;

Background There is a dearth of literature available on the comparative oral health status of those with Rett syndrome (RTT) despite diurnal bruxism being a supportive diagnostic criterion for the disorder. This study was designed to investigate the dental experiences of individuals with RTT in terms of perceived at‐home and professional dental care. Methods Using data in the InterRett database, provided by English‐speaking families of individuals with a confirmed MECP2 genetic mutation, the study investigated relationships between dental problems, oral care, child factors including bruxism and use of gastrostomy, and socioeconomic indicators. The study also explored relationships between dental presentations and socioeconomic, child, and family‐related factors. Results Individuals with RTT exhibiting bruxism were more likely to access dental treatment. Those who had full oral feeding had a higher incidence rate of dental treatment than those with full tube feeding. A conservative (under) estimation of the overall dental caries progression rate revealed that this may be similar to that of the normal population. Conclusions Drivers for dental treatment in RTT include bruxism as well as dental caries. Those who have full oral feeding experience more dental treatment than those with full tube feeding. A higher maternal education level may confer a protective effect for oral health outcomes in those with RTT. Nevertheless, families generally tended to value the importance of oral health despite reported difficulties in day‐to‐day mouth care.

Dental health care plays an essential role in maintaining the wellbeing of New Zealanders and Australians and is considered an important healthcare resource in New Zealand and Australia. With the dental healthcare environment and demands in treatment changing, as well as challenges posed by an ageing population, it is pertinent to gain an insight into new graduates' career aspirations and the factors influencing their decisions in order to maintain and further develop this resource. In 2009, the number of registered dentists in New Zealand was 2439 and nearly one decade later, this number has risen to 2936. 1 According to Australian registration data, there were 21 357 registered dentists in Australia in 2019. 2 With the increasing number of registered dentists, future graduates' career decisions may have an impact on the delivery of oral health services to the population. Previous qualitative and quantitative studies have found that financial stability and gaining professional experience are the key factors influencing dental students' short-term career aspirations. 3 For example, survey of final year dental students in the United Arab Emirates shows

Objectives: To explore patterns of parafunction, and bruxism, and its relationships with genotype and snoring in individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT). Methods:Retrospective observational data of those with confirmed MECP2 mutations in the InterRett database (n = 216) were used to investigate experience of parafunctional habits, and bruxism and their relationships with genotype and snoring using multivariable linear regression. Results:The prevalence of parafunction was 98.2%. Bruxism was reported (66.2%) with the patterns mostly both diurnal and nocturnal (44.1%) and exclusively diurnal (42.7%). Compared to individuals with C-terminal deletion, individuals with p.Arg106Trp mutations were less likely to have bruxism reported (aOR = 0.15; 95% CI 0.02-0.98, p = 0.05) and those with p.Arg168* mutation were more likely to have frequent bruxism than none or occasional bruxism reported (aROR 3.4; 95% CI 1.1-10.7 p = 0.04). The relative odds of having nocturnal bruxism constantly, compared to none/occasionally, were higher among those 'always' snoring (aROR 6.24; 95% CI 2.1-18.2, p = 0.001) than those with no snoring.Conclusions: There appeared to be genotypic association with bruxism in p.Arg168* and p.Arg106Trp mutations and association between nocturnal bruxism and frequent snoring in an international sample of individuals with RTT. Clinical significance of the high prevalence of bruxism should be highlighted in relation to difficulty communicating pain and increased dental treatment need in RTT.

Intellectual and developmental disabilities are heterogeneous in aetiology and presentation, and one cannot make assumptions about the oral health barriers of those with Rett syndrome (RTT) based on findings from generic studies.This study investigated caregivers' perceptions regarding access to dental care for those with (RTT), and associations of dental treatments received by those with RTT with their caregivers' perceived value of oral health and perception of their own as well as their daughter's dental anxiety. Methods and results: Retrospective observational data of a subset of individuals with confirmed MECP2 mutations in the InterRett database (n = 216) were used to explore caregiver-related factors and their relationships with longitudinal data on dental service utilisation, using negative binomial regression. The main reported barriers to dental care access for individuals with RTT were primarily dentist-related in nature, regardless of dental service history. Those with reported dental nonattendance were of older age. Increasing levels of caregiverreported dental fear were associated with less frequent dental check-ups or for any appointments for affected individuals. Conclusions: Dentist-related barriers and caregiver-reported anxiety may both adversely affect dental attendance for those with RTT. Future research should explore caregivers' beliefs and oral health literacy.