Texas dental journal最新文献

Objectives: Smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is a phenomenon that is detrimental to the health of adults worldwide and dramatically impacts the health of resettled populations. The prevalence of SLT has exponentially grown as a public health threat for the refugee and immigrant populations and is worthy of addressing. This research study examined the SLT cultural drivers of the Texas immigrant and refugee community, which led to their knowledge, perception, awareness, and cessation practices.

Methods: A convenience sample of refugee and immigrant community members resettled in San Antonio was recruited from the local Health Clinic and Center. Ninety-four consented participants completed a 29-item survey that gathered participants' demographics, SLT history, beliefs, knowledge, perceptions of the risk, awareness, availability of SLT, and cessation practices influenced by their culture.

Results: Of the 94 participants, 87.2% identified as Asian or natives of Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Pakistan. 70% reported SLT as a 'feel good' or recreational use, while 33% used it to relieve stress. Thirty-five percent stated they continuously use or have the desire to use SLT first thing in the morning. 86.2% perceived SLT products as unsafe for their health, 83% believed that it caused oral cancer and periodontal disease, and 76.6% were aware that SLT contains nicotine. 63.8% wished to stop using them, and 36.2% attempted to quit but were unsuccessful. 54% sought cessation assistance from a family member, 32% from a friend, and only 12% from a healthcare provider.

Conclusion: SLT use is culturally prevalent within the immigrant and refugee populations. Participants' quit attempts likely failed due to a lack of professional cessation support that was taxing due to language, interpretation, and literacy barriers. Healthcare providers are well-positioned to offer cessation interventions and reduce SLT use to achieve community well-being pathways.

Introduction: While significant progress has been made to decrease tobacco smoking among youth and young adults, e-cigarettes threaten to reverse the progress. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of the ReACH Assessment of Knowledge for E-Cigarettes (RAKE) e-cigarette cessation program targeting youth and young adults in Texas.

Methods: Seven dental practitioners and 12 patients participated in this pilot study. Patients aged 15 to 29 who reported current e-cigarette use were recruited by their dental practitioner. All participants completed pre-and post-assessments-practitioners receiving the RAKE training and patients the RAKE cessation intervention. Descriptive statistics were calculated.

Results: After RAKE training, all practitioners reported the RAKE cessation program as useful and an important part of patient care. In addition, after completing the program (5A's), 67% (n=9) patients reported that the program was helpful, and 100% (n=12) would recommend the program to other ENDS users.

Conclusions: Practitioners and patients enhanced their knowledge of e-cigarettes and their harm to health. In addition, practitioners demonstrated their ability to implement the RAKE cessation program within the practice, and patients approved of the use of the program. This study illustrated the feasibility and acceptability of conducting an e-cigarette cessation study in dental practices and a critical need to develop and disseminate the program to young patients.

Background: Dry mouth, also commonly known as "xerostomia", is a prominent symptom that is often overlooked by dental practitioners and patients. The purpose of this study was to pilot the development of a mobile application for assessing dry mouth symptoms. The application will allow patients to self-assess and enhance knowledge, awareness and communication with dental practitioners in their management of dry mouth.

Method: The first phase of the study was to draw on common knowledge and awareness by conducting two focus groups of dental professionals and community members on content, practicality, functionality, design, and effectiveness. The second phase of the study was the development of the dry mouth mobile application followed by the third phase of the study that consisted of face-validity interviews to obtain feedback on the application.

Results: Fifty two percent (n=15) of the dental professionals estimated being aware of the prevalence of dry mouth in 40% or more of their patients. Thirty Nine percent of (n=9) community estimated being aware of the prevalence of dry mouth in 40% or more of the community. When asked about their awareness of the etiologies of dry mouth, 100% (n=29) of dental professionals reported that multiple medications and smoking were primary factors whereas the community members indicated that illness and dehydration (87%, n=20) were primary factors in dry mouth. Dental professional's (25% n=7) were very confident in recognizing symptoms and 28% (n=8) were very confident they knew how to manage dry mouth symptoms. Furthermore, 22% (n=5) of the community members were also very confident about recognizing dry mouth symptoms and 13% (n=3) were very confident knowing how managing it. The ToP report generated from the discussions identified "themes" that were utilized in the development of the mobile application. Most individuals who participated in the validity interviews agreed that the dry mouth mobile application was useful, appealing, easy to use and the self-assessment test gave clear and concise information. The application was made available to download from the iTunes Appstore (2019-2020).

Conclusion: The dry mouth pilot study indicated that the mobile application was beneficial for self-assessment and easy to use. Development of advanced technology tools such as the dry mouth application can promote communication between patients and their dental practitioners to discuss management options for dry mouth.

Purpose: This study's purpose was to examine the processes and the potential for dental practitioners to address environmental health exposure risks to their patients through dental practice-based research participation. To explore this, the South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN) initiated a collaboration with The Tooth Fairy National Study investigating toxicants stored in deciduous teeth as a potential neurodevelopmental risk factor.

Background: Neurodevelopmental disorders (ND), like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), affect 1 in 68 live births. Evidence suggests that environmental chemicals may play a role in ASD risk and/or etiology by acting independently or through interactions with genetic vulnerabilities. Provider awareness of environmental exposure risk during pregnancy and early childhood in South Texas is low. Therefore, it is important to increase provider knowledge and awareness to enable greater communication with patients. STOHN serves as a conduit reaching large numbers of patients. This study also engaged practitioners in an ongoing national study with minimal impact on their practice.

Methods: The goal was to enroll twenty parents with children via ten dental practitioners. STOHN pediatric and general practitioners were recruited for the study. Practitioners were contacted by phone and in person. Upon completion of Human Subject Protection training, each practitioner participated in a study training taught by a public health educator in the department of Family and Community Medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio (UTHSCSA). Training topics included NDs, environmental health exposures, patient engagement, survey administration, and how to collect donated teeth. This collaboration allowed STOHN to gather control teeth as well as demographic and health information for the Tooth Fairy Study repository for future analyses. Participants received a thank you card from the Tooth Fairy and participating providers were highlighted in the monthly STOHN newsletter.

Evaluation results: Evaluation was threefold: Practitioner enrollment and retention; practitioner confidence in educating their patients about potential environmental risk exposures and completed surveys with donated teeth.

Conclusion: The interdisciplinary collaboration between dental practitioners and medical researchers through STOHN provided an opportunity to increase practitioner knowledge and awareness of a novel health concern, while also raising their confidence and willingness to educate their patients about potential environmental exposure risks. UTHSCSA IRB Protocol # HSC20170132E.