Oral Impacts of Aligners versus Fixed Self-Ligating Lingual Orthodontic Appliances

The aim of this prospective study was to compare a fixed lingual orthodontic appliance with a commonly used aligner system, focusing on oral impacts and speech disturbances, during the first 3 months of orthodontic treatment. Two groups of adults were evaluated: 21 treated with Invisalign® and 26 with In-Ovation L® lingual brackets. Health-related quality of life questionnaires were used to assess the oral impacts, and speech samples were collected for speech evaluation by professionals. The levels of pain and painkiller intake were similar, increasing on the first day, and decreasing at 3 months. Subtle injuries on the lip and cheeks were initially reported in the aligner group. Lingual patients experienced more discomfort in swallowing and opening the mouth, tongue injuries and food residues, even at 3 months. The consonants “s” and “z” were mainly affected in both groups immediately after appliance insertion, but more often in the aligner group. These speech disturbances recovered in the following 3 months. In conclusion, both groups reported disturbances in quality-of-life measures; however, patients wearing lingual appliances experienced more disturbances, which persisted after three months. Speech disturbances were slightly more pronounced in the aligner group and recovered after three months.

Daily Impacts of Missing Teeth in Adult Population in Lahore, Pakistan

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of tooth loss on oral health related quality of life in adults. METHODOLOGY: The survey was conducted during March – June 2019 at Rashid Latif Dental Hospital. A sample size of 373 adults aged 18-80 years was randomly selected from the out-patient department. Number of missing teeth was the main exposure, and it was clinically assessed. OHRQoL was evaluated through “Oral Impacts on Daily performance (OIDP) questionnaire”. RESULTS: From total patients presented in OPD 44% had one or more missing teeth. Top reported impacts of missing teeth included difficulty eating and relaxing/sleeping problems. Adults with missing teeth showed 1.28 (95%CI 1.04-4.55) (P=0.01) times higher odds for reporting higher oral impacts compared to those without missing teeth. CONCLUSION: Individuals with missing teeth likely had frequent difficulties in their daily lives due to missing teeth including trouble with eating, speaking, and oral infection, which could spread to the rest of your body. KEYWORDS: OIDP, Tooth-loss, Adults, Missing teeth, Lahore HOW TO CITE: Shahzad HB, Awais F, Raza NUH, Majeed Ha, Shahbaz M, Kazmi F. Daily impacts of missing teeth in adult population in Lahore, Pakistan. J Pak Dent Assoc 2021;30(3):157-163.

The prevalence and socio-behavioural and clinical covariates of oral health related quality of life in Ugandan mothers with and without HIV-1

Background There is limited evidence regarding oral health related quality of life of HIV positive populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing HIV positive- and HIV negative Ugandan mothers, this study assessed the influence of HIV status on oral health related quality of life in terms of oral impacts on daily performances, whilst adjusting for clinical- and socio-behavioural factors. We also examined whether any association of clinical and socio-behavioural factors with oral impacts on daily performances vary according to mothers’ HIV status. Methods This cross-sectional study used data from a trial (n = 164) and a comparison group (n = 181). The trial comprised of mothers with HIV-1 participating in the ANRS 121741-PROMISE-PEP-trial (NCT00640263) conducted between 2009 and 2013 and from the ANRS 12341-PROMISE-PEP-M&S follow-up study conducted in 2017. The comparison group comprised of HIV negative mothers recruited in 2017. Interviews and clinical oral examinations were performed. The oral health related quality of life was assessed using the oral impacts on daily performances frequency scale. Caries experience and gingival bleeding were assessed using the World Health Organization’s Decayed, Missed and Filled teeth indices and community periodontal index. Logistic and negative binomial regression analyses were performed. Results 29% of HIV-1 positive and 32% among the comparison reported any oral impact on daily performance. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, HIV status was not significantly associated with oral impacts on daily performances. Mother’s self-reported oral health, caries experience, gingival bleeding and oral health related quality of life of their children were independently associated with oral impacts on daily performances. Corresponding prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals were: 0.3 (0.2–0.6), 1.8 (1.0–3.2), 1.1 (1.0–1.1), and 2.1 (1.1–4.3). No significant interaction between HIV status and covariates were observed. Conclusions Oral health related quality of life was substantially impaired in Ugandan mothers but did not discriminate between HIV positive and negative participants. Mothers with impaired oral health related quality of life were more likely to have dental caries and children with impaired oral health related quality of life. HIV positive and negative mothers in Uganda deserve special attention regarding their oral disease and quality of life status.

Association between Clinical Signs of Oral Lichen Planus and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life: A Preliminary Study

Subjective patient’s symptoms and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) are recommended to be involved in oral lichen planus (OLP) studies. This study aims to assess the OHRQoL of OLP patients, and their associations with pain and OLP in Thai patients. Sixty-nine patients were interviewed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain perception and Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP) index. OLP signs examined included localization, types, number of affected sides and clinical severity using the Thongprasom sign scoring system. There were significant associations (rs = 0.490, p < 0.001) between clinical severity and the intensity of oral impacts as well as pain (rs = 0.298, p = 0.013). The intensity of oral impacts and pain increased according to the increasing OLP clinical severity, except for the white striae lesions (Thongprasom sign score 1). The erosive/ulcerative OLP lesions (Thongprasom sign scores 4 and 5) were the most painful symptom and had the highest degree of oral impacts (p < 0.001). No significant associations were found between the number of affected lesion sides and OHRQoL (p = 0.316) and pain (p = 0.284). OHRQoL was associated with OLP type and clinical severity but not with the number of affected sides.

Determinants of Adherence to Dental Treatment of Adolescents in Social Vulnerability in Primary Care

Background Different studies with adolescents refers to the difficulty they have to adhere to oral dental treatments. Therefore, better understanding the processes involved in adherence to treatment in this population is necessary. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence adherence to dental treatment in social underprivileged adolescents in primary care.Methods A longitudinal analytical study was conducted in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil, between 2014 and 2015.The sample consisted of 1179 adolescents whom were examined in family health units, these 474 were referred for treatment (40,2%) and these 325 (68,6%) teenagers were reevaluated after 18 months. Adherence to dental treatment was the dependent variable. Independent variables were: individual (clinical, socio demographic, access to the service, reporting pain, oral impacts on daily perfomance, family cohesion) and the contextual (percentage of families in the neighborhood with income of 0.5 to 1 minimum wage).Results Non-adherence rate to treatment was high in the studied sample (49.5%).Family income (p = 0.039) and household crowding (p = 0.003) were associated with non-adherence to dental treatment.Conclusions It is concluded that the condition of social vulnerability of adolescents resulted in competing situations with adherence, a fact that makes it difficult dental treatment and action planning health services.