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Biomedical subjects

D O'Mullane

Publications and source records attributed to D O'Mullane.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Can prevention eliminate caries?

There are four main factors involved in the carious process: at-risk tooth structure, plaque flora, fermentable carbohydrates, and time. Based on our knowledge of the carious process, four main preventive strategies have been developed over the years, namely, fluorides, fissure sealing, dietary choice, and plaque control. Fluorides are having a major impact on smooth-surface caries; hence, strategies combining fluorides and fissure sealing are very effective. However, use of fissure sealing is still problematic. Changing dietary practices with a view to reducing dental caries seems to be having little impact on a global scale. Plaque control, as practiced routinely by the majority of people, is not sufficient to result in caries reductions. Deprivation and poverty are strongly associated with high caries levels. Although the preventive strategies currently available are likely to result in lower caries levels for many, for logistical reasons and because of factors associated with deprivation and poverty, caries is likely to remain a major public health problem in most communities for the foreseeable future.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Caries prevalence in the Republic of Ireland.

The implementation of the Health (Fluoridation of Water Supplies) Act 1960 was preceded by a survey of child dental health in the Republic of Ireland. A follow up national survey in 1982 showed that caries had declined in both fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities, although more so in the former. An adult dental health survey reported in 1992 showed that tooth loss had declined in the period 1979 to 1989.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A comparison of information recorded using the Thylstrup Fejerskov index, Tooth Surface Index of Fluorosis and Developmental Defects of Enamel index.

This study considers information recorded using three different indices of enamel defects/fluorosis. The comparisons were based on photographs of subjects taken in two areas with < 0.1 and with 0.7 ppm fluoride in their drinking water. The three indices used were the Thylstrup Fejerskov index, the Tooth Surface Index of Fluorosis (TSIF) and the Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDE) index. Each was scored by a different examiner. All three indices were able to detect significant differences in opacity/fluorosis prevalence between the two areas. However, it was clear from the results that information collected using these different enamel opacity/fluorosis indices was not directly comparable for individual teeth even though prevalences of defects were similar for two of the indices, the TSIF and the DDE index.

Dental Enamel↗
PubMed1993

Health services and women's oral health.

Apart from tooth loss and edentulism, data on the relative levels of oral health of men and women are scarce. Evidence from Europe and to a lesser extent from the U.S. shows that women have fewer natural teeth present than men and have higher levels of edentulism. In Europe there is some evidence that socially deprived rural women have the highest levels of edentulism. Due to the lack of adequate detail in published reports of studies, it is difficult to relate the oral health of women with the availability, acceptability, and accessibility of dental services. Women tend to attend for dental care more regularly than men though there is some evidence that women are more fearful of dental treatment and also perceive cost as a barrier to dental care. Data from the Republic of Ireland suggest that women working in the home have higher levels of tooth loss and edentulism than those working outside the home. There is a need for consensus on methods of reporting oral health data in major descriptive studies. Further research is required to investigate why women tend to lose their natural teeth at an earlier age than men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

New agents in the chemical control of plaque and gingivitis: reaction paper.

The inadequacy of traditional methods in controlling plaque and gingivitis has led to an increasing interest in the chemical approach, especially using toothpastes and mouthrinses. Various agents have been tested by a variety of experimental designs. Further work in this field should include monitoring the effect of long-term use on the oral ecology and an appraisal of the experimental designs used in longitudinal studies of antiplaque and antigingivitis agents.

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗
PubMed1990

Indices of root surface caries.

Despite the increasing international interest in recent years in the epidemiology of root surface caries, there is no agreement on the diagnostic criteria to be used when the condition is recorded. In this paper the different methods used by dental epidemiologists are reviewed. It is shown that the wide variation in the levels of root surface caries recorded among different populations could be due to differences in the diagnostic methods as well as to inherent differences in the prevalence of the condition. It is recommended that an attempt be made to reach a global consensus on the methods of diagnosing root surface caries. Also, it is suggested that in reports of epidemiological studies of root surface caries, a basic set of tables including details of tooth loss be included.

Dental Caries↗
PubMed1989

A modified DDE Index for use in epidemiological studies of enamel defects.

The aim of this study was to investigate possible modifications to the DDE Index to make it simpler to use and to make the data collected more meaningful and amenable to analyses and interpretation. After the use of the DDE Index in a National Study in Ireland, initial alterations to the Index were tested on a group of children with enamel defects, in Ireland and New Zealand. The DDE Index was then modified to allow for the measurement of demarcated, diffuse, and hypoplastic defects and their severity. With the Modified Index, the prevalence of defects both on index teeth and all permanent tooth surfaces of 8- and 15-year-old children in fluoridated Cork City and non-fluoridated areas of Cork County and Manchester, U.K., was measured. The prevalence of enamel defects on one or more index teeth of children in the three areas ranged from 30 to 42% in 8-year-olds and from 31 to 38% in 15-year-olds. The percentage of children affected as seen by full-mouth examination was somewhat higher, ranging from 38 to 51% for 8-year-olds and 58 to 63% for 15-year-olds. The percentage of index teeth affected (7 to 14%) was generally higher than for all teeth (5 to 9%). Demarcated opacities were the most common defect seen. Diffuse opacities were found to be the discriminating factor between the fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. In all areas, the vast majority of diffuse opacities extended over less than 1/3 of the surface area of the teeth affected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Effect of fluoridation on dental health in 5- and 11-year-old Irish schoolchildren.

Sixty percent of the population of the Republic of Ireland live in communities served with fluoridated water supplies. A study was carried out to compare dental caries levels, treatment needs, and the cost of meeting these needs, in one town with fluoridated water supplies and two smaller towns without. In the fluoridated town 5-yr-old children had 36% less caries and would cost 29% less to treat than the corresponding age group in the non-fluoridated towns. Restorative treatment levels in both areas were minimal for this age group. In the 11-yr-old children there was a 42% difference in DMFT and a cost saving in treatment required because of caries of 50% in favour of the fluoridated community. Anterior permanent teeth benefited most, with a reduction of 81% in mean DMFT. In both areas most of the decay was seen in the permanent first molar teeth. Restorative treatment levels, while higher for the 11-yr-old age group, were still unsatisfactory.

Child↗