Koumimachi Clinic attached to Saku Central Hospital is located in an underpopulated rural area. We have annually performed a close medical examination by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy since 1982. Since 1986, it has been done early in the morning. In 1995, a total of 1, 513 radiographic examinations were performed and 555 cases were examined by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Two cases of gastric cancer-one being early stage and the other, advanced stage-were detected. Despite the busy season all the farmers who had been advised to have the endoscopic examination attended because it was performed early in the morning. The early morning examination was performed in cooperation with Saku Central Hospital, Naganoken Kouseiren Health Screening Center, and public health nurses of local governments. Without such cooporation, any health care project could not be carried out a rural area.

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of dental hygienists in Japan. The study explicated the history, core curriculum, National Examination for Dental Hygienists, work roles of dental hygienists, and workplaces of dental hygienists. This study was based on the government policy report on dental hygienists and the information published by each public institution. The latest statistics presented by the institutions were collected through official websites. The employment information of graduates from Hiroshima University was analyzed based on actual field study. The results of the study revealed that social demand for dental hygienists has steadily increased and policies and education have been revised accordingly. The work roles of dental hygienists have expanded to meet the needs of the treatment and those of public health fields. In line with major policy changes, the educational period has been extended from 1 year to 3 or 4 years, while the mandatory credits for graduation have been established. Licensing examinations were being performed by the local governments since 1948 due to the different situations of dental hygienists in different areas. In 1992, they were converted into a single national examination. The work roles have expanded from assisting dental treatments to health guidance, home care, and perioperative care. Consequently, the number of dental hygienists has increased, especially in healthcare facilities for the elderly. Dental hygienists perform various roles. However, the most essential role is to provide the best oral care services to the patient. The expected role of dental hygienists has expanded in alignment with public healthcare needs and support for the elderly. The government and universities are expected to bring about improvements such as diversifying the channels of education and establishing policies to respond to growing patient needs by cultivating excellent dental hygiene professionals.

Although numerous studies have shown that each neuropsychological test is effective for diagnosing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD), studies comparing diagnostic accuracies of various neuropsychological tests are relatively rare and practical cutoff values are not available. The present study aimed to investigate the validity of neuropsychological tests and develop cutoff values for each in differentiating healthy control (HC), MCI and AD groups. A total of 84 HC, 187 with MCI and 195 with AD were evaluated by the selected seven neuropsychological tests using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Logical Memory (LM) delayed recall (cutoff, 7) and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) delayed recall (cutoff, 6) were effective for differentiating HC from MCI. To distinguish MCI and AD, Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT) 3 mindelayed recall (cutoff, 6) and LM immediate recall (cutoff, 4) were excellent. Delayed recall of verbal materials, as indexed by LM and RAVLT was sensitive for discriminating MCI from HC. Handling visual memory traces, as indexed by ROCFT and immediate verbal information by LM were sensitive for differentiating MCI and AD.
Alzheimer Disease ; Dementia ; Neuropsychological Tests

The purpose of this study is to provide the general history of fostering dentists in Japan and introducing their new roles. This research was conducted based on the government policy report on dentists and the information published by each educational institution. Based on the collected data, the official websites were used to represent the latest statistics of the institutions. The number of dentists in Japan has increased. The government established the National Examination for Dentists to guarantee the quality of dentists. After the standards for developing questions for the national examination were established in 1985, the contents of the examination have been appropriately improved by revising the standards every four years. This improvement has required dental students to study a variety of subjects for six years at dental school. Since dentists in Japan are required to respond to various demands from the nation; the Model Core Curriculum for Dental Education was developed to teach medical ethics and abilities to ensure that dentists conduct themselves professionally. Recently, the roles of dentists have been changing in Japan.When providing dental services to older patients over the age of 65, dentists and other dental professions focus on maintaining oral functions, such as saliva secretion, bite force, tongue movement, and masticatory/swallowing functions. However, oral function-related services for children are different. In addition to providing essential dental services, dental practitioners also provide special treatment, such as oral muscle training, myofunctional therapy, health guidance, and space retainers to the child patients with developmental insufficiency in oral functions. Dentistry in Japan has undergone numerous changes over the years and has continued to offer high-quality dental health services. Thus, information gained from the Japanese experience may be helpful to dental professions in other developed countries for planning oral health measures.