Patients with dental problems may suffer from various systemic diseases at the same time. The concomitant systemic diseases can have impacts and risks on the diagnosis, treatment planning and therapeutic practice in dentistry. The author briefly expounds the influences of systemic diseases on dental diagnosis and treatment and the prevention of risks from seven aspects: cardio-cerebral vascular system, blood system, respiratory system, endocrine system, digestive system, genitourinary system, nervous system and mental system, in order to provide references for the dental clinicians.
Humans ; Stomatognathic Diseases/prevention & control*

Malocclusion is a worldwide dental problem that influences the affected individuals to varying degrees. Many factors contribute to the anomaly in dentition, including hereditary and environmental aspects. Dental caries, pulpal and periapical lesions, dental trauma, abnormality of development, and oral habits are most common dental diseases in children that strongly relate to malocclusion. Management of oral health in the early childhood stage is carried out in clinic work of pediatric dentistry to minimize the unwanted effect of these diseases on dentition. This article highlights these diseases and their impacts on malocclusion in sequence. Prevention, treatment, and management of these conditions are also illustrated in order to achieve successful oral health for children and adolescents, even for their adult stage.
Child ; Humans ; Malocclusion ; epidemiology ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Prevalence ; Stomatognathic Diseases ; complications ; epidemiology ; prevention & control

Propolis has been used as a natural remedy in folk medicine worldwide. The antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiprotozoal aspects of its antimicrobial properties have been widely investigated. However, few studies focused on its applications in dentistry. Many dental diseases are related to various microorganisms in the oral cavity. In this study, we assessed the antimicrobial activity of Korean propolis extract, collected from 6 different regions, on oral pathogenic microorganisms. The propolis samples, collected from 6 different regions (P1: Uijeongbu, P2: Ansan, P3: Hongcheon, P4: Iksan, P5: Gwangju, and P6: Sangju), were dissolved in ethanol at two different concentrations (10 and 50 mg/ml). Three oral bacteria (Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis) and one fungus (Candida albicans) were activated in general broth for 24 hours. Microorganisms were diluted and spread onto agar plates, onto which sterilized 6 mm filter papers with or without each propolis sample were placed. After 24 hours of incubation, clear zones of inhibition were observed. All tests were performed in triplicate. The propolis samples showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activity on oral pathogenic microorganisms; in addition, low-concentration groups showed outstanding antimicrobial efficacy on the 4 different microorganisms. Among the samples, P6 had significantly higher antibacterial activity than that of the others against three different bacteria. In particular, a high concentration of P6 showed a significant antifungal effect. In conclusion, we confirmed that Korean propolis has an inhibitory effect on oral pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Therefore, we suggest the possibility of developing oral medicine and oral care products based on Korean propolis.
Agar ; Bacteria ; Dentistry ; Enterococcus ; Ethanol ; Fungi ; Gwangju ; Gyeonggi-do ; Jeollabuk-do ; Medicine, Traditional ; Mouth ; Oral Medicine ; Propolis ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Stomatognathic Diseases

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the lost school days due to dental diseases among adolescents and to assess their oral health in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics. METHODS: A total of 881 adolescents (middle school: 453, high school: 428) were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of questions relating to the subject's socio-demographic characteristics and lost school days due to dental diseases. The lost school days due to dental diseases included absence and early leave. The differences in the lost school days by socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed by chi-square test and t-test. RESULTS: In the past year, 2% of adolescents were absent from school (approximately 2 days of absence), 7.6% left school early (about 3 days of early leave), and 8.3% were absent from school or left school early (about 4 days of absence and early leave) because of dental diseases. The most common reason for absence from school was dental caries (31.8%), followed by malocclusion (9.3%), periodontal disease (7%), and maxillofacial trauma (2.3%). Dental caries was the most common reason (18%) for early leave, followed by malocclusion (8.8%), maxillofacial trauma (2.6%), and periodontal disease (1.8%). Absence from school was higher when the educational background of the respondent's father was middle-school graduate or lower (5.6%: middle-school graduates or lower, 1.6%: high-school graduates, 1.8%: college graduates or higher). High school students with dental diseases (11.7%) were absent or went on early leave to a greater extent than middle school students (5.1%). CONCLUSIONS: To reduce lost school days due to dental diseases among adolescents, different strategies are required including prevention and early treatment of dental caries and avoidance of maxillofacial trauma.
Adolescent ; Dental Caries ; Fathers ; Humans ; Malocclusion ; Oral Health ; Periodontal Diseases ; Stomatognathic Diseases

OBJECTIVES: Dental caries and periodontitis are major oral bacterial infections associated with dental plaque. Infection and inflammation play a role in carcinogenesis, and a significant link has been found between some highly prevalent oral and dental diseases and some types of cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cancer and oral health among Korean adults. METHODS: Data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to analyze the incidence of cancer according to oral health. Demographic and socioeconomic statuses and oral behavior of the participants was analyzed using complex chi-square tests. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between a high DMFT index and cancer by calculating the 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: In total, 6,450 case-control subjects were included. Significant difference was observed in the DMFT index, but not in periodontal diseases, between the cases and controls. The odds ratio for cancer was 1.80 (95% confidence interval: 1.18 to 2.73) in the high-risk group. However, no significant difference was observed after adjusting for age, education level, and income. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide potential evidence of a significant association between cancer and oral disease.
Adult* ; Bacterial Infections ; Carcinogenesis ; Case-Control Studies ; Dental Caries ; Dental Plaque ; Education ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Oral Health* ; Periodontal Diseases ; Periodontitis ; Social Class ; Stomatognathic Diseases

BACKGROUND: This study is aimed to evaluate the level of fear and to reduce the overall fear, thereby enabling patients to receive treatment via timely visits. METHODS: In a survey conducted by 460 South Korean middle school students, we used 453 data that faithfully responded to the survey. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the factors influencing subjective oral health and dental fear. The significance level used for statistical significance was α = 0.05. RESULTS: The level of fear was higher for upper grade, female students. The factors affecting dental fear were higher for gingival bleeding and dental pain. Regarding factors for dental fear affecting subjective oral health, lower fear of puncture needle and tooth removal tool resulted in higher subjective oral health. CONCLUSION: The study found that adolescents had higher fear of dental care when they had gingival bleeding and tooth pain. Gingival bleeding is a symptom of early gingival disease and dental pain is likely due to advanced dental caries. These results suggested that it is necessary to have a program to reduce dental fear and anxiety as well as a program to prevent dental diseases through regular periodic screening and education.
Adolescent* ; Anxiety ; Dental Anxiety* ; Dental Care ; Dental Caries ; Education ; Female ; Gingival Diseases ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Needles ; Oral Health* ; Punctures ; Stomatognathic Diseases ; Tooth

PURPOSE: Evaluation of alveolar bone is important in the diagnosis of dental diseases. The periodontal ligament space is difficult to clearly depict in cone-beam computed tomography images because the reconstruction filter conditions during image processing cause image blurring, resulting in decreased spatial resolution. We examined different reconstruction filters to assess their ability to improve spatial resolution and allow for a clearer visualization of the periodontal ligament space. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cone-beam computed tomography projections of 2 skull phantoms were reconstructed using 6 reconstruction conditions and then compared using the Thurstone paired comparison method. Physical evaluations, including the modulation transfer function and the Wiener spectrum, as well as an assessment of space visibility, were undertaken using experimental phantoms. RESULTS: Image reconstruction using a modified Shepp-Logan filter resulted in better sensory, physical, and quantitative evaluations. The reconstruction conditions substantially improved the spatial resolution and visualization of the periodontal ligament space. The difference in sensitivity was obtained by altering the reconstruction filter. CONCLUSION: Modifying the characteristics of a reconstruction filter can generate significant improvement in assessments of the periodontal ligament space. A high-frequency enhancement filter improves the visualization of thin structures and will be useful when accurate assessment of the periodontal ligament space is necessary.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography* ; Diagnosis ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Matched-Pair Analysis ; Methods ; Periodontal Ligament* ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Skull ; Stomatognathic Diseases

We attempted to develop a problem-based learning (PBL) module for integrated education in dental hygiene with the aim of helping students gain clinical competencies necessary for dental hygienist work. To develop the PBL Module for Clinical Dentistry in Dental Hygiene course, the researchers identified literature related to not only educational technology, but also medical science, nursing, dentistry, and dental hygiene. During the design phase of the PBL module, problem scenarios and a plan for the teaching and learning process were developed. Developing problem scenarios involved describing a problematic situation and three questions related with that situation. To cultivate competencies required in dental clinics, each question was related to the diagnosis of a dental disease, dental treatment, and dental hygiene procedures for care. Teaching-learning process plan included the designs of operating environment, operational strategies, learning resources, facilitation of problem-solving process, and evaluation. It is necessary to evaluate the PBL module for integrated education in dental hygiene to confirm its effectiveness.
Clinical Competence ; Dental Clinics ; Dental Hygienists ; Dentistry* ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Educational Technology ; Humans ; Learning ; Nursing ; Oral Hygiene* ; Problem-Based Learning* ; Stomatognathic Diseases

Mastication is the process to help digestion by chewing or grinding food. Masticatory system consists of maxilla, mandible, temporomandibular joints, ligaments, dentitions, and musculatures. Assessing the bite force can be one of the methods to estimate the masticatory system. Bite force is influenced by facial morphology, age, sex, periodontal status, temporomandibular joint disorder and dental condition, and so forth. In general, higher maximum bite force is seen in those who have a square-shaped face and in male rather than female. In addition, bite force tends to be increased by age 20, maintained constantly until age 40 - 50, and then decreased. Periodontal disease is known as a causative factor for decreased bite force while temporomandibular disorder (TMD) remains controversial as to whether it affects the force. The status of teeth is considered as an important factor to determine the maximum bite force.
Bite Force* ; Dentition ; Digestion ; Female ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Male ; Mandible ; Mastication ; Maxilla ; Periodontal Diseases ; Stomatognathic System ; Temporomandibular Joint ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders ; Tooth

Mandibular cortical erosion detected on dental panoramic radiographs is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis in older adults. Additionally, many reports have demonstrated an association between decreased number of teeth present and osteoporosis. However, whether mandibular cortical erosion is associated with a decreased number of teeth remains unclear. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to clarify the association between mandibular cortical erosion and number of teeth present in Japanese men and women aged 40 years and older. Among patients who visited our university hospital and underwent dental panoramic radiography for the diagnosis of dental diseases, 839 patients (293 men and 546 women) aged 40–89 years (mean [SD], 63.7 [10.6] years) participated in this study. Multiple regression analysis revealed that mildly to moderately eroded cortex (p = 0.007) and severe eroded cortex (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with a decreased number of teeth present. Analysis of covariance adjusted for covariates revealed a significant association between mandibular cortical erosion category and number of teeth present (p < 0.001). Subjects with a severely eroded cortex had significantly fewer teeth present than those with a normal cortex (mean [SE], 20.7 [0.5] vs. 23.4 [0.3], p < 0.001) or mildly to moderately eroded cortex (22.2 [0.4], p = 0.04). Subjects with a mildly to moderately eroded cortex had significantly fewer teeth present than those with a normal cortex (p = 0.033). Our results suggest the significant association between mandibular cortical erosion and number of teeth present in Japanese men and women aged 40 years and older.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mandible ; Osteoporosis ; Radiography, Panoramic ; Stomatognathic Diseases ; Tooth*