This page contains important resources that serve as a foundation for TeethFirst’s work and vision for better oral health.
“The Objectives of the WHO Global Oral Health Programme (ORH).” World Health Organization Oral Health. World Health Organization, 2015. Web. 22 July 2015.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Oral Health Programme page provides a comprehensive outline of the importance of oral health promotion and oral disease prevention. It emphasizes that despite immense progress in improving oral health in recent decades, “problems still remain in many communities all over the world,” in particular, “among under-privileged groups in developed and developing countries. There are many benefits of oral hygiene practice, most indubitably, enhanced oral health. Banks of evidence demonstrate that improved oral health relates to “dental caries prevention and control of periodontal diseases,” such as gingivitis, which can be prevented by “good personal oral hygiene practices, including brushing and flossing”. In addition, oral health is a determinant factor for quality of life. The craniofacial complex is vital for everyday actions such as speaking, smiling, kissing, touching, chewing, and swallowing, along with providing “protection against microbial infections and environmental threats.” Oral diseases engender restricted activities in school, at work, and at home, causing “millions of school and work hours to be lost each year.” Most importantly, “the psychosocial impact of these diseases often significantly diminishes quality of life.”
“Dental Caries (Tooth Decay).” Dental Caries (Tooth Decay). National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 28 May 2014. Web. 27 July 2015.
This website provides facts and figures on about trends in dental caries, also known as tooth decay, cavities, or caries, in the United States, as well as thorough caries data from their most recent survey (1999-2004).
Patrick, Donald L et al. “Reducing Oral Health Disparities: A Focus on Social and Cultural Determinants.” BMC Oral Health 6.Suppl 1 (2006): S4. PMC. Web. 20 July 2015.
This journal highlights the significant oral health disparities apparent in the United States’ population due to “a web of influences” which includes complex biological, behavioral, economic, political, cultural, and social processes, all of which have a considerable effect on “both oral health and access to effective dental health care.” With these subjective variances in mind, the paper states the importance of interventions and policy efforts that incorporate a “fundamental-social-cause approach” and benefit all people “irrespective of their socio-economic status, resources, or behaviors.” Interventions must also recognize and specifically target the particular needs of “resource poor groups who may face obstacles and barriers in implementing health interventions.”
Peterson, Poul Erik. “Changing Oral Health Profiles of Children in Central and Eastern Europe -Challenges for the 21st Century.” World Health Organization Oral Health. World Health Organization, 2003. Web. 22 July 2015.
This report examines the pronounced decline in the prevalence of oral disease in children of several Western industrialized countries over the past twenty years. It analyses various factors accountable for these improvements, such as changing life-styles and living conditions, healthier approaches to sugar consumption, and use of fluorides in toothpastes and mouthwashes. Most notably, it observes that these “positive trends of lower dental caries experience in children” are especially prominent in countries where “school oral health programmes were established and maintained up to recent time.” The report’s findings clearly demonstrate that “schools provide significant platforms for control of oral disease in children and they are relevant settings for promotion of oral health.”
Macpherson, L. M. D., et al. “National Supervised Tooth brushing Program and Dental Decay in Scotland.” Journal of dental research 92.2 (2013): 109-13. Web.
Published in 2013, this report on research conducted in Scotland tested the association between the implementation of a national nursery tooth brushing program and a reduction in dental decay in five-year-old children. The results from the experiment showed a ‘dramatic decline in caries” as well as a “corresponding reduction in absolute inequalities between dental caries rates in the most compared with the least deprived communities was observed”. The results not only showed the value of supervised tooth brushing, but also demonstrated the association between a supervised nursery tooth brushing program and a reduction in dental caries at a community- and country-wide level.
Originating Council, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Policy on the use of xylitol in caries prevention. Reference Manual 2007/2008;29:36-7.
This report confirms the benefits that sugar substitutes, particularly xylitol, have on caries prevention. The most comprehensive study of xylitol, conducted in 1995, compared various oral health indicators (levels of sucrose and free sialic acid, plaque index scores, etc) of a test group that chewed xylitol gum five times a day to a test group that did not. Many advantages of xylitol were evident such as a reduction in plaque formation and bacterial adherence, an inhabitance of enamel demineralization, and a direct inhibitory effect on MS cells.
Notgarnie, Howard M. “Cost-effectiveness of Dental Hygiene Care.” RDH Magazine. PennWell’s Dental Division, n.d. Web. 27 July 2015.
This table shows a comparison of the financial cost of preventative, minimally invasive oral care treatments with the cost of delayed, more expensive and invasive treatments in dental care, demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of early intervention oral hygiene. The financial calculations account for “all costs and savings associated with accepting or declining treatment, and account[s] for the time value of money using a discount rate.”
