Dental Public Health & Evidence-Based Dentistry Flashcards

What is the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on uptake of dental services in the UK?

Answer: Deprived groups have lower NHS dental attendance, higher rates of dental extractions under GA, and more unmet dental need

Dental attendance inversely correlates with deprivation; lower socioeconomic groups face multiple barriers (cost perception, fear, access, literacy) leading to lower preventive care uptake and higher disease burden.

What is the recommended frequency of professional fluoride varnish application for high-caries-risk adults in the UK?

Answer: At least twice a year (every 6 months) per 'Delivering Better Oral Health' recommendations

'Delivering Better Oral Health' recommends professional fluoride varnish (22,600 ppm NaF) at minimum twice yearly for high-risk adults, as evidence supports its effectiveness in arresting and preventing root caries and coronal caries.

What is the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention in oral health?

Answer: Primary: prevent disease onset (fluoride, sealants); secondary: early detection and arrest (bitewings, caries arrest); tertiary: restore function after disease (fillings, dentures)

Primary prevention prevents disease before it occurs; secondary prevention detects and treats early disease to prevent progression; tertiary prevention restores function after disease has caused damage.

What is the formula for calculating 'positive predictive value' (PPV) of a diagnostic test?

Answer: TP/(TP+FP) — the probability that a positive test result indicates true disease (affected by disease prevalence)

PPV = TP/(TP+FP) — among those who test positive, what proportion actually have the disease; critically, PPV is affected by disease prevalence (low prevalence → lower PPV even with high sensitivity/specificity).

What is the significance of 'confounding' in epidemiological dental research?

Answer: A third variable associated with both exposure and outcome creates a spurious apparent association — must be controlled in study design or analysis

Confounding occurs when a third variable (confounder) is associated with both the exposure and outcome, creating a false or distorted apparent relationship; control by randomisation, matching, stratification, or multivariable analysis.

What is the 'dental decay experience' measure used in the 5-year-old UK survey?

Answer: d3mft (decayed to dentine, missing due to caries, filled teeth in primary dentition) — key metric in England's annual child dental health survey

The NHS England/NHSE annual survey of 5-year-olds uses d3mft to measure caries experience in primary teeth, providing a national benchmark for policy; the 2022 survey reported approximately 25% of 5-year-olds had d3mft > 0.