NBDHE Community Oral Health Principles Flashcards

Which legislation mandates that states report oral health data to the CDC through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)?

Answer: There is no federal mandate; states participate voluntarily

BRFSS is a voluntary state-based surveillance system; states choose to participate and submit oral health module data to the CDC.

A positive predictive value (PPV) is most affected by:

Answer: The prevalence of disease in the population tested

PPV rises when disease prevalence is higher; even a highly sensitive test has low PPV in low-prevalence populations.

Head Start and Early Head Start programs support oral health by:

Answer: Requiring dental screenings and referrals for enrolled children

Head Start performance standards mandate dental screenings and follow-up referrals for enrolled low-income children.

The 'web of causation' model in epidemiology is best described as:

Answer: Multiple interacting factors that together cause disease

The web of causation illustrates how complex, interrelated biological and social factors interact to produce disease outcomes.

Which oral health indicator is tracked in the Healthy People 2030 objectives?

Answer: Proportion of children aged 6–9 with dental sealants on molars

Healthy People 2030 includes an objective to increase the proportion of children aged 6–9 years who have dental sealants on their molars.

In mass fluoride supplementation, the term 'herd effect' refers to:

Answer: Protection of non-recipients due to reduced disease transmission

While primarily used for infectious disease, in fluoridation contexts 'herd effect' broadly means non-recipients benefit from community-wide reductions in disease burden.

The principle of justice in public health ethics requires that dental hygienists:

Answer: Distribute oral health resources and burdens fairly across populations

Justice demands fair distribution of health resources and equal consideration of community members regardless of socioeconomic status.