Many schizophrenia patients take drugs that suppress salivary secretion as a side effect, such as antipsychotics and anticholinergics. Therefore, in schizophrenia patients, a decreased salivary flow, high morbidity of dental caries, and increased oral bacteria have been indicated. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of general and mental conditions on resting and stimulated salivary flow rates. The subjects of the present study consisted of 83 patients with schizophrenia hospitalized in the chronic stage ward (49 men, 34 women). Resting salivary flow rates were measured using the Oral Schirmer Test and stimulated rates were measured by chewing paraffin. The mental condition (PANSS), medicinal side effects (DIEPSS), and general conditions, such as the diagnosis (ICD-10), gender, age, and variety of medication, were investigated using the medical records. The doses of antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs were calculated for Chlorpromazine and Biperiden. The subjects were divided into two groups: persons showing low values of secretion, and those showing no reduction in the secretion rate. The effect on mental and general conditions, ingestion while resting, and stimulated salivary flow rates was determined for each subject. The rate of subjects showing low values of secretion for resting saliva was 35.8%, and that for stimulated saliva was 81.8%. No significant decrease in the secretion rates in either the resting or stimulated condition was noted in relation to PANSS, DIEPSS, doses of drugs, and oral condition. A significant decrease in the resting secretion rate was noted in relation to patients who took depressor or diuretic drugs, and that in the stimulated secretion rate was observed in relation to patients who took anticholinergic agents, benzodiazepines, or cathartic drugs. These results suggest that the resting and stimulated salivary flow rates of schizophrenic patients were lower than normal. This reveals the necessity of preventing and treating xerostomia. The decreased salivary flow rates were not only caused by taking regular doses of antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs, but also by the taking of other drugs that suppress salivary secretion as a side effect.

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The objective of this study was the development of screening criteria for malalignment and malocclusion in elementary schoolchildren for school dental health checks. The subjects of this study were 160 first grade elementary schoolchildren in 2002 at an elementary school. The follow-up studies recorded the status of 17 points of dentition and occlusion every year from 2002 to 2007. Malalignment and malocclusion occuring at a high frequency at all grades comprised: "deviation of midlines of upper and lower jaws", "crowding of upper anterior teeth", "crowding of lower anterior teeth", "median diastema", and "prognathism (maxillary protrusion)". The number of children who had anterior cross bite decreased, and prognathism and crowding of the upper anterior teeth increased with age. Eighty percent of the children with an equal to or greater than 1mm median diastema in the first grade showed an equal to or less than 1mm median diastema by the 6th grade. The efficacy (sensitivity + specificity) of screening for the status of dentition and occlusion from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th to the 6th grades was more than 150%. It was concluded that the screening criteria for malalignment and malocclusion (MO) in the elementary schoolchildren were: anterior cross bite, open bite, and deep bite in the lower grades (1st and 2nd graders), and anterior cross bite, open bite, deep bite, crowding of the upper and lower anterior teeth, and median diastema in the middle (3rd and 4th graders) and upper (5th and 6th graders) grades.

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Recently, the phenomenon of mother-to-child infection of Streptococcus mutans has been reported. However, there are few reports on the relationships regarding caries risk factors between the mother and child. Therefore, we examined the relationships between mothers and their children concerning individual caries risk factors. Furthermore, caries risk factors in mothers that influence those in their children were analyzed. At one kindergarten in Kitakyushu-city, we carried out a questionnaire survey regarding lifestyles and child-care environments, dental checkups and caries risk tests for children and their mothers. There results were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The results showed that for individual caries risk factors, there were relationships between mothers and children in the DMFT (dft), in terms of the ratio of Streptococcus mutans and in the total caries risk score. The ratio of Streptococcus mutans affected the caries risk factors of children. From these results, it is considered that the caries risk of children is affected by the oral condition of their mothers.

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We investigated the relationship between infant dental caries and smokers in the home by a cross-sectional study in the Tokachi area of Hokkaido. The subjects were 1,317 infants aged 1.5 years old and 1,391 infants aged 3 years old who underwent dental examinations in 14 towns and 2 villages in the Tokachi region in 2006. The survey contents were dmf (number of decayed teeth, missing teeth, and fillings per person), smokers in the home, snack times, kinds of snacks (fruits or vegetables, cheese or yogurt, snack food, ice-cream, candy, chocolate, sugar-sweetened gum, sugarless gum, pudding or jelly, Japanese crackers, bread, gummy candy, cake, cookies) eaten more than 4 times a week, kinds of drinks (milk, Japanese tea or water, isotonic drink, juice, lactic acid drink) consumed over 4 times a week, daily tooth brushing by parents, night feeding (only 1.5-year-old infants), and so on. Risk factors for the prevalence of infant dental caries were evaluated using univariate analysis by employing a logistic regression model and multivariate analysis by a stepwise procedure. The prevalence of dental caries in children aged 1.5 years old was 5.2%, and that of those children aged 3 years was 29.8%. There was at least one smoker in the homes of 722 (54.8%) and 824 (59.2%) infants aged 1.5 and 3 years old, respectively. The results of univariate analysis were as follows: The risk of dental caries in 1.5-year-olds was significantly correlated frequent night feeding (OR=3.1, 95% CI: 1.9-5.0), a frequent intake of snack food (OR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.2-3.4), irregular snack times (OR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.2-3.4), reduced frequency of tooth brushing by parents (OR=2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.6), a frequent intake of lactic acid drinks (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.04-3.3), existence of smokers in the home (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.03-3.4), frequent drinking or eating sweets after dinner (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1), and less frequent intake of milk (OR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.04-2.8). The risk of dental caries in 3-year-olds was significantly associated with a reduced frequency of tooth brushing by parents (OR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.7-3.5), less frequent intake of pudding or jelly (OR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-4.7), frequent eating of sweets after dinner (OR=2.0, 95% CI: 1.6-2.6), frequent intake of juice (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.5-2.4), frequent intake of isotonic drinks (OR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.3-2.5), irregular snack times (OR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.4-2.2), less frequent number of fluoride treatments (OR=1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.8), existence of smokers in the home (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.1), less frequent intake of milk (OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.2-1.9), less frequent intake of Japanese tea or water (OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-2.0), frequent intake of snack food (OR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.01-1.7), and frequent intake of chocolate (OR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.02-1.7). The results of multivariate analysis were as follows: The risk of dental caries in 1.5-year-olds was significantly associated with frequent night feeding (OR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.8-5.6). The risk of dental caries in 3-year-olds was significantly related to a less frequent intake of pudding or jelly (OR=2.9, 95% CI: 1.2-7.0), a reduced frequency of tooth brushing by parents (OR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.2-2.9), frequent intake of juice (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.2), existence of smokers in the home (OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.04-2.0), and irregular snack times (OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.1-2.0). A decrease in the number of smokers in the home will promote the oral health of children.

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The management balance of dentistry was compared according to the content of basic periodontal treatment. Three types of treatment were highlighted: first, oral hygiene instruction, then scaling, and lastly scaling and root planing (SRP). As for the comparison method, the management balance was identified by subtracting the medical cost from the medical professional income, which is calculated from the quick reference table for social insurance dental fee points. Medical costs were divided into material costs and personnel expenses. Management balances per unit time were calculated based on management balances and chair time and compared to treatment content. As a result, the management balance per unit time for oral hygiene instruction, scaling, and SRP ranged from 8.2 to 15.0, 51.1 to 103.7, and 35.5 to 49.1 yen/minute, respectively. The management balance per unit time for oral hygiene instruction should be around 5-times the present balance to achieve the same level of net earnings as for the other two treatments. Provided that the medical professional income and material costs were fixed for oral hygiene instruction, and the management balance was assumed as 0 yen to calculate the break-even point, then the chair time was about 41 minutes. Further, the management balance becomes negative when the chair time for oral hygiene instruction lasts longer than 41 minutes.

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