Regarding annual individual-based oral-health activities in the workplace, with the final objective of promoting the oral-health-related QOL, we evaluated the characteristics of a long-term compared with a short-term participant group. The subjects were male workers in the Kinki region, aged between 30 to 49. A total of 284 who participated in the activities for ≥ 10 years were assigned to a long-term participant group, and 530 who participated in the activities for ≤ 2 years were assigned to a short-term participant group. Their oral-health-related QOL was assessed using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI), and the subjective sense of oral well-being and having subjective oral symptoms were also surveyed to evaluate the oral health status from the aspect of participants. Behaviors associated with oral health, the subjective sense of general health, and other lifestyle behaviors considered to be related, were also assessed. The GOHAI score was significantly higher in the long-term participant group, in the group including all ages, and the group aged 40 to 49. A subjective sense of oral well-being and the rate of subjective symptom absence were higher in the long-compared to the short-term participant group. Concerning activities related to oral health, oral health behaviors were more frequent in the long-term participant group concerning "visiting dentists other than for a routine checkup" and "using inter-dental brushes or dental floss 1-2 times per month or more". The results suggest that long-term participation in oral-health activities in the workplace improves the oral-health-related QOL (GOHAI score) and the subjective oral health status, which must be verified through further investigations.

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Dental examinations are often conducted in cities, towns, and villages as part of an oral health program for adults. However, in many places, a low percentage of subjects participate in these programs. This study evaluated the effects of a prevention program on periodontal disease focusing on personal education for adults, assessing whether or not the percentage of subjects who use interdental brushes or dental floss daily increase. Seventy-three mothers were surveyed in S city in Niigata Prefecture. Clinical examinations were performed for mothers who visited their local health centers while taking their children for their 1- or 2.5- year medical and dental check-ups. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: test group (n=29, mean age=32.7±5.1) and control group (n=44, mean age=30.2±5.2). For the test group, a chewing function test using chewing gum and a saliva bleeding test employing stimulated saliva as a screening examination, as well as personal education regarding dental care, were conducted by dental hygienists. The instruction was provided to improve the following two items: (1) the use of dental floss or interdental brushes, and (2) regular professional dental check-ups. We used a jaw model, booklets, and dental floss to support the personal instruction. For the control group, a dental examination using a probe and mirror was conducted, and tooth-brushing instructions were provided. Changes in oral health conditions and oral health behavior were evaluated over a 3-month period. The results showed that the rate of subjects who used dental floss or interdental brushes increased from 41.4% (baseline) to 62.1% (3 months) in the test group (20.7% change, P<0.001) compared with 34.1% (baseline) to 47.7% (3 months) in the control group (13.6% change, P<0.001). These results demonstrate that personal instruction with, a screening examination for mothers who bring their children for medical and dental check-ups may improve oral hygiene.

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Objectives: It is well-known that volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) are mainly produced by the putrefactive activities of bacteria residing at different sites in the oral cavity. Antimicrobial mouthrinses have a variety of therapeutic clinical uses, which are primarily dependent upon the ability of these products to decrease the quantity and pathogenicity of the oral flora. It has been reported that propolis exhibits significant anti-microbial activity against oral microoganisms in vitro. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare before and after 14-day propolis mouthrinse use volatile sulfur compounds in mouth air and tongue coating. Subjects and Methods: We enrolled 14 males aged 24-54 years. This study involved a randomized, double-blind comparison, cross-over trial with two experimental periods of 14 days each. Subjects were instructed to gargle with 50ml of the assigned mouthwash: an experimental mouth wash containing 0.2% propolis, or placebo mouthwash, four times per day for 120 seconds each time, i.e., after each meal and at bedtime. Each period was followed by a 14-day washout interval. Prior to the appointment for VSC and tongue coating assessment, each subject was asked to refrain from tongue cleaning for 1 week, from tooth brushing with toothpaste and mouthrinse use 24 hours, and from eating, drinking, chewing, and smoking for 4 hours. We carried out assessments of levels of VSC and amounts of tongue coating at the beginning and end of the experimental period. VSC concentrations were measured by gas chromatography. Pictures of the tongue dorsum were taken to evaluate the area of tongue coating as a percentage of the total area of the dorsum employing image analysis. For the image analysis of dorsum pictures, two trained dentists who were blinded to the clinical findings traced the outlines of both the dorsum and tongue coating that they recognized visually using the software Image J. The Wilcoxon test was employed to compare the two groups. Results: Gargling with the propolis-containing mouthrinse resulted in a significant (P<0.05) reduction in the level of hydrogen sulfide. In the placebo group, there was no significant reduction in the level of each VSC. On the other hand, tongue coating rates showed no significant differences between the baseline and following 14-day mouthrinsing in the test and placebo groups. In conclusion, the results suggest that the propolis-containing mouthrinse reduces the level of hydrogen sulfide and the amount of tongue coating.

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Health disorder due to a low weight caused by excessive dieting compounded by the desire of young women to be thin is a concern. Because most students in the course to train dental hygienists are young women, the purpose of this study was to grasp the degree of obesity and awareness of one's own weight among dental hygiene students. Another purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary education in a training course and identify ways to revise the dietary curriculum. We performed a questionnaire survey (self-entry method) involving year 1-3 students on the dental hygienist training course, and the responses of 374 people were analyzed. According to classification of the BMI, the low-weight group comprised 28.1%, normal-weight group 69.7%, and high-weight group 2.2%. Those who overestimated their own weight comprised 90.5% in total 97.9% in the normal-weight group, and 79.4% in the low-weight group. It was suggested that the possibility of a person being in the low-weight group and overestimating their own weight in this study was higher than in previous studies. We did not evaluate that the effect of education on the diet because differences among each school grade concerning knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding the diet in the subjects of this study were not noted It is necessary to develop an education curriculum to promote appropriate dietary behavior and eating habits in the near future.

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A brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) is a validated method of dietary assessment. This study investigated the relationship between the speed of eating, which is considered an eating behavior, and the estimated nutrient intake using the BDHQ in community-dwelling Japanese aged 80 years old. Three hundred and fifty-four participants (174 males and 180 females) aged 80 years old who participated in both dental examinations and BDHQ assessment conducted in 2008 were included in the analysis. The speed of eating was self-reported by giving a response chosen from five qualitative categories: 'very fast', 'relatively fast', 'medium', 'relatively slowly', and 'very slowly'. The five categories were classified into two categories for statistical analysis, that is, participants who answered 'very fast' and 'relatively fast' were defined as 'eating fast', while those who answered 'medium', 'relatively slowly', and 'very slowly' were defined as 'eating slowly'. The nutrient intake was calculated from the BDHQ using the ad-hoc program developed for nutrient calculation based on BDHQ responses. The estimated nutrient intake was compared between the two groups defined as eating 'fast' or 'slowly'. Furthermore, multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted using the speed of eating, gender, BMI, number of teeth, and masticatory function as independent variables to assess the influence on the estimated nutrient intake. The participants defined as eating 'fast' consumed significantly more zinc, copper, cryptoxanthin, and vitamin C than participants defined as eating 'slowly' (p=0.012, p=0.022, p=0.007, and p=0.049, respectively; Student's t-test). Moreover, the zinc, copper, cryptoxanthin, and vitamin C intakes of participants defined as eating 'fast' remained significantly higher than those of participants defined as eating 'slowly' after simultaneously adjusting for possible confounders (p=0.027, p=0.039, p=0.004, and p=0.043, respectively). The findings of this study suggest that Japanese people aged 80 years old who define themselves as eating fast consume higher levels of nutrients that are included in meat, fish, shellfish, vegetables, and fruits.

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The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists and social interest in health and the health status. The subjects of this study were 1,044 male and 475 female university students. The questionnaire asked about comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists, and social interest in health and the health status (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 20). Sixty-five percent of males and 80% of females were aware that checking the oral hygiene status and instruction in tooth brushing were part of the practice of dental hygienists. Females scored higher than males in their comprehension levels. The score for comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists for students who had "talked with their family about their own health in the last 1 year. (P<0.01)", who had "an interest in health care and medical care policies of the government (male: P<0.001, female: P<0.01)", or "had gone out with their family in the last one month (P<0.05)" was higher than in other students. The score for comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists in male students who had "talked with their family about health care and medical care policies of the government in the last 1 year" was higher than in other male students (P<0.01). The score for comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists in female students who had "talked with friends about their own health in the last 1 year" was higher than in other female students (P<0.05). The standardized variables from the latent variable of the "social image of health" to the latent variable of "comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists" were 0.20 for males and 0.28 for females. The above results suggest that there is a correlation between social interest in health and the health status and comprehension of the practice of dental hygienists.

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In recent years, we have witnessed large-scale mergers between cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan. As a consequence, the population and area per municipality have increased about 3.5 times on average. In an attempt to clarity the effects of this consolidation on dental health services, we conducted a questionnaire survey by mail. Dental health services included such projects as dental health education and examination for pregnant women, treating children with dental cavities, teaching them how to prevent dental caries and how to brush their teeth effectively, and dental examination for the elderly. Before carrying out an analysis, all respondents were divided into those from municipalities where there are regular dental hygienists and those from municipalities with health workers but without dental hygienists. The survey revealed that, in most of the cities, towns, and villages with hygienists, the dental health services were provided as planned, and that there was no significant difference in the rate of project implementation between the regions served by dental hygienists. The number of times projects were implemented a year did not increase nor decrease because of the merger of municipalities with and without hygienists. However, the workload of the staff increased, being marked in municipalities with dental hygienists. The reason for this is probably that many small cities, towns, and villages were served by only one dental hygienist before consolidation, so that the burden of municipal officials has become heavier since the merger.

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