There have been several reports that children who suck their fingers show a low caries prevalence rate. It is unknown whether this association remains at the present time, when the caries prevalence rate is decreasing. It is important to accumulate sufficient evidence to give oral health guidance to children. The purpose of this study was to review the associations among a finger-sucking habit and prevalence rates of dental caries and malocclusion. The subjects were children who received 3-year-old dental examinations in Hamamatsu from the 2007 to 2013 fiscal year. The presence of a finger-sucking habit was confirmed by a questionnaire. The prevalence rates of dental caries and malocclusion were obtained by dental examination. The prevalence rates of dental caries and malocclusion were analyzed by the finger-sucking habit using the χ²-test. The caries prevalence rate decreased from 19.0% in 2007 to 11.8% in 2013. The prevalence rates of a finger-sucking habit and malocclusion did not differ each year. Children with a finger-sucking habit showed a lower caries prevalence rate every year compared to those without such a habit, with a difference ranging from 1.6 to 4.4%. Children who had a finger-sucking habit showed a higher malocclusion (open bite and others) rate every year compared to those without the habit, and the difference ranged from 9.4 to 16.8%. In this study, it was reaffirmed that a finger-sucking habit helped to prevent of dental caries and the development of malocclusion. However, at the presently low rate of caries prevalence, the finger-sucking habit of 3-year-old children would affect the development of malocclusion relatively more than the prevention of dental caries.

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 Career education is now conducted in most dental schools. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no studies assessing the effect of career education for young dental residents on their future career plans. The aims of this study were: 1) to assess the effect of career education on formulating a future plan, and 2) to describe the career plans of dental residents for the next ten years. We sent questionnaires to 2,323 dental residents in Japan, and received 1,590 responses (response rate: 68.4%). We analyzed 1,428 individuals' data which did not contain any missing variables. The dental residents who answered that they had received career education showed a higher rate of having concrete future plans (p=0.015). After adjustment for sex, age, marital status, college attended, and parens' occupations, the correlation between having future plans and the experience of career education remained significant (prevalence ratio=1.18, 95% confidence interval =1.08, 1.29, p<0.001). The most frequent answer regarding future career plans now and in five years was "working at another's dental practice" (570 individuals: 39.9% and 723 individuals: 50.6%, respectively). In ten years, most of the respondents planned to begin their own dental clinics (705 individuals: 49.4%). This study suggests that career education is effective to promote future career planning. In addition, about half of the dental residents wanted to begin their own clinic within ten years. Further studies are needed to determine the best way to provide career education in dental colleges.

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 In recent years, many studies have indicated an association between oral and non-communicable diseases. It is thought that this is because oral and non-communicable diseases have common risk factors. The frequency of dental visits is higher than that for other diseases, and the dental clinic is a suitable environment for practicing a common risk factor approach for various non-communicable diseases. One of the opportunities to practice this approach involves the Oral Health Examination, Assessment, and Health Instruction Program for Adults developed by the Japan Dental Association.
 The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between diabetes/body mass index (BMI) and oral health assessment items/oral health guidance type in this program.
 This web-based survey was conducted in February 2014. The subjects were registrants of a webbased survey company, who were type 2 diabetic (n=408) or non-diabetic (n=408) subjects. There were an equal number of respondents in each of three age groups (40s, 50s, and 60-70s) and in both sexes. The registrants were asked to access and fill in a questionnaire on the web.
 The results of multiple logistic regression analysis regarding diabetes showed that each oral health guidance type shewed no significant difference, and so was unsuitable for a common risk factor approach. Therefore, it was realistic to make use of information on significant oral health assessment items by sex. On the other hand, the results of multiple logistic regression analysis regarding BMI showed that the oral health guidance type might be useful for a common risk factor approach with a combination of significant oral health assessment items. Therefore, effective approaches may change markedly with different objectives (variables). Also, a common risk factor approach may vary according to the age and sex.

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Abstract in Japanese

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Abstract in Japanese

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