Abstracts from Poster Presentations at the Scottish Dental Practice-Based Research Network's Symposium held in Edinburgh in November 2001

Symposium Reports

Abstract of poster presentations

Oral Health Outcomes Following Targeted Community Development Activity

Blair Y*, Macpherson LMD, McCall DR, McMahon AD, Stephen KW

Background

An Oral Health Needs Assessment involving nursery school children in a socio-economically challenged district of Glasgow revealed startlingly poor dental health experience in 1995/96 and persuaded GGHB to invest special funding in an oral health improvement programme.

Aim

Development of future oral health improvement strategies for pre-5-year-olds living in GGHB's deprived communities.

Objectives

Design and implementation of multidisciplinary interventions to improve infants' oral health in the locality, monitoring and evaluation of oral health outcomes and identification of barriers to the establishment of effective integrated multidisciplinary networks to protect oral health of pre-5-yr-olds.

Methods

The determinants of poor oral health in young children were explored with the community, local primary care professionals and many agencies. Community development interventions interpreting evidence regarding caries-risk factors and caries-avoidance strategies were devised from the dental scientific literature. A wide variety of process measures was recorded. Epidemiological assessment of programme outcomes involved blind and independent studies in matched and contrasting GGHB districts at baseline, after 2yrs & 4yrs.

Findings

Clinically and statistically significant improvements in dental health of infants were recorded in the pilot zone. Overall, at ages 3yrs, 4yrs and 5yrs of age, respectively, mean dmft decreased by ¯46%, ¯37% & ¯31% while the proportions of caries-free children improved. Meanwhile, the percentages of children with histories of tooth extraction decreased. However, no improvement in the proportion of mean dmft treated restoratively was evident.

Relevance for policy and practice

Following community development activity, significant oral health gains by infants were recorded using many indices. Evidence indicates very little restorative dental care was carried out and the absence of a restorative-care component to secure and maintain oral health was disappointing. Issues around access, perceived attitudes, local service structure, economics, payment systems and skill-mix arose which seem to mitigate against the ability of parents/carers and Dental Practitioners to ensure appropriate restorative care is received by infants in this community.

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