Dental Public Health
Newsletter Volume 1 No 1 August 2007
Welcome to the first UCL Dental Public Health Newsletter.
The purpose of this Newsletter is to update former students and friends about what is happening at UCL. It is
also an opportunity for you, to tell us, what you are now doing. Over the last 25 years an amazing collection
of very talented people have studied or been connected to the Dental Public Health Group at UCL. We are a
unique collection of like-minded individuals located across the globe. This Newsletter will hopefully provide
a forum to exchange information and keep in touch with old friends. We intend to publish 2 Newsletters each
year so if you have any news to share, please do email Louise Hodge (l.hodge@ucl.ac.uk). Please also for-
ward this Newsletter to anyone you think might be interested and send their email address to Louise.
At UCL lished in high quality journals in recent years. To
things are get more detailed information on all our activities
as busy as and access to our publications etc it is worth visit-
always. ing our website at: www.ucl.ac.uk/dph
Aubrey
continues We look forward to hearing from you.
to make a
Richard Watt
massive
contribu-
tion to Recently completed PhD’s in the De-
teaching, partment
supervi-
Bussayasit (Bee) Pongpichit 2006: The prevalence
sion and
and extent of school absences and factors related to
the generation of great research ideas. Congratula-
absences caused by dental conditions and dental
tions are due to George Tsakos who has very re-
care in Thai schoolchildren.
cently been promoted to senior lecturer and to Mar-
tin Hobdell for his Golden Apple Award. This year The study set out to determine the prevalence and
we have had an excellent group of Masters students extent of school absences and factors related to the
from countries as diverse as Germany, India and absences caused by dental conditions and dental
Saudia Arabia. At present they are furiously work- care in 10-12 year-old Grade 5 children in Lam-
ing away to complete their projects on time. Our pang province, Thailand.
PhD programme is also doing very well and we
currently have 9 students working hard on their The level of school absence for dental related con-
dissertations. Our publication record continues to ditions and care was low per child but cumulatively
be very impressive with some excellent papers pub- was considerable. School absence for dental rea-
1
sons was associated with dental health status. Fam- •25-28 April, 2007: Royal College of Physicians,
ily related factors and dental care system also af- Edinburgh, British Association for the Study of
fected the prevalence of school absence for dental Community Dentistry Spring Scientific Meeting.
reasons. Oral health inequalities - what matters, what
works?
Jae-in Ryu 2006: Differences in estimates of den-
tal treatment needs and workforce requirements •2-11 May, 2007: The Department of Commu-
between the standard normative need (WHO nity Dentistry, University of Malaya. Putting oral
model) and sociodental approach to assessing den- health promotion into practice - What evidence do
tal need. we have?
The purpose of the study was to assess and com- •26-30 May, 2007: Congres des Journees Den-
pare dental needs and manpower required for den- taire Internationales, Montreal. Food policy.
tal care of a sample of adult Koreans aged 30 to 64
years using the normative and the sociodental need Prof Aubrey Sheiham , Dr George Tsakos and Dr
approaches for three dental treatments; restorative, Paul Batchelor
prosthetic and periodontal treatments.
•25-26 May, 2007: Invited set of two lectures and
The socio-dental approach for assessing dental one workshop in the Baltic Dental Public Health
needs found lower levels of treatment need than the meeting on “Oral health promotion and policy”.
normative approach. The author recommends that Titles of lectures and workshop: 1) Evidence-based
the socio-dental approach should be applied to den- dental interventions. 2) Concepts of assessing den-
tal workforce planning. tal needs. 3) Assessing dental needs (workshop).
Riga, 25-26 May 2007.
Xiaojuan Zeng 2007: The effects of clinical den-
tal status on eating difficulty and oral health-
related quality of life in an older Chinese popula-
tion.
The study was undertaken to explore the relation-
ship between the clinical dental status and its af-
fects on eating difficulty and oral health-related
quality of life in older Chinese people.
The findings of this research support the hypothesis
of this study and indicate that clinical dental status
significantly influenced eating difficulty and qual-
ity of life in a sample of older Chinese population •
in Guangxi province, China.
•Dr George Tsakos
Conferences and Presenta- •26-27 April, 2007: British Association for the
tions Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) Spring
Prof Richard Watt: Scientific Meeting. Edinburgh, With Sabbah W.,
Watt R., and, Sheiham A. Social gradient in oral and
•18-19 April, 2007: Faculty of Dentistry, Uni- general health. Poster presentation in the
versity of Oslo, Oslo Priority Research Talks.
Health promotion and disease prevention; • 28 February, 2007:NHS Regional Co-
ordinators meeting. London, Use of Quality of
2
• Life in dental surveys. Oral presentation in the health related quality of life. Invited lecture on the
Dental Epidemiology Group 11th Annual Conference
•13-16 November,2006: The 2nd Panhellenic Prof Martin Hobdell
Congress in Health Management, Economics
and Policy titled “Evidence-Based Health Care •5-11 March, 2007: The Ministry of Health and
and Health Care Reform”. Athens. Evidence- WHO, Kigali, Rwanda. To facilitate a workshop
Based Health Care: Structures and Clinical Practice to develop a National Oral Health Strategy for
Implementation [in Greek]. Rwanda.
• 13 October 2006: Meeting of the Finnish Socie- •1-5 May, 2007: National University of Lao PDR
ties of Periodontology, Psychology and Dental Dental Department. To sign a memorandum of
Public Health. Most Chronic Diseases have understanding on behalf of Health Volunteers
Causes in Common. Invited set of four lectures Ti- Overseas for the provision of general dentistry
tles of specific lectures: 1) Social gradient and CPD courses and a Masters degree course in Dental
chronic diseases: where do periodontal diseases fit Public Health. (This is part of the American Dental
in? 2) Psychosocial factors in periodontal diseases. Association’s outreach programme and is spon-
3) The common risk factor approach. 4) Develop- sored by the International College of Dentists, USA
ing intervention strategies for periodontal diseases: Section)
a socio-dental approach to assessing needs.
•6-13 May, 2007: University of Health Sciences,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Faculty of Odonto-
13-16 September stomatology. To co-teach on the Diploma course in
2006. Oral pres- Dental Public Health (This is part of the American
entation in the Dental Association’s outreach programme and is
Pan European sponsored by the International College of Dentists,
Federation (PEF) USA Section)
Congress of the
International As- •14-19 May, 2007: University of Health Sciences,
sociation of Den- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Faculty of Odonto-
tal Research stomatology. To co-teach on the Diploma course in
(IADR). Dublin. Dental Public Health. (This is part of the American
With Kida A., As- Dental Association’s outreach programme and is
trom A.N., Masalu sponsored by the International College of Dentists,
J.R.and Strand G.V. Prevalence, intensity and USA Section)
causes of OIDP among Tanzanian older adults..
•20-26 May, 2007 Department of Health School
•13-16 September 2006,Oral presentation in the for Community Oral Health Officers, Kin-
Pan European Federation (PEF) Congress of the tampu, Ghana. To run CPD courses on infection
International Association of Dental Research control, HIV/AIDS, Dental Caries, Periodontal dis-
(IADR). Dublin. With D'Aiuto F., Pikhart H., Ton- eases and school-based health programmes for
etti M., Sheiham A., Donos N. Does treatment of Community Oral Health Officers and Senior Public
severe generalised periodontitis improve quality of Health Dentists. (Sponsored by Enraf Nonius Pro-
life? jects).
•7-9 September 2006, European Association of •28 June - 12 July, 2007 Department of Health,
Dental Public Health (EADPH). Prague, Oral Freetown, Sierra Leone. To advise on the develop
3
•ment of a National Oral Health Policy, sponsored significant policy and advocacy tool for improving
by the Commonwealth Secretariat. oral health worldwide in the years to come.
The action plan gives a clear signal to the interna-
Information tional health community that oral diseases should
Smokefree and smiling: Helping dental no longer be neglected, but need urgent and sus-
tained attention from all stakeholders.
patients to quit tobacco.
(http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/ Affordable oral care at realistic costs on all levels
Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_ of health care systems is available.
074970)
In May 2007 the Department of Health in England
published guidance on smoking cessation for the
dental team. Richard Watt chaired the Expert Work-
ing Group who produced this policy document. A
smoking cessation training resource linked to this
policy has also been recently published by the Na-
tional Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE).(Copies available from us).
WHO Commission on Social Deter-
minants of Health
(http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/)
The Commission on Social Determinants of Health
(CSDH) supports countries and global health part-
ners to address the social factors leading to ill
health and inequities. It draws the attention of soci-
ety to the social determinants of health that are
known to be among the worst causes of poor health
and inequalities between and within countries. The
determinants include unemployment, unsafe work-
places, urban slums, globalization and lack of ac- Cochrane Oral Health Group
cess to health systems. (http://www.ohg.cochrane.org/reviews.html)
The Commission is chaired by Sir Michael Marmot Aims to produce systematic reviews which primar-
who is head of the Department of Epidemiology ily include all randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
and Public Health at UCL. The CSDH's secretariat in oral health. Oral health is broadly conceived to
is based at WHO's Department of Equity, Poverty include the prevention, treatment and rehabilita-
and Social Determinants of Health and at Univer- tion of oral, dental and craniofacial diseases and
sity College London. disorders.
WHA Passes resolution on Oral New systematic reviews:
Health - GENEVA, May 2007 •Pulp management for caries in adults: maintaining
The adoption of an action plan on oral health by the pulp vitality.
World Health Organization’s (WHO) 60th World
Health Assembly (WHA) is a landmark event. The • Psychological interventions to improve adher-
document titled “Oral health: action plan for pro- ence to oral hygiene instruction in adults with
motion and integrated disease prevention” will be a periodontal diseases.
4
• Oral appliances and functional orthopedic appli- Prof Richard Watt was made President Elect of
ances for obstructive apnoea in children. British Association for Study of Community Den-
tistry at the April meeting of BASCD.
• Resorbable versus titanium plates for orthog-
nathic surgery. Dr. Paul Batchelor, Prof Aubrey Sheiham and Dr.
George Tsakos were made Honorary Members of
• Orthodontic and orthopedic treatment of ante-
the Latvian Dental Association at the Baltic Dental
rior open bite in children.
Public Health meeting in May.
New titles of reviews that have been registered are:
Dr George Tsakos was elected as international Di-
• Cognitive-bahavioural therapy for the manage- rector for the Behavioural Sciences & Health Serv-
ment of teporomandibular disorders. ices Research Group of the IADR, after worldwide
elections by the group’s membership.
•Interventions for xerostomia in Sjorgren’s syn-
drome.
•Professionally-applied whitening of teeth in adults.
•Interventions for correcting relapse of the lower
front teeth after orthodontic treatm
News
Prof Aubrey Sheiham was made Honorary Life
Member of British Association for Study of Com-
munity Dentistry (BASCD) in April 2007, in rec-
ognition of his outstanding contributions to Dental
Public Health.
IADR Aubrey Sheiham Award for Distinguished
Research in Dental Public Health Sciences, The Prof Martin Hobdell was presented with the Golden
Executive Committee of the Behavioral, Epidemi- Apple Award of Health Volunteers Overseas(HVO)
ologic and Health Services Research Group at a recent meeting of the Dentistry Overseas
(BEHSR) of IADR announces the Aubrey Sheiham Committee of the American Dental Association.
Award for Distinguished Research in Dental Public HVO is a private, non-profit organisation, and was
Health Sciences. This award recognises a single founded in 1986 to improve global health through
research paper published in the current calendar education. It currently has programmes in 25
year, or in the calendar year prior to the current resource-poor countries, in a variety of health care
one, in the field of dental public health; both ap- fields. Martin was nominated in recognition of his
plied and basic research papers are eligible. leadership in creating and implementing graduate
level certificate and masters training programmes
The Sheiham award is intended to recognize excel- in dental public health at the University of Health
lence in dental public health research that would Sciences in Cambodia and at the Faculty of
include research in epidemiology, biostatistics, Odonto-stomatology in Vietnam.
health services, community-based prevention or
health promotion, environmental health, health
economics or health policy as applied to dentistry. Recent Publications
More information can be found on the IADR web- Watt, RG et al. A review and assessment of oral
site (XXXXX) health promotion outcome evaluation measures.
5
Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology nity for oral cancer screening? Journal of Medical
2006; 34, 11-17. Screening 2006; 13,47-50.
Malikaew, P., Watt, RG., Sheiham. A. Trau- Kelly, Y, Watt, RG., Nazroo, J. Ethnic differences
matic dental injuries: a major dental public health in breastfeeding initiation and continuation in the
problem in children in Thailand. Community UK: findings from the Millenium Cohort Study.
Dental Health 2006.(in press). Pediatrics 2006; 118, 1428-1435..
Goes, P., Watt, RG., Hardy, R., Sheiham, A. Watt, RG. From victim blaming to upstream ac-
The prevalence and severity of dental pain in 14- tion: Tackling the social determinants of oral health
15 year old Brazilian schoolchildren. Community inequalities. Community Dentistry and Oral Epi-
Dental Health. 2006 (in press). demiology 2007; 35,1-11.
Watt, RG et al. Establishing, implementing and Sheiham A and M Bonecker M. (Eds), Promot
maintaining a social support infant feeding pro- ing Children’s Oral Health. Theory & Practice.
gramme. Public Health Nutrition 2006; 9, 714- Quintessence Editora Ltda. London. 2006.
721.
Sheiham A. Dental caries affects body weight,
growth and quality of life in pre-school children,
British Dental Journal 2006; 201, 625 – 626.
Vettore MV, Lamarca G A, Leão ATT, Sheiham
A, Leal MC. Partial recording protocols for perio-
dontal disease assessment in epidemiological sur-
veys. Cad. Saúde Pública, 2007; 23(1):33-42.
Morita I. Nakagaki H Toyama A, Hayashi M,
Shimozato,M. Watanabe T, Tohmatsu,S. Igo J.
and Sheiham A. Behavioral factors to include in
guidelines for lifelong oral healthiness: an observa-
tional study in Japanese adults. BMC Oral Health
2006, 6:15 (20 Dec 2006)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6831/6/15
Morita I, Nakagaki,H, Toyama,A. Hayashi,M
Shimozato,M Watanabe,T. Tohmatsu,S Igo,J.
and Sheiham,A. Development of an oral saluto-
genic checklist to promote lifelong oral healthiness:
an observational study in Japanese adults. BMC
Oral Health
Watt, RG et al. Public health aspects of tobacco
2007.http://www.biomedcentral.com/imedia/84781
control: Setting the Agenda for Action by Oral
28881285861_article.pdf
Health Professions across Europe. Oral Health
and Preventive Dentistry 2006; 4, 19-26. Malikaew P, Watt RG, Sheiham A. Prevalence
and factors associated with traumatic dental inju-
Netuveli, G., Sheiham, A., Watt, RG. Do regular ries (TDI) to anterior teeth of 11-13 year old Thai
dental check ups provide an appropriate opportu- children. Community Dent Health. 2006
23(4):222-7.
6
Oliveira LB Marcenes W. Ardenghi TM. Shei- related quality of life: evidence from a national
ham A. Bönecker M. Traumatic dental injuries and sample of British older people. European Journal of
associated factors among Brazilian preschool chil- Oral Sciences. 2006, 114(5): 391-395.
dren Dental Traumatology 2007 23:76–81.
Masters and some PhD students 2007
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/edt/23/2
Sheiham A. and Tsakos G. Assessing dental needs
using a socio-dental approach. (A determinação de
necessidades de tratamento odontológico: uma
abordagem social), in Saúde Bucal Coletiva, 5th
edn, V. T. Pinto, ed., Livraria Santos Editora Com.
Imp. Ltda., São Paulo. 2006.
Bernabe ́ E, Tsakos G, Sheiham A. Intensity and
extent of Oral Impacts on Daily Performances by
type of self-perceived oral problems. Eur J Oral
Sci 2007; 115: 111–116.
Morita I, Nakagaki H, Kato K, Murakami,
Tsuboi TS, Hayashizaki J Sheiham A. Relation-
ship between number of natural teeth in older Japa-
nese people and health related functioning J Oral
Rehabilitation 2007:
10.1111/j.1365-2842.2007.01738.x
Bernabe,E. Flores-Mir C. Sheiham A. Preva-
lence, intensity and extent of Oral Impacts on Daily
Performances associated with self-perceived mal-
occlusion in 11-12-year-old children. BMC Oral
Health 2007, 7:6
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcoralhealth/
Bernabe E., Tsakos G., Sheiham A. Intensity and
extent of oral impacts on daily performances by
type of self-perceived oral problems. European
Journal of Oral Sciences 2007; 115(2): 111-116.
Dorri M., Sheiham A., Tsakos G. Validation of
the Persian version of the OIDP index. BMC Oral
Health. 2007; 7:2.
Tsakos G, Gherunpong S, Sheiham A. Can oral
health-related quality of life measures substitute for
normative needs assessments? Journal of Public
Health Dentistry. 2006; 66(4): 263-268.
Tsakos G, Steele JG, Marcenes W, Walls AWG,
Sheiham A. Clinical correlates of oral health-
7