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Implementation Of A Cancer Education Program In Rural Counties With The Lowest Hpv Vaccination Rates And Health Rankings, Sarah Arezo, Shillpa Naavaal, Charlotte Garrett, Marcie S. Wright, Vanessa B. Sheppard, Michael A. Preston

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). To address STIs, one rural county public school district developed a series of Family Life Programs to educate pre-teens about pertinent health information. The Schooling Cancer Program (SCP) was developed in partnership with the local Cancer Research and Resource Center to raise awareness about cancer risk factors including HPV-related cancers and HPV prevention methods. Methods: We collected a post-evaluation survey from students who attended a SCP session at one of the targeted middle schools. The SCP educated students about topics focusing on healthy lifestyles. The survey asked students’ …

Association Between Periodontal Disease And Oral Cancer Screening Among Us Adults: Nhanes 2011-2014, Shillpa Naavaal, Dina T. Garcia, Xiaoyan Deng, Dipankar Bandyopadhya

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Objectives:

To examine oral cancer screening rates and associated factors among adults with periodontal disease (PD). We hypothesized that adults with severe PD will be less likely to report receipt of any type of oral cancer screening than adults with no PD.

Materials and Methods:

We used 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data on adults ≥ 30 years. PD status was classified as no PD, mild/moderate PD, and severe PD. Survey-adjusted logistic regression analysis was used to examine the model adjusted risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the outcome of not receiving intraoral, extraoral …

Impact Of Making Dental Care Affordable On Quality Of Life In Adults Aged 45 Years And Older, Shillpa Naavaal, Susan O. Griffin, Judith A. Jones

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Objective:

The objective of this study was to examine the associations between self-reported ability to afford dental care and quality of life in adults aged 45 years and older.

Method:

We used publicly available cross-sectional data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey and its oral health supplement for 11,760 adults aged 45+ years. The increased probabilities of reporting dental problems attributable to an inability to afford dental care were estimated from multivariate models and combined with respective dental problem disability weights from the Global Burden of Disease to measure loss in quality of life.

Results:

Prevalence of reported inability …

Lifestyle Risk Factor Related Disparities In Oral Cancer Examination In The U.S: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study, Aderonke A. Akinkugbe, Dina T. Garcia, Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, Maghboeba Mosavel

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Background: Oral cancers account for 3% of annual U.S. cancer diagnosis, 2 in 5 of which are diagnosed late when prognosis is poor. The purpose of this study was to report the population-level prevalence of oral cancer examination among adult smokers and alcohol drinkers and assess if these modifiable lifestyle factors are associated with receiving an oral cancer examination.

Methods: Adult participants ≥30 years (n = 9374) of the 2013–2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included. Oral cancer examination (yes/no), smoking (never, former, current) and alcohol use (abstainers, former, current) were self-reported. Survey-logistic regression …

Hours Lost To Planned And Unplanned Dental Visits Among Us Adults, Uma Kelekar, Shillpa Naavaal

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Introduction

Poor oral health is associated with lost hours at work or school, which may affect a person’s productivity. The objective of our study was to estimate work or school hours lost to dental visits among adults aged 18 and older by the types of visits (emergency or unplanned; routine, planned, or orthodontic; or cosmetic) and to determine the factors associated with hours lost.

Methods

We used the most recent Oral Health Supplement data, from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), to estimate the total hours lost at work or school for dental visits among adults in the United …