Lower use of dental services among long term cigarette smokers

Study objective
Given the advanced stage of most oral cancer cases at diagnosis, it is hypothesised that a significant proportion of higher risk adults do not visit a dentist annually. The study objectives were to assess whether long term smokers were less likely to visit the dentist.

Design
Data from the 1998 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a population-based, random digit dial telephone health survey, were used to evaluate whether adults at higher risk of oral cancer attributable to long term cigarette smoking were less likely to go to the dentist, controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, and health related characteristics.

Patients
A representative sample of 2119 Massachusetts adults aged 35 and older.

Main results
Adults who were long term smokers were less likely than never smokers to have visited the dentist in the previous year (adjusted OR = 0.69, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.48, 0.99). Moreover, adults who were at higher risk from both long term smoking and low fruit and vegetable consumption were even less likely to visit the dentist than adults with neither risk factor (adjusted OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.22, 0.68). Among long term smokers, the likelihood of a yearly examination decreased with increasing smoking duration and amount smoked per day.

Conclusions
These findings support the hypothesis that adults at higher risk of oral cancer attributable to long term cigarette smoking are less likely to have routine dental examinationss, even controlling for socioeconomic and health related differences.The use of special clothing and shoes (or plastic covers to be worn over the shoes) is a common ritual for visitors of patients in intensive care units (ICU), To assess if this practice influences the contamination of the ambient air, microorganisms and particles in the air were collected at particular intervals on an ICU, For 15 days all visitors and people who did not work in the ICU continuously had to put on special ICU-clothing and shoes, during the next 15 days they were allowed to enter the ICU in their regular clothing.We found increased counts of particles in the air were detected when all persons entering the ICU had to put on the protective clothing, which may be due to the release of particles from the cotton material of the ICU-clothing. The microbial contamination of the air remained unchanged,As a result it has become evident, that it is not necessary for people visiting ICU patients to put on special ICU-clothing or shoes unless the patients suffer from a transmissible infectious disease or are highly immunosuppressed, In contrast, hand disinfection and usage of face masks in case of acute respiratory disease are recommended, In addition, coats should be take off and shoes changed if they are visibly dirty.