Australian dental journal
-
Australian dental journal · Dec 1998
Comparative StudyPain description and severity of chronic orofacial pain conditions.
A multidisciplinary pain centre study of 120 consecutive chronic orofacial pain patients assessed pain description and intensity ratings, gender differences, prevalence of concurrent conditions, and interinstrument relationships of the McGill Pain Questionnaire and visual analogue scale. Pain words chosen by patients to describe conditions were predominantly sensory words, and patients with concurrent conditions often listed words indicating a substantial affective component. Results showed pain intensity ratings of chronic orofacial pain conditions have similar or higher pain ratings when compared with other medical chronic pain conditions such as back pain, cancer pain and arthritis. ⋯ Temporomandibular disorder was present in 75 of the 120 subjects, as the sole pain complaint (n = 32) or as an associated secondary condition (n = 43), indicating concurrent pain conditions exist and may be related. There were significantly higher total pain scores of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in patients with multiple conditions compared with patients with a single condition. The visual analogue scale showed a significant correlation to the number of words chosen index of the McGill Pain Questionnaire for orofacial pain.
-
Australian dental journal · Jun 1997
Review Case ReportsSerious complications of endodontic infections: some cautionary tales.
While endodontic (dentoalveolar) abscesses can cause significant morbidity, in susceptible individuals they can pose life-threatening problems. This paper provides an overview of the more serious sequelae of endodontic abscesses, and provides examples of 'high risk' situations in practice in which these serious complications are more likely to occur.
-
Australian dental journal · Apr 1997
Audit of waste collected over one week from ten dental practices. A pilot study.
An audit of the waste practices of ten general dental surgeries identified problems that have occurred due to the lack of specific dental guidelines or codes of practice in this area. Occupational health and safety requirements for types and locations of sharps containers, and lack of consensus on what constitutes a sharp, were identified as areas needing attention. ⋯ When infectious waste was reclassified by the audit team as 'that waste which was visibly blood stained,' a reduction in waste in this category was made, during the audit, at each practice. The practice of disposing of radiographic fixer and developer into the sewerage system occurred in three out of the ten practices, even though the Australian Dental Association Inc. has discouraged this practice.
-
Australian dental journal · Oct 1996
Comparative StudyIntra-oral distribution and impact of caries experience among South Australian school children.
This report describes the intra-oral distribution of caries and frequency of reported toothache using data from 9690 South Australian children aged 5-15 years. School dental therapists and dentists recorded dmfs and DMFS data and a questionnaire to parents sought information about toothache and its impact. There were higher levels of caries experience in deciduous teeth (mean 6-year-old dmfs = 2.61) compared with permanent teeth (mean 12-year-old DMFS = 1.15). ⋯ In the permanent dentition, the majority of permanent caries experience occurred as fillings in pits and fissures of first molars and involved a single surface. Between 11.8 per cent (5-year-olds) and 31.8 per cent (12-year-olds) of children had a reported history of toothache, although the figure exceeded 50 per cent among children with all three forms of pit/fissure, interproximal and smooth-surface caries experience. The observed pattern of caries provides the basis for continued use of fissure sealants as a preventive measure among school children.