A recent Dental Hygiene & Therapy digest,
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Study Type: Cross-sectional analysis (repeated national surveys, 2010 vs 2023)

Key Question: Have socioeconomic inequalities in untreated root caries changed over time as tooth retention has improved in Brazil?

Key Findings:

• Root caries prevalence rose from 16.0% (2010) to 22.0% (2023), with older adults most affected (22.4% → 26.8%).
• Absolute inequality by socioeconomic position widened among adults (SII −17.6 to −21.7 percentage points).
• Among older adults, inequalities were inconsistent in 2010 but became significant across all measures in 2023 (SII −23.8pp; CIX −15.4), concentrated in disadvantaged groups.

Clinical Relevance: As UK patients retain more teeth into older age, hygienists/therapists should anticipate rising root caries risk—particularly in socioeconomically deprived NHS patients—and prioritise targeted prevention (fluoride varnish, dietary advice, root surface monitoring) in this group.

Limitations: Findings are from Brazilian national surveys and may not directly generalise to UK population dynamics or dental care systems.

Study Type: Scoping review

Key Question: What factors help or hinder home-based oral health behaviours (toothbrushing and sugar reduction) in families of autistic children?

Key Findings:

• 17 studies (USA, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, etc.) yielded 93 barriers and 81 facilitators, mostly mapping to the COM-B "Opportunity" domain.
• Key TDF domains: Environmental Context and Resources, Skills, Emotion, Social Influences, Reinforcement; barriers included sensory sensitivities, emotional strain, and skill gaps, while facilitators included environmental adaptations, professional support, and routine-building.
• Sugar-related dietary behaviours were rarely studied, and domains like identity/optimism were underrepresented.

Clinical Relevance: UK hygienists/therapists supporting autistic children and their families (e.g., via community dental services or SEND pathways) can use these findings to tailor toothbrushing advice around sensory needs, routines, and caregiver emotional support rather than generic instruction.

Limitations: Evidence is geographically skewed (mainly USA) with minimal focus on dietary/sugar behaviours, limiting generalisability to UK populations and full oral health behaviour coverage.

Study Type: Retrospective population-based cohort study

Key Question: Does screen time at age 3 relate to dental caries risk, and does regular juice consumption modify this association?

Key Findings:

• Screen time >2h/day was modestly associated with caries vs ≤1h/day (aRR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04–1.12), rising to aRR 1.13 (1.08–1.18) among non-juice-consumers only.
• Regular juice consumption (aRR 1.32, 1.28–1.35) and lack of caregiver-assisted toothbrushing (protective aRR 0.66, 0.64–0.68) were stronger correlates than screen time.
• Among regular juice consumers, screen time showed no added risk (aRR ~0.98–1.00), indicating sub-additive interaction.

Clinical Relevance: Reinforces that caregiver-led toothbrushing and limiting sugary drinks remain the priority prevention messages for UK hygienists/therapists advising parents of young children, with screen-time reduction as a secondary, routine-related consideration.

Limitations: Observational design with caregiver-reported exposures limits causal inference and risk of residual confounding.

Study Type: Qualitative co-design study (participatory/Indigenous methodology)

Key Question: How can a culturally grounded oral health promotion training package be co-designed with Aboriginal Health Workers/Practitioners (AHW/Ps) to better meet Community needs?

Key Findings:

• 34 staff across three South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations contributed via Yarning sessions and iterative feedback to co-design training content.
• Participants prioritised practice-relevant oral health topics, resulting in a training package with knowledge and practical components, culturally tailored visuals, character-based videos, and local referral pathways.
• The co-design process itself strengthened relationships, trust, and Community leadership, highlighted as a key outcome alongside the training product.

Clinical Relevance: UK dental hygienists/therapists working with Indigenous, migrant, or underserved communities can draw on this model of culturally responsive, relationship-based oral health promotion co-design, relevant to reducing oral health inequalities in diverse NHS populations.

Limitations: Findings are context-specific to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in South Australia, limiting direct generalisability to other cultural or healthcare settings.

Study Type: Systematic review and network meta-analysis

Key Question: Does the choice of nonsurgical periodontal instrumentation (hand curettes, sonic/ultrasonic devices, or laser) affect clinical and microbiological outcomes?

Key Findings:

• Bleeding on probing, gingival index, and microbiological parameters showed no significant differences between instrumentation methods.
• At 1 month, clinical attachment level gains were significantly greater with ultrasonic (MD = -0.3875) and laser (MD = -0.2700) versus other methods (p ≤ 0.0001).
• At 3 months, Erbium laser produced significantly greater pocket depth reduction (p = 0.0069), while curettes showed superior plaque index improvement.

Clinical Relevance: For UK hygienists and therapists delivering NHS or private periodontal care, this suggests instrument choice can be tailored to available equipment and skill without compromising most outcomes, though ultrasonic or laser options may offer short-term attachment level advantages.

Limitations: Only 14 of 19 studies were suitable for meta-analysis, and heterogeneity in study design/follow-up periods limits certainty of comparative effect sizes.

Study Type: Qualitative study (participatory action research)

Key Question: What entrepreneurial knowledge and skills should be embedded in a 4-year dental hygiene baccalaureate curriculum to support access to oral health care?

Key Findings:

• A Focus Group of 6 faculty and 4 senior students, via 6 iterative sessions and grounded theory analysis, co-created a new "Social Intra/Entrepreneurship" curriculum domain.
• This domain includes 13 sub-competencies and 13 corresponding sample learning activities.
• A "challenge-based" assessment tool was developed and aligned to these competencies.

Clinical Relevance: As UK dental hygiene/therapy education and NHS reform increasingly emphasise widening access, skill-mix, and non-traditional service models, this curriculum framework offers a template for embedding entrepreneurial and innovation skills into training to prepare practitioners for expanded, access-focused roles.

Limitations: This is a small, single-institution curriculum development study using a self-selected sample, limiting generalisability beyond the Canadian baccalaureate context.

Study Type: RCT (double-blind, split-mouth, placebo-controlled)

Key Question: Does topical dyclonine hydrochloride mucilage reduce pain during guided biofilm therapy compared with a saline/hydrogen peroxide control?

Key Findings:

• DYC significantly reduced pain scores versus control across supragingival scaling, air polishing, and periodontal probing (median score reductions of 1.0, 1.0, and 0.0 respectively).
• Patients with dental anxiety showed greater pain reduction with DYC than those without anxiety.
• Twice as many patients preferred using the anaesthetic rinse over not using it (2:1 ratio).

Clinical Relevance: DYC rinse offers a simple, non-injectable topical option that UK hygienists/therapists could use to improve comfort and adherence during supportive periodontal care, particularly for anxious patients within NHS or private practice settings.

Limitations: Split-mouth design and small effect sizes limit generalisability, and sample size/demographic details are not reported in the abstract.

Study Type: Scoping review (26 studies, 2,353 participants; 1964–2025)

Key Question: What craniofacial and orthodontic alterations occur in people with thalassemia, and which factors influence their severity?

Key Findings:

• Common features included Class II skeletal pattern, mandibular retrusion, maxillary protrusion, increased lower facial height, and "thalassemic facies."
• Orthodontic anomalies included Class II malocclusion, anterior open bite, crowding, incisor protrusion, and narrow/constricted arches.
• Greater deformity severity was linked to chronic anemia, splenectomy, and delayed transfusion therapy; only one study assessed functional appliance treatment, showing improved mandibular advancement and facial esthetics.

Clinical Relevance: UK hygienists/therapists managing patients with thalassaemia (including those seen in specialist paediatric or haemoglobinopathy clinics) should recognise these craniofacial patterns and support early referral for orthodontic assessment, potentially reducing later need for orthognathic surgery.

Limitations: Included studies were heterogeneous in design and quality, and evidence on interceptive treatment outcomes is extremely limited (only one study).