Background
Dental caries has significant impact on children and their families and may necessitate treatment under general anaesthesia (GA). The use of oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) measures enables evaluation of dental treatment from a patient's perspective.

Objective
This systematic review aimed to assess change in OHRQoL in children following treatment under GA for the management of dental caries.

Methods
A comprehensive search was conducted to identify articles which were assessed against inclusion criteria before data extraction. Studies involving children under 16 years, having treatment for dental caries under GA, were considered eligible. Included studies were quality assessed.

Results
Twenty studies were included, which demonstrated significant heterogeneity. Most studies employed a pre-test–post-test design. All but one study relied on proxy reports of OHRQoL. Only half the studies used instruments validated in the study population. Whereas all studies reported improved OHRQoL overall, some subscales showed changes which were not significant or worsened OHRQoL. The scientific quality of the studies varied considerably.

Conclusion
Heterogeneity of included papers limited the conclusions which could be drawn. Treatment under GA appears to result in overall improvements in proxy-reported OHRQoL; however, there is a need for further high-quality studies employing validated, child-reported measures of OHRQoL.

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Change in children's oral health-related quality of life following dental treatment under general anaesthesia for the management of dental caries: a systematic review.

Stored media has evolved from a chrysalis of 35mm film conserved in dry, temperature controlled, dehumidified environments, to a digital world of spinning disks and LTO tape that can be accessed from something as simple as a browser. Brian Coleman reports.

Drowning in data

Background: Correct inhaler technique can increase medication efficacy, reducing both dose and side effects. Patient preference for inhaler device has not been fully explored, and we hypothesized that if patients have a preference and can choose their inhaler, they might be more likely to use it correctly. Our aim was to determine the preferences, attitudes, and perceptions of patients with asthma toward their inhalers, and to evaluate whether any of these factors were related to inhalation technique. Methods: Twenty-five patients with asthma (mean age 43.1 years) participated. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitative patient satisfaction and preference questionnaires (PASAPQ) were used to explore patients' preferences, attitudes, and perceptions about their inhalers. Objective inhalation technique assessment was performed. Data were triangulated to identify characteristics that could indicate a relationship between inhaler technique, satisfaction, preference, and decision making. ...

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Inhaler Technique in Asthma: How Does It Relate to Patients' Preferences and Attitudes Toward Their Inhalers?

This article reviews the use of the software program lp_solve version 5.5 for solving mixed-integer automated test assembly (ATA) problems. The program is freely available under Lesser General Public License 2 (LGPL2). It can be called from the statistical language R using the lpSolveAPI interface. Three empirical problems are presented to demonstrate how to use the program and interface to (a) simultaneously assemble multiple test forms with absolute targets for their test information functions, (b) assemble shadow tests for computerized adaptive testing, and (c) assemble multistage tests using relative targets for their test information functions, all subject to various quantitative and categorical constraints. The results of this study indicate that it is now possible for researchers and testing organizations to implement ATA for small to moderately sized test assembly problems using free software.

Automated test assembly using lp_solve version 5.5 in R

The present study aimed to elucidate the associations among self-rated oral health, clinical oral health status, oral health behaviors, subjective oral symptoms, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a group of Japanese university students. Of 2051 participants, 2027 (98.83%) students received an optional oral examination and answered a questionnaire including items regarding age, sex, self-rated oral health, oral health behaviors, subjective oral symptoms, and OHRQoL [The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14]. On oral examination, the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) score, Community Periodontal Index (CPI), the percentage of teeth showing bleeding on probing (%BOP), and malocclusion were recorded. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis was used to test associations. The mean score (± SD) of OHIP-14 was 1.92 ± 5.47. In the SEM analysis, the final model showed that self-rated oral health, oral pain, malocclusion, and the DMFT score were directly associated with the OHRQoL, and subjective symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis were both directly and indirectly associated (p < 0.05). CPI, %BOP, and oral health behaviors were excluded from the final model. OHRQoL was associated with self-related oral health, subjective symptoms of TMD, oral pain and stomatitis, DMFT, and malocclusion in this group of Japanese university students.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2Fs12903-016-0322-9.pdf

Associations among oral health-related quality of life, subjective symptoms, clinical status, and self-rated oral health in Japanese university students: a cross-sectional study

Background
To assess the impact of children’s dental health status (DHS) on their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL).

/pdf/impact-of-dental-health-on-children-s-oral-health-related-tie6wc3wtw.pdf

Impact of dental health on children's oral health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study.

While linear programming is a common tool in business and industry, there have not been many applications in educational assessment and only a handful of individuals have been actively involved in conducting psychometric research in this area. Perhaps this is due, at least in part, to the complexity of existing software packages. This article presents three applications of linear programming to automate test assembly using an add-in to Microsoft Excel 2007. These increasingly complex examples permit the reader to readily see and manipulate the programming objectives and constraints within a familiar modeling environment. A spreadsheet used in this demonstration is available for downloading.

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Three Applications of Automated Test Assembly within a User-Friendly Modeling Environment

Background: Correct technique and patient acceptance of inhalation devices for lung disease influence successful long-term management. Patient ability to use the proper technique may differ depending on the device as well as patient factors. Objectives: The objectives of our study are to measure self-reported level of acceptability of inhaler devices in community settings and compare correct use of inhaler devices using a novel scale for measuring appropriate inhaler technique. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled patients from 3 different practice sites with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were using an inhaler device. In addition to describing the samples’ overall acceptability and correct use scores for the different inhalers, acceptability and correct use scores were compared based on patient characteristics. Results: A total of 161 patients completed the study. The results show that acceptability was lowest for the pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMD...

Administration Technique and Acceptance of Inhaler Devices in Patients With Asthma or COPD

It is an exciting time to be a specialist in educational and psychological measurement. Powerful interdisciplinary forces stemming from developments in cognitive psychology, mathematics, statistics, educational psychology, and computing science are reshaping the measurement field. The influence of technology on testing, as outlined in Drasgow, Luecht, and Bennett (2006), is another commanding force that has become deeply ingrained in measurement practices. Only a short time ago, measurement specialists relied on specialized, often esoteric software to execute their psychometric procedures. But as with so many other aspects of educational and psychological measurement, dramatic changes are occurring. Take, for example, the test assembly process. Producing test forms that yield both reliable scores and valid inferences continues to be an important topic in psychometrics. However, the process of test assembly is becoming increasingly complicated as larger banks are produced using both manual and automated item generation procedures while tests are becoming more specialized and, hence, more constrained in both their content and statistical specifications. In fact, for some testing situations, manual assembly is now deemed impractical. Fortunately, efficient computerbased procedures for automated test assembly (ATA) have been developed (see van der Linden, 1998, 2005). Using optimization algorithms and heuristics found in specialized software such as ILOG’s OPL-CPLEX 5.2 coupled with CPLEX 10.0, LINGO 10.0 by LINDO Systems, Inc., or CASTISEL (Luecht, 1998), test developers can solve large, complex test assembly problems. To date, however, the widespread use of ATA techniques with specialized optimization software, even in operational testing programs, has been limited. One way to introduce ATA to a broader audience of researchers and practitioners is to consider software alternatives. This review describes and evaluates a software add-in created by Frontline Systems, Inc., that can be used with Microsoft Excel 2007 to solve large, complex test assembly problems. The combination of Microsoft Excel 2007 with the Frontline Systems Premium Solver Platform is significant because Microsoft Excel is the most commonly used spreadsheet in the world. With Excel—a program familiar and accessible to so many users—researchers and practitioners can now conduct sophisticated psychometric analyses using general purpose software that is readily available on most personal computers.

Conducting Automated Test Assembly Using the Premium Solver Platform Version 7.0 with Microsoft Excel and the Large-Scale LP/QP Solver Engine Add-In.

This study evaluated the relationship between enrolment in a school-based oral health prevention program (SOHP) and: 1) children’s dental health status and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and 2) mothers’ oral health (OH) knowledge, attitude, practice, and OHRQoL. This cross-sectional study, in the Kuwait Capital, included 440 primary school children aged 11 to 12 years and their mothers. Participants were classified into two groups: SOHP and non-SOHP. The SOHP group had been enrolled in the prevention program for at least 3 years: children had twice-a-year applications of fluoride varnish and fissure sealants if needed; mothers had, at least, one oral health education session. The non-SOHP group had negative consents and had not been exposed to the prevention program activities. Dental examinations were performed at schools using portable dental units. Caries experience was determined using the decayed (D/d), missing (M/m), and filled (F/f) teeth (T/t)/surface (S/s) indices. Children’s OHRQoL was assessed using a self-administered validated Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11–14 (CPQ11–14). Mothers’ OH knowledge, attitude, practice, and OHRQoL were also assessed. After Bonferroni correction, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for caries experience measures while a p-value of less than 0.013 was considered statistically significant for OHRQoL subscales and mothers’ OH knowledge, attitude, practice, and OHRQoL. Mean (SD) DT/dt, DMFT/dmft and DMFS/dmfs were 1.41 (1.66), 2.35 (2.33), and 4.41 (5.86) for SOHP children, respectively. For non-SOHP children, the means were 2.61 (2.63), 3.56 (3.05), and 7.24 (7.78), respectively. The difference between the SOHP and non-SOHP was statistically significant (p   0.013). Enrolment in the SOHP prevention services was associated with a positive impact on children’s caries level with no significant impact on mothers’ knowledge, attitude, practice, or OHRQoL.

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Ken Cor

Papers

Impact of dental health on children's oral health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study.

Three Applications of Automated Test Assembly within a User-Friendly Modeling Environment

Administration Technique and Acceptance of Inhaler Devices in Patients With Asthma or COPD

Conducting Automated Test Assembly Using the Premium Solver Platform Version 7.0 with Microsoft Excel and the Large-Scale LP/QP Solver Engine Add-In.

Impact evaluation of a school-based oral health program: Kuwait National Program.