The present study is part of the first national oral health survey for children in Romania. The aim of this study was to determine caries prevalence in correlation with the level of the parents’ education, preventive behavior, and socioeconomic parameters in 11–14-year-old schoolchildren in Romania. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was designed and conducted in 2019–2020. The sampled children were selected from 49 schools distributed in rural and urban areas of Romania, including its capital. Data were collected using the Oral Health Questionnaire for Children developed by the World Health Organization and described in the WHO Oral Health Surveys—Basic Methods, 5th edition, 2013, after positive informed consent. To express prevalence and severity of carious lesions, International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria were recorded in school for 814 schoolchildren (388 boys and 426 girls) aged between 11 and 14 years old (mean age 12.29 ± 0.6). Elements regarding the specificity of the child (gender, age, and parental education) were tabulated against preventive behavior. The parents’ education was correlated with three clinical indices in order to assess the existence or lack of certain significant differences among schoolchildren in Romania. In terms of correlation between the mother’s education and preventive behavior, results showed a significant positive correlation in case of dental check-ups (r_s = 0.08 *, p < 0.05), brushing (r_s = 0.02 **, p < 0.01), and use of different types of dental hygiene aids (r_s = 0.06 **, p < 0.01) and a negative correlation with tooth pain or discomfort (r_s = −0.01 **, p < 0.01). A statistically significant positive relationship was highlighted between the mother’s education and the presence of restorations (r_s = −0.09 **, p < 0.01). Regarding the father’s education, there was a positive relationship with oral hygiene behavior (r_s = 0.18 **, p < 0.01) but a negative relationship with the D₃T index (r_s = −0.18 **, p < 0.01). In conclusion, there was a strong correlation between the parents’ education, preventive behavior, and oral health status of Romanian schoolchildren.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have developed preparedness and prevention checklists for healthcare professionals regarding the containment of COVID-19. The aim of the present protocol is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak among dentists in different countries where various prevalence of the epidemic has been reported. Several research groups around the world were contacted by the central management team. The online anonymous survey will be conducted on a convenience sample of dentists working both in national health systems and in private or public clinics. In each country/area, a high (~5–20%) proportion of dentists working there will be invited to participate. The questionnaire, developed and standardized previously in Italy, has four domains: (1) personal data; (2) symptoms/signs relative to COVID-19; (3) working conditions and PPE (personal protective equipment) adopted after the infection’s outbreak; (4) knowledge and self-perceived risk of infection. The methodology of this international survey will include translation, pilot testing, and semantic adjustment of the questionnaire. The data will be entered on an Excel spreadsheet and quality checked. Completely anonymous data analyses will be performed by the central management team. This survey will give an insight into the dental profession during COVID-19 pandemic globally.

(1) Background: The link between oral and systemic health is becoming increasingly obvious. Oral diseases, particularly periodontitis, have been linked to various diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, among others. This survey aimed to assess the oral health condition of individuals, considering both their overall health and periodontal status, by performing oral examinations and collecting data using questionnaires. (2) Methods: After obtaining approval from the University’s Ethics Committee, the study was carried out from 2021 to 2022 at the Department of Oral Health, located in the Emergency Municipal Hospital in Timisoara, Timis County, Romania. Bivariate correlations were performed using nonparametric Spearman’s Rho using SPPS software version 23. To assess the importance of smoking frequency related to the severity of periodontitis diagnosis, the ANOVA Simple test (one-way) and Hochberg GT2 post hoc analysis were utilized. The chi-squared test was employed for nominal variables. A significance level of 0.05 (alpha = 0.05) was adopted for all statistical tests. (3) Results: There is a significant positive association between the frequency of systemic disease and the severity of the periodontitis diagnosis taken as a total, Rho (242) = 0.151, p < 0.05, and taken as a stage, Rho (242) = 0.199, p < 0.01, thus as the severity of the diagnosis increases, the patient presents comorbidities. Hochberg GT2 post hoc analysis indicates that the non-smoking group has statistically significantly lower diagnostic severity (Mdif = −0.81, p = 0.01), with a strong effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.73). (4) Conclusions: The findings are increasingly indicating a potential association between oral diseases and a range of systemic diseases. The impact of periodontal disease on the quality of life is significant, especially in individuals with associated systemic conditions and present risk factors.

Dental caries still have a high prevalence in Romania. The aim of this paper is to determine the prevalence of caries in children (aged 6 to 8 years) correlated with individual-level predictors and socio-economic variables. A stratified, randomized nationally representative sample was established, taking into consideration the total number of preschool children and based on administrative units and residence. Self-assessment was performed by means of the Oral Health Questionnaire for Children (WHO). Examinations were conducted by 10 standardized examiners, with International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) caries codes higher than 3 considered as dentinal caries, missing teeth as MT, and restorations as FT. DMFT and SiC indexes were calculated accordingly. The dataset for each outcome variable was analyzed by the Hurdle approach analyzed. The gender distribution was similar (47.22% male and 52.78% female), with 42.65% residing in rural areas. The mean DMFT value for the sample was 4.89 and SiC index 9.83. A negative association could be seen between DMFT and the father’s level of education (β = −0.33, SE = 0.07, p < 0.01) as well as the mother’s education (β = −0.25, SE = 0.07, p < 0.01). In conclusion, caries prevalence is very high in Romania as compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for this age group in correlation with socio-economic factors and oral health behavior.

Background: Understanding of socioeconomic context might enable more efficient evidence‐based preventive strategies in oral health.Aim: The study assessed the caries‐related socioeconomic macro‐factors in 12‐year‐olds across European countries.Design: This systematic review involved epidemiological surveys on the caries status of 12‐year‐olds from 2011 to 2022. DMFT was analyzed in relation to gross national income (GNI), United Nations Statistical Division geographical categorization of European countries (M49), unemployment rate, Human Development Index (HDI), and per capita expenditure on dental health care. A meta‐analysis was performed for countries reporting data on DMFT, stratified by GNI, and geographical location of European countries, using a random‐effects model.Results: The study involved 493 360 children from 36 countries in the geographic region of Europe. The analysis confirmed a strong negative correlation between income and caries experience (p < .01). Children living in higher‐income countries showed 90% lower odds of poor oral health than in middle‐income countries. Children living in West Europe showed 90% lower odds of poor oral health than children living in East Europe.Conclusion: The strong effect of macro‐level socioeconomic contexts on children's oral health suggests favoring upstream preventive oral health strategies in countries with economic growth difficulties, Eastern and Southern parts of Europe.

Oral health-related behaviors and living conditions play an important role in general and oral health. This study aimed to evaluate caries prevalence and severity in schoolchildren residing in rural and urban areas of Romania, and to correlate these with oral health-related behaviors. An estimation of the required sample size was conducted (sampling error of ±3% at a 95% confidence level), followed by the stratification of administrative units and then the selection of 49 schools. The Hurdle approach was used to analyze the dataset, requiring two sets of analyses for each outcome variable: a multilevel binary model to predict prevalence, and a multilevel Poisson analysis using only non-zero values. The mean and standard deviation (SD) for the dentinal caries index was 4.96 (5.33). Girls were more likely to have non-zero restoration codes (β = 0.14, SE = 0.08, p < 0.05). Low education levels of each parent were associated with an increased likelihood of having non-zero carious tooth surfaces (β = 0.23, SE = 0.06, p = 0.01; β = 0.22, SE = 0.06, p < 0.01). The presence of cavities was predicted by the consumption of carbonated soft drinks (β = 0.19, SE = 0.07, p < 0.01), candies (β = 0.13, SE = 0.06, p < 0.01), sweetened milk (β = 0.12, SE = 0.06, p < 0.05), tea (β = 0.16, SE = 0.08, p < 0.05), or cocoa (β = 0.13, SE = 0.06, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the non-zero values of the dentinal caries index were more likely in rural schools (β = −0.37, SE = 0.11, p < 0.01), and a negative association between the county development index and the fillings/restorations index (β = −0.01, SE = 0.01, p < 0.05) was also established. The outcome of this research highlights that the presence of caries (dentinal caries index) in Romanian schoolchildren is influenced by their socioeconomic background, as well as their specific consumption behaviors.