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Purpose: Face-touching behavior has the potential for self-inoculation and transmission of the SARS-2 Coronavirus. The purpose of this study was to observe unconscious face-touching behaviors of dental hygiene and dental students in a non-clinical setting.Methods: Twenty minutes of archived proctoring videos of dental and dental hygiene students (n=87) while taking final examinations were watched for incidents of face-touching behavior. Data were analyzed for descriptive frequencies; independent sample t-tests were used to determine differences between dental and dental hygiene students and between males and females.Results: There was a significant difference in face touching behaviors between the student groups. Dental hygiene students (n=42) were observed 11.9 times (SD. 11.4) and dental students (n=45) were observed 8.9 times (SD, 7.9) touching the nose, mouth, and eyes (T-zone) (p=0.049). Differences in frequencies of touching the T-zone failed to reach significance between genders.Conclusion: Findings suggest both dental hygiene and dental students frequently touch their faces in non-clinical settings and need to be aware of this unconscious behavior. Given the significance of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to identify and quantify known risk factors that can be easily addressed to prevent/reduce infection transmission.

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Introduction. The unknown effects of electronic cigarettes are public health concerns. One potential effect of electronic cigarette fluid constituents, such as nicotine, may influence sleep. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is an association between sleep duration and electronic cigarette use. METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016. Variables of interest included responses to questions concerning electronic cigarette use, hours of sleep, and other variables associated with sleep. Data analyses were conducted with the Rao-Scott chi square test and logistic regression. RESULTS: This study was conducted on 2889 participants, aged 18-65 years, of whom 50.7% were female. Using a bivariate analyses of electronic cigarette usage and sleep duration, participants who never used an electronic cigarette were more likely to have appropriate sleep durations as compared with participants who were currently using electronic cigarettes (P < 0.0001). After adjusting for sociodemographic variables and cigarette smoking, current electronic cigarette use was associated with higher odds of less sleep duration (adjusted odds ratio = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.79; P < 0.0001). After adjusting for sociodemographic variables and cigarette smoking, current electronic cigarette use was associated with higher odds of less sleep duration (adjusted odds ratio = 1.82; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.79. CONCLUSIONS: Participants currently using electronic cigarettes are more likely to have less sleep as compared to participants who have never used electronic cigarettes. Implications. With sleep time duration being a major factor for proper body function and repair, this study can serve as confirmation that the use of electronic cigarettes is not a harmless health behavior.

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Drug-induced deaths have been accelerating over the last two decades. The aim of this study was to determine if states with high opioid-induced deaths and overall drug-induced deaths were more likely to have continuing education (CE) requirements related to opioid use/pain management than states with fewer opioid-induced deaths. Almost 200 state dental and medical law boards' websites were examined for CE requirements, license renewal periods, and CE requirements for opioid use/pain management in December 2018 and January 2019. Drug-induced death data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online database. States were categorized into quartiles of opioid-induced deaths per 100,000 population. A similar categorization was created for all drug-induced deaths. The results showed that states in the second, third, and fourth quartiles of opioid-induced deaths were more likely to have dental boards requiring opioid use/pain management CE than states in the first quartile in dentistry. This pattern was not the case with the medical boards' requirements. Dentists and physicians in states with higher all drug-induced deaths per 100,000 population were as likely to be required to attend opioid use/pain management CE as dentists and physicians in states with lower opioid-induced deaths. Although many licensing boards require opioid use/pain management CE in relation to their opioid-induced death rates, there is a need for policies to increase education in substance use disorders to reduce the number of drug-induced deaths.

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BACKGROUND: Given the critical importance of dental care utilization among veterans and the overall health consequences of tobacco use in all populations, the purpose of this research is to examine smoking as a risk factor for poor dental care utilization among United States Veterans. METHODS: A secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data from the National Survey of Veterans was conducted. The primary outcome was dental care utilization (Yes, No). Frequency, chi-square analyses, and multivariate logistic regression statistical tests were performed while adjusting for confounding factors. RESULTS: There were 6,308 veterans in the study. Veterans who were current smokers were less likely to have dental care utilization within the previous six months than former smokers or never smokers. In unadjusted logistic regression analysis, current smokers had an odds ratio of 2.83 [95% CI: 2.36, 3.40] as compared with never smokers. The adjusted odds ratio for current smoking on dental care utilization was 1.71 [95% CI: 1.40, 2.09] as compared with never smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Since veterans who smoked are less likely to have dental care utilization within the previous six months, they are at higher risk for later diagnosis of dental problems. Veterans who smoke should be specifically targeted with interventions to ensure frequent dental visits, so future problems may be averted or managed early in their development.

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PURPOSE: Light cigarette smoking has had limited research. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between light smoking in adolescence with smoking in adulthood. METHODS: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data, Waves I and IV, were analyzed. Previous month adolescent smoking of 1-5 cigarettes/day (cpd) (light smoking); 6-16 cpd (average smoking); 17 or more cpd (heavy smoking); and nonsmoking were compared with the outcome of adult smoking. RESULTS: At baseline, 15.9% of adolescents were light smokers, 6.8% were average smokers, and 3.6% were heavy smokers. The smoking patterns were significantly related to adult smoking. In logistic regression analyses, adolescent light smokers had an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 2.45 (95% CI: 2.00, 3.00) of adult smoking; adolescent average or heavy smokers had AOR of 5.57 (95% CI: 4.17, 7.43) and 5.23 (95% CI: 3.29, 8.31), respectively. CONCLUSION: Individuals who initiate light cigarette smoking during adolescence are more likely to smoke as young adults. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: When screening for tobacco use by adolescents, there is a need to verify that the adolescents understand that light smoking constitutes smoking. There is a need for healthcare providers to initiate interventions for adolescent light smoking.