Objective: (1) to provide a commentary on a conference held at the University of Manchester entitled Researching Water Fluoridation: Evaluation and Surveillance; (2) to synthesize from the proceedings of the meeting suggestions for future research and public health surveillance. Method: The main points and problematic issues raised by the speakers…

This report details two screening programs aimed at determining childhood nutritional problems within a given community. Discussed in section I is a simplified screening approach which involves gathering information about the frequency of specific food stuffs and food nutrients in the community; obtaining family demographic and dietary information…

Argues for the importance of fluoridation in childhood as a preventive health measure and critically examines objections raised against its use. (Author/SS)

Notes that changing nature of disease risks and functional health status with aging suggests need to focus health promotion efforts in older population where they will reduce morbidity, mortality, and disability. Sees little consensus in literature regarding efficacy of various health promotion practices and appropriate target groups within older…

Suggestions on how to choose a good dentist are given in this article. (JD)

Hearing loss as a result of meningitis, now the leading nongenetic cause of deafness in infants and young children, may be reduced by the introduction of the HiB (Hemophilus influenzae type B) vaccine. It is highly effective, relatively safe, and recommended for most children over 24 months and high risk children 18-24 months old. (VW)

A longitudinal study of 1,761 children found that children in nonsmoking households used significantly more outpatient services than did those in smoking households, a relationship largely accounted for by the use of more preventive medical services by those in nonsmoking households. (CMG)

This paper reports on one of the main goals of preventive dentistry, that is, encouraging children to remove plaque at least once a day. Two self-scoring systems were combined with two disclosants for a total of four experimental systems administered to 128 children. In the count method, the child counts the number of stained teeth; in the rating…

The author conveys a sense of the term "health" as connoting not a passive state of freedom from disease, but an active condition of being, of growth, development, and evolution. (Author/MJB)

A weekly "swish and spit" program takes about ten minutes of class time, effectively prevents dental caries, and promotes an awareness and greater concern for good dental practices in the school community. (MJB)

Discusses potential war time and medical uses for chemical compounds giving protection against radiation damage. Describes compounds known to protect, research aimed at discovering such compounds, and problems of toxicity. (EB)

Common among runners and athletes who participate in jumping sports, plantar fasciitis is an overuse injury that is potentially incapacitating, causes heel and arch pain, and usually occurs after sudden increases in running mileage, frequency, or speed. Therapy is described. (Author/CB)

In 2007, Sanofi Pasteur asked RAND Health, a division of the RAND Corporation, to study the current climate for adolescent immunization in the United States, to recommend broad strategies for immunizing low-income adolescents (through age 18), and to identify promising "on the ground" practices consistent with the proposed strategic…