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When a solution of cane sugar (sucrose) is warmed with dilute acids it is rapidly hydrolysed to a mixture of two simpler sugars viz. glucose and fructose. Glucose resembles cane sugar in being a dextrorotary compound, but fructose is so strongly laevorotary that the equimolecular mixture of glucose and fructose obtained by hydrolysis rotates the plane of polarization to the left. For this reason the above process is known as the inversion of cane sugar and the mixture of glucose and fructose so obtained as invert sugar. The breakdown of sucrose in this way will be better understood by referring to Figure 1.

As increasing numbers of older people retain their teeth for longer, the result is a dramatic change in both the volume and type of dental treatment required. In response to the ageing population issues, changing dental needs, a shortage of NHS dentists, and the creation of new roles in the dental profession, both the UK Department of Health and British Dental Association have emphasised the importance of dental workforce planning and in particular to estimating the size and skill‐mix of the dental team. The dental team includes such professions as dentists, hygienists, therapists and technicians. The purpose of this paper is to present collaborative work between operational researchers and dental public health researchers, and as such is the first academic project to utilise operational research (OR) techniques to address issues surrounding predictions on demand and supply of dental activities in England, with recommendations on the necessary skill‐mix of the dental team.

A three‐stage model has been constructed to predict demand for dental treatment, dental workforce supply and optimisation of the skill‐mix of the dental workforce team over the next 20 years. A cost‐benefit study is included and Monte Carlo simulation is used for sensitivity analysis.

The findings reveal a significant shortage in dental workforce supply, both currently and projected for the short‐term future.

Demand for dental treatment is certain to rise over the next 20 or more years. An ageing population coupled with trends in increased tooth retention will have a significant impact on the need and demand for dental care amongst older people in the future. This research makes a series of recommendations in order to expand public care provision in a cost‐effective manner.

There is an urgent need to provide recommendations on the desirable skill‐mix of dental teams, and their cost‐effectiveness. This paper presents novel collaborative work between operational researchers and dental public health researchers, and as such is the first academic project to utilise OR techniques to address issues surrounding predictions on demand and supply of dental activities.

Argues that excessive fluorides in groundwater are a serious water quality problem in some parts of Sri Lanka. The incidence of dental fluorosis shows a high correlation with the presence of groundwater in certain areas. Tube wells constructed in various rock types have shown different fluoride concentrations, possibly due to the different mineral constituents in these rocks and their relative capability of releasing fluoride ions into groundwater. It has been observed that the tube wells located in the dry zone have higher fluoride concentrations than those in the wet zone. The fluoride contents of groundwater show an inverse relationship with average yields of the tube wells, indicating the inverse relationship of aquifer permeability to the fluoride content in groundwater.

Examines the results of a new government survey into the eating habits of pre‐school children (1½‐4 ½ years). Discusses the effects on children′s health by examination of blood samples and dental examinations. Concludes with statistics on dental decay due to intake of certain foods.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and oral health among Thai adults.

This study is a cross-sectional analytical study using secondary data from the 7th Thailand National Oral Health Survey (2012). Age group 35–44 years old samples were used to represent the working age population. Oral health outcome was determined by untreated dental caries. SES was indicated by income, education and occupational groups. Demographic background, oral health-related behavior and access to dental service were adjusted for analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between independent variables and oral health outcome.

People with lower education showed a higher odds ratio for having untreated dental caries before and after controlling for related variables. Those living in the north and northeast, using additional cleaning tools and going to the public provider for dental service also showed better oral health.

The limitation of this study is that the cross-sectional study cannot indicate casual relationships. The national oral health survey was not designed to find relationships between factors. The access to data and measurement of SES was limited. The policy maker should emphasize on people with lower education which have a higher risk for dental caries to improve oral health in disadvantaged groups. Future research should include all related factors in the study including diet and knowledge about oral health. Moreover, oral health outcome is a long-term effect which accumulated through a lifetime. The social class might change over time and so do behaviors.

There is socioeconomic inequality in dental caries of Thai working age population.

Oral health is an integral part of the general health, however, oral health has been given lower priority than other health problems especially among the underprivileged refugee population. Out of total refugees in the world, 70 percent of the refugees belong to Tibet. The purpose of this paper is to assess the dental caries status and treatment needs of Tibetans residing in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India and to explore and suggest better oral health care delivery to them.

Tibetans above the age of 12 years were included in this cross-sectional study. American Dental Association Type-3 examination was conducted. Data regarding demography and oral health practices was recorded on a structured format. For recording dental caries, dentition status and treatment need index was used. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software. χ2 test, student t-test, and ANOVA test were used.

A total of 18,831 teeth were examined among which 82 percent were sound, 16.7 percent decayed, 0.7 percent were filled without decay, 0.1 percent filled with decay, 0.03 percent were bridge abutments and 0.15 percent teeth had traumatic injury. The mean DMFT was 7.3 and it was increasing with the age. Mean number of teeth requiring one surface filling, two or more surface filling, pulp therapy, and extraction was 1.27, 0.39, 0.21, and 2.08, respectively.

The study revealed low prevalence of dental caries among Tibetans and dental treatment requirement steadily increased with the advancement of age and was also related to other factors like poverty, education, and their tough life where oral health is given no priority.

At the moment, Finnish oral health care is undergoing many changes. Little attention has been paid to issues of organisational culture and communication in Finnish oral health care. Yet the question of culture is of primary importance for changes in an organisation and for planning and reconstructing the rational functioning of an organisation. The purpose of this paper is to examine Finnish public oral health care within a theoretical framework of organisational culture and to identify the various cultural traits that appear to characterise Finnish oral health care. Using a cultural point of view, we develop an orientation for understanding more profoundly and specifically the processes concerning the functioning and change of oral health care.

The paper examines African immigrant parents' views on dental decay and whether such views affect their decision to obtain dental insurance for their children. The paper also examines the cultural underpinnings of the immigrants' oral health care practices.

The data for the study were collected in the states of Indiana and Virginia. The data were collected in 2005 by the author and a research assistant. A total of 420 parents (220 males and 200 females) took part in the research, answering questions about 601 children.

The results indicate that a sizeable number of African immigrant school‐aged children are denied dental health due to a combination of cultural perceptions on dental health (such as families taking responsibility for cleaning their teeth themselves), parental ignorance on dental health, parents' perception of dental health practice in the USA, and the parents' weak financial standing.

The study is of considerable importance to dental care providers, public health specialists, social workers, and more especially the school systems that have African immigrant children, because as people who provide information and guidance to such immigrants, knowing about how the immigrants' cultural backgrounds influence their decisions about dental care will help to serve the immigrants more effectively.

A tremendous amount of effort has gone into the search for such compounds, usually with the aid of ‘screening’ techniques in which the potential agents are added to cariogenic diets fed to laboratory animals, and any effect on the level of caries is compared with that of a control group fed on the basic unsupplemented diet. A whole book has been compiled on the subject with different contributors reviewing progress in various classes of chemicals for which caries‐protective claims have been made.