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Introduction: Oral health is an important public health issue that influences general health and quality of life. Mothers are key persons in families paying attention to whom not only guarantees their oral health, but also the oral health of the family members. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the dental service demand status and its related factors among mothers in Yazd city. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, total numbers of 300 mothers in urban areas of Yazd city were selected by cluster random sampling. Data was collected by a researcher designed questionnaire which validity was approved by a panel of experts and were completed by mother’s private interview. Results: Twenty seven percent reported that they use dental services less than 1 time per year, 28% reported 1 time per year and 45% reported more than one time per year. Only 30.7% had a regular check up program every six months. Annual dental services utilization rate was in relationship to educational level, receiving dental treatment source, the rate of a parent's attention to oral health, receiving oral health information source, socioeconomic status and deprivation from dental treatment because of financial problems. Having a dental check-up plan also was in relation to the above variables and income level. Conclusion: Demand for dental care among women is sophisticated and is in related to a variety of factors such as education level, financial issues, cultural issues, availability and accessibility of oral health services and cues to action. Addressing the above factors in intervention programs aimed to increase dental care utilization among women is recommended

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Introduction: health literacy is a fundamental part of the healing promotion. The aim of this study was to evaluate periodontal health literacy among patients. Materials and methods: 296 patients attending periodontal clinic who were above 16 years old participated in this study. Gathering data was based on screening questions on a 5-point Likert scale. After completion questionnaire, data was analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test. Based on the scores of questions, patients were classified as weak, medium and good health literacy. Result: This study showed significant difference in health literacy between age and education groups (P value = 0.015, P value = 0.003), while there was no significant difference between male and female (P value = 0.54). It was also revealed that patients who had been exposed to oral health education had higher health literacy levels ( P value < 0.0001, P value = 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed patients less than 20 years and over 50 years old had poorer heath literacy in relation of periodontal heath, also, patients with higher educational level have higher health literacy.

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Introduction: The importance of the periodontal health maintenance and promotion in diabetes mellitus has been supported. Evidence showed that many patients are unaware about effects of diabetes mellitus on oral health. The aim of this study is to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practice of diabetic patients concerning the risk of periodontal disease and prevention. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study, 156 diabetic patients referring to Yazd Diabetic Research Center were recruited by random selection. Patients completed questionnaires, which included 29 questions about their knowledge, attitude and practice of oral health in diabetes mellitus. The data was scored and analyzed. Result: The results showed knowledge (58.64) and attitude (46.86) scores of diabetic patients were moderate, while their practice (24.3) score were poor. There is statistical significant relation between mean scores of knowledge, attitude and practice of patients with their educational level and age. Conclusion: This study showed knowledge, attitude and practice level of diabetic patients were insufficient on oral health care.

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Introduction: The discipline of oral public health is known as a science and art of dealing with populationoral health. In order to improve public awareness followed by changing people`s life style itis necessary for the society to be exposed to massive oral health information.The aim of this study was to evaluate the routes of oral health information being delivered to the Yazd population in1389 Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study 16 blocks in urban areas of Yazd city were randomlyselected. A total of 400 subjects (8 years and above) were interviewed and thequestionnaire filled. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis with SPSS 18software. Results:Two hundred and twenty four male subjects (56%) and 173 female subjects (44%)participated in this study. According to this study the main sources of oral healthinformation on Yazd population where mass media (radio & television) (22.3%) and dentists(14.5%). It was also believed that radio and television and dentists were potential sources oforal health information. It was revealed that 67.5% of the population had access to theinternet. The use and the potential of internet for access to oral health information were insixth place. Conclusion: Oral health officials put more time andeffort for providing oral health programs in order to improve oral health conditions in thesociety. Science using the internet as a source of oral health information for access in thesociety was less important than some other countries are main due to, language problems,investment in this area is recommended.

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Background: Dental fear is a major factor in postponing and cancelling a dental appointment. The studies in this field are still limited. The current study was conducted to examine dental fear in patients going to dentists in Mashhad, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 400 patients were selected randomly from 20 dental offices in Mashhad. The data were collected, using Dental Fear Scale. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire have been measured and confirmed in previous studies. The data were analyzed, using the SPSS software to perform t-test, ANOVA, Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient, and Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient. Results: Nearly 20.8% of the participants had mild, 57.5% had moderate, and 21.8% had severe dental fear. The mean score of fear was statistically higher in females (49.95±13.3) compared to males (39.69±14.7). In terms of marital status, the highest mean score of fear was observed among the divorced and widows (51.82 ± 14.2). In terms of occupation, the highest mean score of fear was observed among the housewives (52.63±12.89). Correlational analysis showed the following inverse relationship between dental fear score and age(r=-0.18,p<0.001), education level(ρ=-0.28,p<0.001)and income level (ρ=-0.39,p< 0.001). Conclusion: females, particularly housewives, have a significantly higher level of dental fear, and it had an inverse correlation with age, education level and level of income and they should be considered in interventional and educational programs aimed decreasing dental fear level.

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Introduction: Oral health related quality of life - United Kingdom (OHQoL-UK) questionnaire is one of the instrument which measure both positive and negative aspect of Oral Health related Quality of Life (OHQoL) at the same time. The aim of this study is to evaluate OHQoL with remaining teeth and other variable using OHQoL-UK questionnaire. Method and Material: This cross-sectional study was done on 150 patients referring to Yazd dental university and Khatamolanbia clinic They were randomly asked to complete OHQoL-UK questionnaire. Number of teeth, present or absence of dental prosthesis (partial or fixed) was examined by the clinician. Then patients completed the OHQoL-UK questionnaire. Results: Sixty one male and 84 female completed the questionnaire. Male have higher mean quality of life score than female (68.8 in male and 67.9 in female) although it was not statistically significant (p=0.519). Increasing age was associated with lower mean quality of life score (p=0.214). Patients with more teeth have higher mean quality of life score (p= 0.002, rs=0.253). Mean quality of life score in patients with partial prosthesis was less than other patients but this relationship was not statistically significant (p=0.563). Patients with fixed prosthesis had higher mean quality of life score than others (p=0.05). Conclusion: According to the effect of dental condition on quality of life and effect of tooth loss on decreasing quality of life, required intervention should be done to improve dental condition and quality of life as a result.