Dental Public Health – Part I: Principles in Dental Public Health
Pre-Test and Post-Test Questions
1. According to the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, what proportion of the U.S.
population is in some stage of oral or pharyngeal cancer?
a. 0.8%
b. 3%
c. 11%
d. 28%
e. 62%
2. Which of the following is not considered an essential public health function?
a. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
b. Deliver services necessary to complete treatment plans and ensure satisfied patients.
c. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based
health services.
d. Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.
e. Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
3. The key difference between the dental private practice model and the dental public health
model is:
a. The dental private practice model is based upon fee for services, while public health
dental programs are not fee-based.
b. The dental private practice model employs staff based upon state licensure
requirements, while the public health practice model employs mostly staff that are
trained on the job.
c. The dental private practice model is governed by organized dentistry, while the public
health practice model is governed by the federal government.
d. The dental private practice model strictly applies a six-month recall system, while the
public health practice model applies a risk-based preventive recall system.
e. The dental private practice model focuses on the health of the individual patient, while
the public health practice model focuses on the health of the community or population.
4. Which of the following statements is not true about incidence and prevalence?
a. Incidence is a measure of the number of new cases of a specified disease during a given
time period.
b. Prevalence is a measure of the number of people in a population with a specified
disease at a specific point in time.
c. Both prevalence and incidence can decrease significantly through the successful efforts
of a community-based program.
d. A cross-sectional study measures prevalence of a disease.
e. A survey measures prevalence of a disease.
5. A relative risk ratio of 1.8 in a population A would indicate:
a. That an individual in population A would have almost double the odds of getting a
disease as compared to someone in the other population of non-exposed individuals.
b. The risk of an individual in population A contracting a disease would be greater than the
risk of an individual in the non-exposed population.
c. There is a negative association between the exposure and contracting the specified
disease.
d. Because of the high relative risk, there is almost absolute certainty that an individual in
population A would contract the specified disease as opposed to the non-exposed
individual.
e. There exists a direct cause-and-effect relationship between exposure and contracting
the specified disease.
6. Potential types of bias that can affect the validity of dental research include all of the following
except:
a. Surveillance bias
b. Reporting bias
c. Recall bias
d. Selection bias
e. Risk bias
7. The four data requirements required in dental research include all of the following except:
a. A graphic representation of key data elements.
b. A measure of central tendency (mean, median, or mode)
c. A measure of variation (standard error, standard deviation, confidence intervals)
d. A statement about the number of objects studied
e. Clarity in how the measurement was done
8. Which of the following is not true about surveys?
a. One of the drawbacks of the 1999 IHS Oral Health Survey was sample bias that could
have resulted in over-representation of patients with dental disease.
b. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is considered to be one
of the best national surveys currently in use, combining both health interviews and a
clinical examination.
c. The 1999 IHS Oral Health Survey showed that the greatest dental disease disparity
between the American Indian/Alaska Native population and the U.S. general population
was in the proportion of patients with untreated decay (a difference of almost 40%).
d. The 1999 IHS Oral Health Survey was comprehensive in that all American Indian/Alaska
Native dental patients at participating sites were examined for the survey.
e. The Basic Screening Survey (BSS) is used by the majority of state dental programs to
assess oral health status and the prevalence of dental disease in the population.
9. Oral conditions have been linked to all of the following systemic conditions except which?
a. Cardiovascular Disease
b. Poly-cystic kidney disease (PKD)
c. Delivery of pre-term, low birth weight babies
d. Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
e. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
10. Which of the following statements is true?
a. An estimated 723 million school hours per year are lost because of dental visits and oral
health problems.
b. Approximately 80 percent of untreated dental caries is found in about 25 percent of
adults aged 35-44 years.
c. Early childhood caries has an impact on speech development, nutrition, and quality of
life, even into adulthood.
d. Children whose mothers have poor oral health are five times less likely to have oral
health problems than children whose mothers have good oral health.
e. There is no relationship that poor oral health can lead to decreased school performance,
and poor social relationships.
Dental Public Health – Part I: Principles in Dental Public Health
Answer Key
1. According to the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, what proportion of the U.S.
population is in some stage of oral or pharyngeal cancer?
a. 0.8%
b. 3%
c. 11% [Slide 5, AAPHD]
d. 28%
e. 62%
2. Which of the following is not considered an essential public health function? [Slides 6-7, ASPH]
a. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
b. Deliver services necessary to complete treatment plans and ensure satisfied patients.
c. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based
health services.
d. Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems.
e. Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
3. The key difference between the dental private practice model and the dental public health
model is:
a. The dental private practice model is based upon fee for services, while public health
dental programs are not fee-based.
b. The dental private practice model employs staff based upon state licensure
requirements, while the public health practice model employs mostly staff that are
trained on the job.
c. The dental private practice model is governed by organized dentistry, while the public
health practice model is governed by the federal government.
d. The dental private practice model strictly applies a six-month recall system, while the
public health practice model applies a risk-based preventive recall system.
e. The dental private practice model focuses on the health of the individual patient,
while the public health practice model focuses on the health of the community or
population. [Slide 10, Introduction to Public Health]
4. Which of the following statements is not true about incidence and prevalence?
a. Incidence is a measure of the number of new cases of a specified disease during a given
time period.
b. Prevalence is a measure of the number of people in a population with a specified
disease at a specific point in time.
c. Both prevalence and incidence can decrease significantly through the successful
efforts of a community-based program. [Slides 12 & 16]
d. A cross-sectional study measures prevalence of a disease.
e. A survey measures prevalence of a disease.
5. A relative risk ratio of 1.8 in a population A would indicate:
a. That an individual in population A would have almost double the odds of getting a
disease as compared to someone in the other population of non-exposed individuals.
b. The risk of an individual in population A contracting a disease would be greater than
the risk of an individual in the non-exposed population. [Slides 14 & 15]
c. There is a negative association between the exposure and contracting the specified
disease.
d. Because of the high relative risk, there is almost absolute certainty that an individual in
population A would contract the specified disease as opposed to the non-exposed
individual.
e. There exists a direct cause-and-effect relationship between exposure and contracting
the specified disease.
6. Potential types of bias that can affect the validity of dental research include all of the following
except: [Slide 17, Epidemiology]
a. Surveillance bias
b. Reporting bias
c. Recall bias
d. Selection bias
e. Risk bias
7. The four data requirements required in dental research include all of the following except:
a. A graphic representation of key data elements. [Slide 28, Critical Research]
b. A measure of central tendency (mean, median, or mode)
c. A measure of variation (standard error, standard deviation, confidence intervals)
d. A statement about the number of objects studied
e. Clarity in how the measurement was done
8. Which of the following is not true about surveys?
a. One of the drawbacks of the 1999 IHS Oral Health Survey was sample bias that could
have resulted in over-representation of patients with dental disease.
b. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is considered to be one
of the best national surveys currently in use, combining both health interviews and a
clinical examination.
c. The 1999 IHS Oral Health Survey showed that the greatest dental disease disparity
between the American Indian/Alaska Native population and the U.S. general population
was in the proportion of patients with untreated decay (a difference of almost 40%).
d. The 1999 IHS Oral Health Survey was comprehensive in that all American
Indian/Alaska Native dental patients at participating sites were examined for the
survey. [Slide 22, IHS Oral Health Survey]
e. The Basic Screening Survey (BSS) is used by the majority of state dental programs to
assess oral health status and the prevalence of dental disease in the population.
9. Oral conditions have been linked to all of the following systemic conditions except which?
a. Cardiovascular Disease
b. Poly-cystic kidney disease (PKD) [Slide 33, Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health]
c. Delivery of pre-term, low birth weight babies
d. Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
e. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
10. Which of the following statements is true?
a. An estimated 723 million school hours per year are lost because of dental visits and oral
health problems. [Slide 38, 51 million, Gift et al]
b. Approximately 80 percent of untreated dental caries is found in about 25 percent of
adults aged 35-44 years. [Slide 38, 5-17 year-olds, US GAO]
c. Early childhood caries has an impact on speech development, nutrition, and quality of
life, even into adulthood. [Slide 36, NCMOHRC]
d. Children whose mothers have poor oral health are five times less likely to have oral
health problems than children whose mothers have good oral health. [Slide 38, more
likely, Clothier et al]
e. There is no relationship that poor oral health can lead to decreased school performance,
and poor social relationships. [Slide 36, “is a relationship,” US GAO]