“A process associated with the collection and production of intelligence that confirms that an intelligence collection or production requirement is sufficiently important to justify the dedication of intelligence resources, does not duplicate an existing requirement, and has not been previously satisfied. In computer modeling and simulation, the process of determining the degree to which a model or simulation is an accurate representation of the real world from the perspective of the intended uses of the model or simulation.”

MySmileGuideU^® is a secure, personalized, and interactive on-line tool for improving oral health awareness.  Teens, adults and seniors can “self-assess” for concerns that can affect their oral health and for family members.

1. You complete a registration form with your information or that of someone in your care.  This process creates personal health   folder

2. Based upon the registration, MySmileGuideU^® presents age and gender specific questions about habits, situations and conditions known to be risk concerns for oral health

3. Based upon your response to each question, predetermined health guidance is given to improve health awareness, empower healthy choices, improve oral health, seek timely preventive dental care or dental care for a problem

4. All of the health guidance is saved in an Oral Health Report and a Smile Scoreis provided  

5. To gain more value from dental checkups, The Dental Visit Checklist is provided in the health folder

6. A Satisfaction Survey is included in the health folder for feedback

7. You can access MySmileGuideU^® 24/7 from any internet portal or PDA

The information presented in MySmileGuideU^® is continuously updated to bring current evidenced-based oral health information to individuals and caregivers with the goal to empower health competence, autonomy and wise consumerism in agreement with established health professional organizations guidelines:

• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry: CAT (Caries-Risk Assessment Tool) and oral health practice recommendations
• American Dental Association/CAMBRA tool
• American Academy of Periodontology: Gingival and periodontal disease and oral health practice recommendations
• American Diabetes Association: Oral health recommendations
• American Heart Association: Oral health recommendations
• American Medical Association: Oral health recommendations  
• Healthy People 2010: Oral health recommendations, timely dental visits, preventive dental care  

Research demonstrates that oral health is significantly determined by non-genetic factors (i.e. habits, situations, life style choices, diet and self-care and child-care behaviors).  Studies ^1-9 show that caregivers can accurately self-report concerns (i.e. habits, situation, life style choices, diet and behaviors) recognized to impact oral health.

1. Rong WS, Bian JY, Wang WJ, Wang JD. Effectiveness of an oral health education and caries prevention program in kindergartens in China. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2003;31:412-416.

2. Weinstein P, Rosamund H, Benton T. Motivating parents to prevent caries in their young children – one year findings. JADA 2004;135:731-738.

3. Poutanen R, Lahti S, Tolvanen M, Hausen H. Parental influence on children’s oral health-related behavior. Acta Odontol Scand. Oct 2006; 4(5):286-92.

4. Saied-Moallemi Z, Virtanen Jl, Ghofranipour F, Murtomaa H. Influence of mothers’ oral health knowledge and attitudes on their children’s dental health. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. Jun 2008;9(2):79-83.

5. Tolvanen M, Lahti S, Poutanen R, Seppa L, Pohjola V, Hausen H. Changes in children’s oral health-related behavior, knowledge and attitudes during a 3.4 year randomized clinical trial and oral health promotion program. Eur J Oral Sci. Aug 2009;117(4):390-7.

6. Miller E, Lee J., DeWalt D, Vann Jr, W.Impact of caregiver literacy on children’s oral health outcomes. Pediatrics2010;126;107-114.

7. Tolvanen M, Lahti S, Hausen H. Changes in toothbrushing frequency in relation to changes in oral health-related knowledge and attitudes among children – a longitudinal study. Eur J Oral Sci. Jun 2010;118(3):284-9.

8. Vann Jr. W, Lee J., Baker D., Divaris K. Oral Health literacy among Female Caregivers: Impact on oral health outcomes in early childhood. J Dent Res 2010 89:1395-1400.

9. Divaris K, Vann WF Jr, Baker AD, Lee JY., Examining the accuracy of caregivers' assessments of young children's oral health status. J Am Dent Assoc. Nov 2012 143(11):1237-47.

The following research demonstrates that there is potential benefit for individuals to self-report habits, situations, life style choices, diet and behaviors.  Age, gender, education, ethnicity and income are significantly associated with oral health. Accuracy for self-reporting of oral health appears to be more predictive for dental caries rather than periodontal illness.  

1. Fosse NE, Hass SA. Validity and stability of self-reported health among adolescents in a longitudinal, nationally representative survey. Pediatrics2009 Mar;123(3):e496-501.

2. Liu H, Maida C, Spolsky V, Shen J, Li H, Zhou X, Marcus M. Calibration of self-reported oral health to clinically determined standards. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2010 December; 38(6): 527–539.

3. Jutel A. Self-Diagnosis: A discursive systematic review of the medical literature. J Participat Med. 2010, Sep15,2e8.

The key benefits of MySmileGuideU^®:

• To provide a resource for teens, adults and seniors to gain awareness of their oral health literacy and daily activity as significant to their oral and overall health or for someone in their care.

• To facilitate continuous patient centered care and interaction between health providers and caregivers and patients.

MySmileGuideU^® is a highly secure interactive tracking and behavioral health intervention platform under patent review by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.