Silver Diamine Fluoride Staining is Acceptable for Posterior Primary Teeth and Is Preferred Over Advanced Pharmacologic Behavior Management by Many Parents

Caries arrest using silver diamine fluoride: Knowledge, attitude, and perception of parents in Saudi Arabia

Objectives

The objective was to assess the current knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of parents toward the use of Silver Diamine Fluoride in children's primary teeth and identify related factors.

Materials and Methods

In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from Parents of pediatric patients who had appointments at the King Saud University Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and several private clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from Jan to April 2021. A simple random sampling method was used. An electronic questionnaire was designed to collect data regarding participants' demographics and their knowledge, attitude, and perception toward the use of SDF for their children.

Results

A higher proportion of parents/relatives (87.3%) was strongly satisfied with the speed of treatment and its benefits. In terms of disadvantages, 23.8% and 30.4% of the parents/relatives were satisfied and dissatisfied, respectively (P < 0.05). Regarding attitudes, the majority of participants 22.8% responded as neutral to using SDF to treat their children's anterior primary teeth (P < 0.05), whereas 32.2% agreed to the use of SDF in their children's posterior primary teeth (P < 0.05). A higher proportion of parents/relatives who were in the age group of >50 years (27.8%) had responded as "satisfied" compared with the responses of other age groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates that SDF is acceptable among Saudi parents/relatives to arrest dental caries. However, pigmentation of anterior teeth is a major concern.

Impact of Silver Diamine Fluoride Therapy on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Preschool Children with Behavioral Problems after Three Months: A Pilot Study

Background: In Austria, almost every second child has caries. The consequences of untreated carious lesions are infections, pain, and limitations in everyday life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) treatment on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of uncooperative children aged 0−5 years using the German version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS-G). Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the Medical University of Vienna. Preschool children with behavioral problems and carious lesions that required SDF application were included. The ECOHIS-G questionnaire was given to the caregiver before (T0) and three months (T1) after treatment. Using descriptive analysis and the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test, changes in the ECOHIS scores were evaluated and tested for significance. Results: A total of 30 children aged 0−5 years were enrolled and received SDF treatment. At baseline, the total ECOHIS score was 21.4 (±8.5). Three months after therapy, a significant improvement was achieved (16.3 [±5.6], p < 0.05). Significantly better scores were observed in six subdomains, especially in “child function” (3.9 [±2.0]) and “child symptoms” (2.0 [±1.3]) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Treatment of carious lesions with SDF in the primary dentition resulted in an improvement in the OHRqoL of children with behavioral problems.

Silver Diamine Fluoride in Preventing Caries: A Review of Current Trends

Aim and objective

Background

Review results

Conclusion

Clinical importance

How to cite this article

Caries arrest using silver diamine fluoride: Knowledge, attitude, and perception of adult patients in Saudi Arabia

Objectives

The objective was to evaluate the current knowledge, attitude, and perception of adult patients toward SDF and identify related factors.

Materials and methods

In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from adult participants of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A simple random sampling method was used. An electronic questionnaire was designed to collect data regarding participants’ demographics and their knowledge, attitude, and perception toward the use of SDF.

Results

The majority (86.6%) of the participants were females. Approximately 58% were ≤ 25 years of age. Overall, 77.1% of the participants had college/higher level education, and 34.2% had a monthly income of > 16000 Saudi Riyals (SAR). Approximately 75.8% of them did not suffer from medical conditions, 60.8% had tooth decay, 82.5% brushed their teeth daily, 77.7% flossed regularly, and 63% used fluoridated toothpaste. Dental pain or inflammation was reported by 87.7% of the participants (P-value < 0.001). A higher proportion of adult patients (47.8%) was strongly satisfied with the speed of treatment, 58.9% were strongly satisfied with advantages, and 24.5% were dissatisfied with disadvantages (P-value < 0.001). Disagreement (24.0%) toward SDF material use for anterior teeth was statistically high (P-value < 0.001). Females (64.5%) demonstrated strong satisfaction with the benefits of SDF material (P-value = 0.004). Participants of male sex (26.0%), education up to high school (33.0%), and income of > 16000 SAR (31.0%) showed statistically strong disagreement (P-value < 0.05) with use of SDF for anterior teeth.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates that SDF is acceptable among Saudi adults for the purpose of arresting dental caries. However, pigmentation of anterior teeth is a major concern, especially in male participants with high socioeconomic status.

Child discomfort and parental acceptability of silver diamine fluoride and alternative restorative treatment: A randomized controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVES

To compare pain perception of young children treated with SDF and ART, as well as their parents' acceptability of both modalities.

METHODS

Eighty, 3 to 8-years old children, having at least one deciduous asymptomatic tooth with active caries, as defined by the ICDAS II scores 4, 5, 6 were randomly assigned into two groups; SDF for caries arresting in the test group, and ART for caries removal in the control group. Pain perception was assessed using Sound, Eye, Motor scale (SEM), whereas parental acceptability was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS

Patients treated with SDF reported significantly less discomfort and pain compared to the ART group, with a mean SEM of 3.70 ± 1.47 and 6.18 ± 3.06, respectively (p < 0.001). A significantly higher mean parental acceptability score was detected for SDF treatment (31.85 ± 2.30) than ART treatment (26.75 ± 3.60), p < 0.001, with regard to the treatment duration, child comfortability and quality of treatment (p < 0.001). The only dimension showing more satisfaction for the ART treatment was esthetics of anterior teeth (p= 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Parental acceptability was higher for the SDF caries treatment of primary teeth compared to ART treatment, especially in relation to the shorter intervention time, child comfortability and acceptance as well as quality of treatment.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The shorter average time needed and the ease of application of SDF on cavitated primary lesions, in addition to parental acceptability, place SDF in an advantageous position over the ART on clinical level.

Parental Acceptance for the Use of Silver Diamine Fluoride on Their Special Health Care-Needs Child's Primary and Permanent Teeth

Purpose

The effectiveness and simplicity of the procedure and the low expense are the main advantages of silver diamine fluoride (SDF). It is useful for controlling caries in challenging patients such as those with special health care needs (SHCN). First aim of this study was to assess parents’ acceptance towards using SDF in SHCN children in their primary and permanent teeth. Second aim was to determine the factors that influence parents’ decisions toward dental treatment options.

Patients and Methods

This descriptive cross-sectional study included the parents of SHCN children aged 12 years old and younger who were actively seen in pediatric dentistry clinic at King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) and were receiving dental treatment. A previously developed and tested questionnaire was used. The surveyors received training about the questionnaire and participants’ consent was obtained before enrolling in the survey. The statistical significance level was set at P<0.05.

Results

Two hundred twelve participants completed the study questionnaire. Parents had a higher acceptance of SDF use regardless of the tooth location and type when their child had a positive history of pain and/or inflammation (P=0.019). In addition, parents had higher acceptance of SDF staining in primary teeth compared to permanent teeth (P=0.006). Moreover, the acceptance of SDF staining was higher in posterior teeth compared to anterior teeth in both primary and permanent dentition (P<0.001).

Conclusion

Parental acceptance of SDF was higher for primary compared to permanent teeth and posterior compared to anterior teeth in both dentitions, as well as for those with a positive history of dental pain and/or inflammation.

Parental acceptance of the utilization of silver diamine fluoride on their child's primary and permanent teeth

Purpose: Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is an effective caries control agent. The aim of our study was to investigate the parental acceptance of the utilization of SDF on their child's primary and permanent teeth and to determine the factors that influence their decision-making. Patients and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included parents of healthy children aged 12 years and younger and currently receiving dental treatment. The interview questionnaire was conducted and pre-tested for face and content validity. The trained interviewing dentists showed colored pictures of primary and permanent teeth before and after receiving SDF treatment. The statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Results: A total of 104 parents were included in the study. The mean parental rating of treatment acceptability of the staining associated with SDF was 3.9±1.95. The plurality considered the staining caused by SDF treatment strongly not acceptable 46 (43.4%). Parental acceptance of SDF treatment was significantly affected by the location and type of teeth. Parents showed significantly higher acceptance of SDF treatment on their child's primary compared to permanent teeth and posterior compared to anterior in both dentitions (P<0.001). In addition, parents of children with a history of uncooperative behavior during previous dental treatment were significantly more accepting of SDF treatment regardless of the type and location of the teeth. Conclusion: Parental acceptance of SDF increased for primary compared to permanent teeth, on anterior compared to posterior teeth in both dentitions and for uncooperative children.