Effectiveness of a preventive program based on caries risk assessment and recall intervals on the incidence and regression of initial caries lesions in children

A systematic review of caries risk in children <6 years of age

BACKGROUND

For caries risk assessment (CRA) tools for young children to be evidence-based, it is important to systematically review the literature to identify factors associated with the onset of early childhood caries (ECC).

AIM

This updated systematic review aimed to identify current evidence on caries risk in young children.

DESIGN

A comprehensive and systematic literature search of relevant databases was conducted to update a previous systematic review and identify risk factors associated with ECC. Potential risk factors were identified based on strength of association using odds ratios, hazard ratios, relative risk, etc. GRADE was used for rating quality evidence through consensus.

RESULTS

Twenty-two studies met inclusion criteria for the search from mid-2017 to 2021. Twenty-five publications from the prior systematic review, from 1997 to mid-2017, were also included. Several socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical variables were identified as ECC risk factors. Factors included the following: age, socioeconomic status, frequency of and supervised toothbrushing, fluoride exposure, breast- and bottle-feeding, feeding habits, absence of a dental home, past caries experience, active non-cavitated lesions, visible plaque, enamel defects, and microbiome.

CONCLUSION

This study provides updated evidence of risk factors for ECC that could be included in CRA tools.

Effectiveness of risk-based caries management among Chinese preschool children: a randomized controlled single-blind trial

BACKGROUND

Early childhood caries (ECC) remain a serious oral health problem on a global scale. Risk-based caries management (RBCM) implemented in some parts of the world has been effective in preventing ECC. However, there is a lack of prospective research on the application of RBCM among Chinese children, and little is known about its effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of RBCM in preventing caries among children aged 3-5 years in Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality, China.

METHODS

Three- to five-year-old children from four kindergartens in Wanzhou were randomly selected for baseline dental examination and caries risk assessment (CRA) and randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG) according to the kindergarten. The EG received caries prevention measures of different intensities based on the child's caries risk level. The CG received full-mouth fluoride twice a year according to standard prevention, regardless of their caries risk. One year later, another dental examination and CRA were conducted, to observe changes in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) index and caries risk, and to analyze potential factors that may affect the incidence of new caries.

RESULTS

Complete data were collected from 291 children (EG, N = 140, 84.8%; CG, N = 181, 83.4%). A total of 25.7% of the EG and 50.3% of the CG children developed new caries, with newly added dmft scores of 0.54 ± 1.12 and 1.32 ± 1.72, respectively (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that children living in rural areas, assigned to the CG, and rated as high-risk at baseline were more likely to develop new caries (P < 0.05). The proportion of children with an increased caries risk in the EG was significantly lower than that in the CG (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

RBCM effectively prevented new caries in 3- to 5-year-old Wanzhou children and reduced the proportion of children at increased risk of caries. It is an effective approach for preventing ECC.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trials Register. The registration number was ChiCTR230067551 (11/01/2023).

Development of short forms for screening children's dental caries and urgent treatment needs using item response theory and machine learning methods

OBJECTIVES

Surveys can assist in screening oral diseases in populations to enhance the early detection of disease and intervention strategies for children in need. This paper aims to develop short forms of child-report and proxy-report survey screening instruments for active dental caries and urgent treatment needs in school-age children.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study recruited 497 distinct dyads of children aged 8-17 and their parents between 2015 to 2019 from 14 dental clinics and private practices in Los Angeles County. We evaluated responses to 88 child-reported and 64 proxy-reported oral health questions to select and calibrate short forms using Item Response Theory. Seven classical Machine Learning algorithms were employed to predict children's active caries and urgent treatment needs using the short forms together with family demographic variables. The candidate algorithms include CatBoost, Logistic Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Naïve Bayes, Neural Network, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine. Predictive performance was assessed using repeated 5-fold nested cross-validations.

RESULTS

We developed and calibrated four ten-item short forms. Naïve Bayes outperformed other algorithms with the highest median of cross-validated area under the ROC curve. The means of best testing sensitivities and specificities using both child-reported and proxy-reported responses were 0.84 and 0.30 for active caries, and 0.81 and 0.31 for urgent treatment needs respectively. Models incorporating both response types showed a slightly higher predictive accuracy than those relying on either child-reported or proxy-reported responses.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of Item Response Theory and Machine Learning algorithms yielded potentially useful screening instruments for both active caries and urgent treatment needs of children. The survey screening approach is relatively cost-effective and convenient when dealing with oral health assessment in large populations. Future studies are needed to further leverage the customize and refine the instruments based on the estimated item characteristics for specific subgroups of the populations to enhance predictive accuracy.

ECC Status, CRAFT Categorization and OHRQoL Assessment in 3-6-year-old Children: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) can affect the health and quality of life of the children. Assessing a patient's risk of developing caries is an important aspect of caries management; however, can assessing the caries risk predict the impact of ECC on the OHRQoL? Few Indian studies have reported association between caries status, risk, and the impact on OHRQoL.

Aim

To assess the association between dental caries status, risk assessment, and OHRQoL in 3-6-year-old children.

Methodology

A total of 50 healthy children were recruited in a cross-sectional study. Parents filled the ECOHIS questionnaire. Caries status, risk, and OHRQoL were measured as dmft-pufa, CRAFT (Caries Risk Assessment for Treatment- an indigenous tool) and ECOHIS scores, respectively.

Results

Moderate correlation was seen between dmft and ECOHIS scores (r = 0.496, p < 0.01), and pufa and ECOHIS scores (r = 0.408, p < 0.05). More number of subjects with higher scores of ECOHIS were in the high-risk category of CRAFT (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Caries status, risk and OHRQoL were associated in 3-6-year-old children. Thus, caries risk assessment may predict poor OHRQoL.

How to cite this article

Iyer CR, Jawdekar AM. ECC Status, CRAFT Categorization and OHRQoL Assessment in 3-6-year-old Children: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(2):199-204.

Effectiveness of online caries management platform in children's caries prevention: A randomized controlled trial

Purpose

To construct an online caries management platform and evaluate its efficacy in children's caries prevention based on caries risk.

Methods

The study participants were second-grade pupils. The caries risk assessment tool (CAT) was used to grade caries risk for all participants, who were randomly divided into the experimental (114 pupils) and control (111 pupils) groups. The experimental group used the Internet for caries management, while the control group was managed by traditional lecturing in classroom. The caries status of each surface of the first permanent molars was recorded. The basic information and oral health knowledge, attitude, and behaviors of participants were collected by questionnaire. One year later, outcome data were collected. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to analyze the caries risk assessment items and oral health behaviors. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to analyze the decayed-missing-filled surfaces (DMFS) index, plaque index, and scores of oral health knowledge and attitude. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. This study was available on the website of Chinese Clinical Trials Register (No: MR-44-22-012947).

Results

After 1 year, the oral health knowledge score was improved by 20.58% (P < 0.001) in the experimental group and 6.02% in the control group. The plaque index was improved by 49.60% (P < 0.001) in the experimental group and 21.01% in the control group. The DMFS index increased in both groups but there were no significant differences (P = 0.608). The experimental group had a better improvement effect in caries risk assessment items than the control group, including "whether the frequency of eating sugary snacks or drinks between meals is more than 3 times/day" (P = 0.033) and the use of fluoridated toothpaste (P = 0.020). The experimental group was better than the control group in reported oral health behaviors, including frequency of eating sweets before sleep (P = 0.032), brushing time (P = 0.001), and the filled rate (proportion of FS in DMFS) of first permanent molars (P = 0.003).

Conclusions

The online caries management platform showed more advantages than traditional lecturing in improving oral health knowledge and behaviors (oral hygiene practice, sugar consumption behavior, and medical treatment behavior). This platform provides a reliable implementation path for the occurrence and continuous improvement of oral health-related behaviors.

Establishing risk-based recall interval for caries management among 11-12-year-old Pakistani children

Background

This study aims to investigate the rate of caries increment among 11-12-year-old Pakistani children over 18 months using modified International Caries Detection and Assessment Systems II (ICDAS) and subsequently establish an appropriate dental recall interval for our targeted population according to their caries risk intensity.

Methods

A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in Bhakkar, Punjab, Pakistan. The 226 children from seven schools of Bhakkar with the highest student enrolment were conveniently selected. Caries risk assessment was performed using a computer-based reduced Cariogram program. Caries increment among cavitated lesions was measured by modified Beck's method or adjusted caries increment. Two ICDAS II cutoffs were created for the analysis of cavitated lesion (ICDAS code 3–6) and cavitated plus non-cavitated lesion (ICDAS code A-6).

Results

At the risk assessment stage, 39.8% of the children were classified as low risk, 30.5% as medium risk, and 29.7% as high risk. Caries increment at both cutoff points increased with caries risk at all follow-ups. The highest caries increment was recorded at the third follow-up among high-risk children at cutoff 3–6 (1.95 ± 3.18) and A-6 (4.01 ± 4.31). However, the lowest caries increment was recorded at the third follow-up among low-risk children at cutoff 3–6 (0.18 ± 1.42) and A-6 (1.11 ± 3.33).

Conclusion

Based on the study findings for Pakistani children with cavitated lesions, the recommended risk-based recall interval for caries management is 18 months for those with low and medium caries risk and six months for those with high caries risk. On the other hand, recommendations for risk-based recall intervals for caries management in non-cavitated and cavitated lesions are six months for low-risk, moderate risk and high-risk for Pakistani 11-12-year-old children.

A systematic review to inform the development of a Canadian caries risk assessment tool for use by primary healthcare providers

BACKGROUND

Caries risk assessment (CRA) tools may assist in identifying children at risk of early childhood caries.

AIM

To complete a systematic review of CRA and develop a Canadian CRA tool for preschool children for use in non-dental clinical settings.

DESIGN

Systematic searches of relevant databases were conducted. Potential variables were based on strength of associations (odd ratios, relative risk, hazard ratios, etc), frequency of occurrence, and existing CRA tools. Quality of the evidence assessments were performed by at least two review teams through consensus following GRADE.

RESULTS

Overall, 25 publications met the inclusion criteria, all prospective in design. Based on this review, variables to be considered when developing a new CRA tool for use with preschool children are as follows: age, socioeconomic status, family toothbrushing habits, fluoride exposure, infant feeding practices, dietary habits/behaviours, dental home, caries experience, visible plaque, and enamel defects. The environmental scan identified 22 CRA tools suggesting other additional variables to consider including in a CRA tool, including special healthcare needs, enamel defects, and dental attendance.

CONCLUSIONS

This review informed the development of a Canadian CRA tool for use by primary healthcare professionals, which may improve access to oral health assessments and increase interprofessional collaboration.

Follow-up interval for dental appointments: a randomized clinical trial with children with low caries risk

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different follow-up consultation intervals on caries incidence in children with low caries risk. The study was composed of 224 children aged between 3 and 5 years and with low risk of caries. The children were randomly allocated into two groups, according to two different follow-up consultation intervals: Group 1 (G1) - 12-month follow-up interval; Group 2 (G2) - 18-month follow-up interval. All oral clinical examinations were performed by a single examiner who was previously calibrated and blinded in relation to the study groups. An external dentist provided the advice on oral hygiene and diet and evaluated the children's socioeconomic conditions. The Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used to evaluate the differences between groups. Poisson regression analyses were performed to assess the association of caries incidence with the other variables. At the end of the study there was a significant difference between the groups regarding initial active lesions (p = 0.012), and children in G2 were at a higher risk of developing initial active lesions than those in G1 (p = 0.047). Children who had a higher number of teeth with initial active lesions in the follow-up consultations were at a higher risk of developing cavitated dentin caries (p = 0.001). Both follow-up intervals are justifiable. Although significant results have been observed for initial active caries lesions within the 18-month follow-up interval, it should be noted that these lesions can be treated using just preventive measures. Besides, different return interval had no effect in cavitated dentin lesions.

Monitoring of caries disease by risk assessments and activity

ABSTRACT Dental caries is a non-communicable disease and is considered a public health problem. For diagnosis and correct treatment, the study of risk assessment and caries activity is necessary. The caries risk assessment is a way to formalize the balance and imbalance of predictably disease to diagnose dental caries. Therefore, the caries risk assessment is performed through different evaluation systems. Another parameter of great importance to be studied is the activity of caries, because through it is done the correct treatment decision for the patient. The objective of this article is to inform the reader about: the concepts and caries risk factors; the different caries risk assessment systems described in the literature; and which systems are validated. In addition, this literature review provides for identification and evaluation of risk factors and activity of caries lesions in order to enable greater objectivity in the diagnosis and facilitate the decisions of a successful treatment.

EAPD interim seminar and workshop in Brussels May 9 2015 : Non-invasive caries treatment

Aim

This was to collect information for the 9th European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry Interim Seminar and Workshops to discuss the state of art on non-invasive caries therapy to be used if possible to formulate clinical guidelines by European experts in paediatric dentistry

Methods

Based on systematic reviews and additional papers were assessed for methods to prevent caries initiation and caries progression both in the state of pre-cavitation and cavitation without invasive technologies.

Results

The use of fluoridated water, careful diligent daily use of fluoride toothpaste, fluoride varnishes, pit and fissure sealants and leak-proof restorative materials without excavation of caries are evidence based for caries prevention and for non-invasive treatment of pre-cavitated and cavitated caries. Other technologies are far less evidenced based and would not logically fit in guidelines for the non-invasive treatment of caries. Recent studies on cavitated lesions in the primary dentition demonstrate that thorough oral hygiene practices may arrest progression. This strategy depends heavily on the strategies in the dental surgery to change behaviour of children. An important aspect is for advice to be tailored at recall intervals to ensure compliance and to timely detect unnecessary and unwanted progression of the lesions.

Conclusion

Non-invasive therapies have been proven to be effective for caries prevention and the management of pre-cavitated caries lesions. Non-invasive therapies can also be effective to arrest cavitated lesions but the success depends greatly on behavioural changes of patients to brush the lesions.