Impact of early childhood caries severity on oral health-related quality of life among preschool children in Mexico: A cross-sectional study

Early Childhood Caries-Prevalence, Associated Factors, and Severity: A Hospital-Based Study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Early childhood caries (ECC) is not merely a problem of the tooth; rather, it has negative impacts on the child's growth and development and oral health-related quality of life. The prevalence of ECC varies widely, and more variance is observed between countries than continents, and it changes over time. The current cross-sectional study aimed to determine ECC's prevalence, associated factors, and severity. This study was conducted in the Dental Clinic Complex, North Riyadh, KSA. The study sample included 306 participants between 36 and 71 months of age. A questionnaire was developed to collect information from participants. The decaying and filled teeth (DMFT) index was used to estimate the prevalence of caries. The study results revealed the prevalence of ECC to be 76% among 36- to 71-month-old children in North Riyadh. ECC is influenced by socioeconomic factors like maternal occupation, education, oral hygiene habits, and dietary patterns. Also, it was found that exclusively breastfed children have lower ECC odds (68.1% vs. 83.6%, p = 0.001), while the intake of more than three between-meal sugar-containing snacks/beverages per day increases the likelihood of ECC (63.5% vs. 79.8%, p = 0.006). The researchers recommend encouraging breastfeeding as it correlates with lower ECC prevalence, in addition to establishing effective oral hygiene practices for preschool children.

Comparative Evaluation of Fluoride Release from Four Commercially Available Pediatric Dental Restorative Materials

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the fluoride-releasing abilities of commercially available restorative materials such as-Activa™ BioActive-restorative™ material, Zirconomer (Shofu Inc), Beautifil® II (Shofu Inc), GC Gold Label 9 high strength posterior restorative glass ionomer cement (GIC Corp).

Materials and methods

A total of 40 disk specimens (10 of each material) were placed into distilled/deionized (DI) water and the fluoride release was measured for 30 days. Fluoride ion measurement was performed at the end of the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 15th, and 30th day under normal atmospheric conditions by fluoride ion selective electrode (F-ISE) (Orion 9609 BNWP, Ionplus SureFlow fluoride electrode, Thermo Scientific, United States of America) coupled to a benchtop analyzer (Hachsen Ion+).

Results

All the materials included in the study exhibited fluoride release. Although there were differences in the amounts of fluoride released between Activa™, Zirconomer, and GC Gold Label 9 the mean difference between these three groups was not found to be statistically significant. Beautifil® II showed low amounts of fluoride released at all time intervals.

Conclusion

Among the above-compared materials Activa™ and Zirconomer exhibit both improved mechanical properties as well as they have fluoride-releasing ability so can be preferred over conventional glass ionomer restorations.

How to cite this article

Dhumal RS, Chauhan RS, Patil V, et al. Comparative Evaluation of Fluoride Release from Four Commercially Available Pediatric Dental Restorative Materials. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(S-1):S6-S12.

Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of a Bioactive Restorative Material Versus a Glass-Ionomer Cement on Streptococcus Mutans: In-Vitro Study

BACKGROUND

Dental caries management consists of both preventive and restorative approaches. Pediatric dentists can rely on many techniques and materials to restore decayed teeth, but a high failure rate is still observed, mainly due to secondary caries. New restorative bioactive materials combine the mechanical and aesthetic characteristics of resinous materials with the capability to remineralize and the antimicrobial properties of glass ionomers, thus counteracting the occurrence of secondary caries. The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans of a bioactive restorative material (ACTIVA™ BioActive-Restorative™-Pulpdent©) and a glass ionomer cement with silver particles added (Ketac™ Silver-3M©), using agar diffusion assay.

METHODS

Each material was formed into disks of 4 mm in diameter, and four discs of each material were placed on nine agar plates. The analysis was repeated seven times.

RESULTS

Both materials showed statistically significant growth inhibition properties against S. mutans (p < 0.05). The difference in the effectiveness of the two materials was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Both ACTIVA™ and Ketac™ Silver can be recommended since both are similarly effective against S. mutans. However ACTIVA™, given its bioactivity and better aesthetics and mechanical properties compared to GICs, may provide better clinical performance.

Correlation between caries activity and salivary microbiota in preschool children

Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic infectious oral disease in preschool children worldwide. It is closely related to the caries activity (CA) of children. However, the distribution characteristics of oral saliva microbiomes in children with different CA are largely underexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbial community in saliva of preschool children with different CA and caries status, and to analyze the difference of microbial community in saliva of children with different CA and its correlation with ECC. Subjects were divided into 3 groups based on the Cariostat caries activity test: Group H, high CA (n=30); Group M, medium CA (n = 30); Group L, low CA (n=30). Questionnaire survey was used to explore the related influencing factors of CA. According to the caries status (on the basis of decayed mising filled teeth), these subjects were divided into caries-free group (dmft=0, n=19), caries-low group (0 < dmft ≤ 4, n=27) and caries-high group (dmft > 4, n=44). Microbial profiles of oral saliva were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. There were significant differences in the microbial structure (P < 0.05). Scardovia and Selenomonas were the biomarkers of both H group and high caries group. The genus Abiotrophia and Lautropia were the biomarkers of both the L group and the low caries group, while the Lactobacillus and Arthrospira spp. were significantly enriched in the M group. The area under the ROC curve of the combined application of dmft score, age, frequency of sugary beverage intake, and the genus Scardovia, Selenomonas, and Campylobacter in screening children with high CA was 0.842. Moreover, function prediction using the MetaCyc database showed that there were significant differences in 11 metabolic pathways of salivary microbiota among different CA groups. Certain bacteria genera in saliva such as Scardovia and Selenomonas may be helpful in screening children with high CA.

Comparative Analysis of Edentulism in a Sample of Mexican Adults with and without Type 2 Diabetes

The objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence of edentulism in Mexican adults with and without a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) when they are seeking dental care. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1921 medical records of Mexican adults 40 years of age and older who sought dental care at clinics of a public university in Mexico. The dependent variable was edentulism, clinically determined through an oral examination. The main independent variable was the self-report of previous T2DM diagnosis made by a physician. Sociodemographic, socioeconomic and behavioral covariates were included in a multivariate binary logistic regression model. Overall edentulism prevalence was 8.4% (95% CI = 7.1-9.6). The prevalence of T2DM was 14.3% (n = 274). The prevalence of edentulism among individuals with T2DM was 13.1%, but only 7.6% among individuals without T2DM. In the multivariate binary logistic regression model, a previous T2DM diagnosis increased the probability of being edentulous 1.61 times (95% CI = 1.03-2.50). For each year a person's age increased, the likelihood of being edentulous increased by 12% (95% CI = 10-14%). In summary, a higher prevalence of edentulism was present in Mexican adults with T2DM and in those of older age. This information may be used by dental care providers and health policymakers to improve approaches to preventive care, as well as to characterize and anticipate care needs more accurately for the adult and older adult populations.