Comparison of different caries diagnostic thresholds under epidemiological and clinical settings among 7-15 year old school children from Bangalore city

Cross-sectional Study on White Spot Lesions and its Association with Dental Caries Experience among School Children

Aim

To evaluate the association of white spot lesions (WSLs) with existing dental caries experience and other clinical parameters among children aged 7–12 years.

Design

A cross-sectional comparative study on 407 children using Nyvad's caries diagnostic criteria was performed on the permanent first incisors and molars. Accordingly, they were grouped as cases (presence of caries) and controls (sound). The data pertaining to sociodemographic variables and clinical variables of oral hygiene index (OHI), gingival bleeding index (GBI), decayed, missing, and filled surfaces (DMFS-dmfs), eruption degree of first permanent molars, and number of WSLs were subjected to bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression to identify the predictor variables for the caries lesion activity.

Results

Relatively higher DMFS-dmfs scores, the number of WSLs, GBI, and OHI were recorded among the cases. In multiple logistic regression analysis, WSL ≥ 1 (OR = 18.78; CI 9.74–36.21, p = 0.0001), DMFS-dmfs + WSL ≥ 20 (OR = 30.75; CI 1.8–525.28, p = 0.0001), GBI > 0.5 (OR = 8.46; CI 4.05–17.66, p = 0.0001); OHI > 1.2 (OR = 2.83; CI 1.11–7.23, p = 0.03) were found to be significant predictors for the cases.

Conclusion

It is important to be cognizant of the initiation of caries in children through the initial stages so that efforts can be pooled in towards prevention rather than extensive curative measures.

Clinical significance

In routine clinical examinations, WSLs are seldom detected. An insight into these lesions can help the dentists’ to strategize the preventive measures enabling a reduction in total dental caries experience, burden of disease, and improved quality of life.

How to cite this article

Austin D, Jaya Kumar HL, Chandra KM, et al. Cross-sectional Study on White Spot Lesions and its Association with Dental Caries Experience among School Children. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(2):107–112.

Comparative evaluation of two caries detection systems for detecting the prevalence of early childhood caries: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The early diagnosis of dental caries is very crucial to prevent tooth loss, which leads to serious consequences in preschool children. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic outcome by the World Health Organization (WHO) and WHO and early carious lesions (ECLs) (i.e., WHO + ECL) criteria for assessing early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted among 3-5 year old children (n = 358). Clinical examination was conducted using WHO and WHO + ECL criteria. The data were assessed using paired "t" test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

RESULTS

There was statistically significant difference between the mean decayed, missing, or filled teeth recorded by the WHO + ECL and WHO (P < 0.05) method.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that WHO + ECL criteria were significant and more precise in assessing the presence of ECL in preschool children.

Association of caries experience and dental plaque with sociodemographic characteristics in elementary school-aged children: a cross-sectional study

Background

Dental caries among Iranian elementary school children aged 6–12 years continue to rise. To estimate treatment needs and guide health initiatives, current epidemiologic data are required. Such data are currently unavailable for dental health. The purpose of this study was to assess caries experience, dental plaque, and associated factors in elementary school-aged children from Iran.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 988 elementary school children aged 7–12 years were selected by multistage cluster sampling. Dental caries was studied using the WHO criteria, dental plaque was examined according to O’Leary index. Data on parental education and occupation, living district, dental pain within the past year, and tooth brushing habits under parental supervision were collected through interviews based on questionnaire. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and logistic and linear regression.

Results

The mean (SD) age of the elementary school children was 9.64 (1.73) years. The highest dmft was seen in elementary school children aged 7–8 years 6.53 (4.37) and the highest DMFT and dental plaque was in 12 year olds recorded as 1.17 (1.77) and 51.97 (25.86), respectively. The proportion of decayed teeth in 7 years old elementary school based on dmft index was 80.36%, moreover, the proportion in 12 years old elementary school was 40.17% based on the DMFT index. Age, gender, and dental pain within the past year were significantly associated with DMFT and dmft. The odds of developing dental caries (DMFT) was 1.70 times higher in girls than in boys (p < 0.001) and 1.72 times higher in the students that reported dental pain frequently than in those who did not (p = 0.005). The chance of developing dental caries (dmft) was 0.47 times lower in girls than boys (p < 0.001). Age was significantly correlated with dental plaque such that Plaque Index increased by 2.44 times per one year increase in age (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Results indicated that dental caries experience and plaque formation among elementary school children in Hamadan were high and they were influenced by their sociodemographic factors. The associations found can be used as a helpful guide for planning accurate preventive programs for elementary school children in this region.

Differential Impacts of Caries Classification in Children and Adults: A Comparison of ICDAS and DMF-T

The aim of this study was to describe and compare findings regarding the prevalence and severity of dental caries when using ICDAS and DMFT/dmft in an epidemiological study with children and their mothers. This cross-sectional study evaluated 150 preschoolers and their mothers. Data were collected with ICDAS and then transformed into DMFT/dmft. ICDAS scores related to caries were analyzed according to three different cut-off-points: CP1 (0-healthy/1-6-caries), CP2 (0-1-healthy/2-6-caries) and CP3 (0-2-healthy/3-6-caries), representing the D/d of DMFT/dmft. ICDAS codes regarding restorations, except sealants, were considered the F/f and the code 97 as the M/m of DMFT/dmft index. Prevalence of caries and its severity with ICDAS were 92%, 84% and 31.3% in children and 97.3%, 96.6% and 80% in adults according to CP1/CP2/CP3, respectively. Admitting CP3 as the standard for data transformation of ICDAS in DMFT/dmft, it was observed that DMFT/dmft index would underestimate 60% of non-cavitated lesions in children and 16.6% in adults. The DMFT/dmft underestimated the presence of disease to disregard non-cavitated lesions for the pediatric population evaluated. The choice of which is the best index for epidemiological surveys will depend on the purpose of the research and the target population: if it is to estimate the needs of the population to determine clinical care in children and adults, the DMFT/dmft may be sufficient. However, if the objective is to have a more comprehensive diagnosis of caries at the population level in order to develop preventive strategies, to halt and reverse the disease, the detection of non-cavitated-lesions becomes important, mainly in young children.