The Impact of Dental Environment Stress on Dentition Status, Salivary Nitric Oxide and Flow Rate

Dental caries as a health risk for visual acuity in relation to salivary transforming growth factor beta-1 among students aged 8-10 years: A cross-sectional study

Background

Dental caries and an impairment in visual acuity (VA) may both be caused by a variety of risk factors. Various conditions of the eye can appear as a consequence of overall inflammation and active dental caries.

Aim

The present study aims to assess dental caries and salivary status by measuring the transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) and flow rate between visually impaired students compared with students with normal vision.

Materials and Methods

Research was performed employing a cross-sectional comparative study design conducted among representative 653 students aged 8-10 years at primary schools in Al-Diwaniyah governorate using the Snellen E chart for measuring VA status. Partitioning the students according to the degree of VA into normal students with normal VA of 6/9 or better and students with visual impairment of 6/12 or worse was done. Sub-sample of 180 students was recruited randomly from both groups, age and gender-matched participants for salivary analysis, and dental caries assessment measured by decay, missed, filled index, according to the World Health Organization in 2013.

Results

Out of 653 students, only 70 students suffer from a decrease in VA. Dental caries was more prevalent in those who had a decrease in VA compared with normal groups. For primary teeth decay, missed, filled teeth index (DMFT/dmft), the result was not significant but highly significant for DMFT/dmft. A significant decrease in salivary flow rate and increased salivary TGF-β1 level among visually impaired students was found.

Conclusions

According to the current research, the study population that has impaired VA, dental health status has greatly deteriorated.

Total Antioxidant Capacity of Saliva and Its Correlation with pH Levels among Dental Students under Different Stressful Conditions

(1) Background: This cross-sectional study conducted at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Timisoara, Romania, between December 2022 and February 2023 aims to assess salivary total antioxidant capacity and pH levels in dental students experiencing non-stressful and stressful situations and explore potential correlations between these factors. (2) Methods: Saliva samples were collected during two different periods: before an Oral Health course and before the Oral Health exam, under stressful conditions. Ethical principles were followed, and informed consent was obtained. Data on age, gender, health status, drug use, smoking habits, and anxiety levels were recorded. Saliva was collected using the draining method and pH was measured using indicator paper strips. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was determined using a commercial assay kit. Statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics, Student's t-test to compare pH and TAC between study groups, and Pearson's correlation coefficient to analyze the correlation between salivary pH and TAC within each group, with p < 0.05 indicating significance. (3) Results: This study involved 80 participants, comprising 26 males and 54 females, all enrolled in the 5th year of the Oral Health course, with ages ranging from 20 to 53 and a mean age of 23.62 (±4.19) years. Pearson's correlation results show a statistically significant negative relationship between the STAI test and TAC during the stress-free period (-0.02 **, N = 80, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusions: There are variations in saliva's antioxidant capacity in response to different stress conditions. Dental students experienced a higher level of stress before academic assessments compared to the non-stress period during the course.

Evaluation of ICCMS versus CAMBRA Caries Risk Assessment Models Acquisition on Treatment Plan in Young Adult Population: A Randomized Clinical Trial

PURPOSE

To evaluate the difference between ICCMS and CAMBRA models on treatment plan of young adults.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A total of 104 young adult patients were randomly divided into two groups, either ICCMS or CAMBRA.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients were examined according to the criteria of the ICDAS-II and caries risk was analyzed according to CAMBRA and divided into two equal groups according to treatment protocol. Caries incidence was assessed according to ICDAS-II criteria after 6 and 12 months. Statistical analysis used Chi-square test. A value of P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Relative risk (RR) was used to determine the clinical significance.

RESULTS

The current study has revealed no statistically significant difference between both caries risk assessment models tested at baseline (P = 0.317), 6 months (P = 0.164) and 1 year (P = 0.287). Intra-group assessment of CAMBRA group showed a statistically significant difference in ICDAS scores (P = 0.002) after 12 months in high- and moderate-risk groups while low-risk group did not show statistically significant difference in ICDAS scores between different follow-up periods (P = 0.593) and (P = 1.000), respectively. ICCMS groups did not show statistically significant differences in any group along follow-up periods.

CONCLUSION

ICCMS and CAMBRA were equivalent in preventing new decay. The ICCMS treatment plan is a safe approach and its preventive products are available over the counter. However, it is more complicated than CAMBRA. While CAMBRA is simpler, it is less comprehensive, some of its products are not available over the counter worldwide (e.g. Duraphat 5000 ppm) and some of them may be accompanied by several side effects (e.g. chlorhexidine mouthwash), which may weaken its management protocol.