ABSTRACT
Objective: Behavior management of uncooperative children is an important principle in pediatric dentistry. By adopting an appropriate behavior management technique, pediatric dentists can treat patients more effectively and create a positive attitude towards dentistry in them. This study aimed to assess the attitude of parents presenting to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Isfahan University, School of Dentistry towards different behavior management techniques used for uncooperative children
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Isfahan University, School of Dentistry. Fifty-four parents watched a film regarding seven popular behavior management techniques namely tell-show-do, voice control, use of passive restraint devices, active restraint [physical restraint by dental personnel or the parents], use of oral sedatives, hand over mouth and general anesthesia. After watching each technique, the parents expressed their opinion regarding the level of acceptability of the respective technique using visual analog scale [VAS]. Data were analyzed using the Tukey's HSD test, repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test and the Student's t-test
Results: Of 54 parents, 36 were females and 18 were males aged 23 to 68 years. Of the mentioned techniques, the tell-show-do technique had the highest acceptability [94%]. Hand over mouth and use of passive restraint devices had the lowest acceptance [30% and 35%, respectively]. Except for the mentioned two, the remaining techniques were well accepted by the parents [52%]. No significant association was found between any of the behavior management techniques and age, level of education or occupation of parents
Conclusion: It appears that acceptability of the behavior management techniques has significantly changed over time and advanced pharmaceutical management techniques have gained increasing acceptance
ABSTRACT
Early childhood caries [ECC] is a severe type of dental caries affecting infants and pre-school children. Because of the infectious nature of the disease, the immunologic response by the host plays an essential role in its development. This study investigated the association between the presence of salivary sCD14 and ECC. This study was carried out on 40 healthy children, of whom 20 were caries-free [CF] and 20 had ECC, within the ages of 36 to 71 months. Unstimulated saliva of the children was collected with disposable needle-less syringe from buccal and labial vestibules. Seven children with ECC received complete treatments. Saliva was collected for a second time after 3 months from this group. The sCD14 levels in salivary samples were analyzed by ELISA method. Mean concentrations of sCD14 in ECC and CF groups were 57.82 and 31.92 ng/ml respectively [p=0.008]. After three months, the mean concentration of sCD14 among the treated children decreased to 11.38 ng/ml, which was significantly lower compared to that of ECC children before intervention [p<0.001], and also CF children [p<0.05]. The increased levels of sCD14 can be considered as a marker of inflammation and innate immune response during ECC