Methods for caries detection: an overview

It is critical to detect caries as early as possible to reverse/halt the carious process or to restore the tooth in a most conservative manner. The conventional caries detection methods may fail to detect early carious lesions. Therefore, efforts have been underway to develop more sophisticated caries detection systems. Various caries detection systems are discussed in this review. The evidence supporting new systems is currently limited. This brief review describes available technology and research supporting its use. Each system have its own indications and benefits. It can be recommended that the systems such as Laser Fluorescence, Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence [QLF] and Digital Image fiberOptic Trans-illumination [DiFOTI] do facilitate earlier detection of enamel caries

Knowledge and attitude of Saudi mothers towards their preschool children's oral health

To determine knowledge and attitude of Saudi mothers towards their preschool children's oral health. One hundred and one mothers [of children aged 16 to 40 months] attending well-baby clinics at Security Forces Hospital Polyclinics in Makkah Al-Mukarrama participated in the study. A questionnaire was used to collect the required information. A great majority [92.1%] of the mothers agreed that "baby teeth are important for child's general health. Similarly, 90.1% of the mothers agreed that "using fluoridated toothpaste helps to prevent tooth decay". About four in every ten mothers [43.6%] agreed that a child should be allowed to use a bottle at-will when he/she becomes able to hold it. More than half of the mothers [54.5%] agreed that letting baby sleep with bottle still in the mouth was of no harm to teeth. A significantly [p=0.04] higher percentage of high Socioeconomic status [SES] mothers as compared to middle SES mothers [85.9% versus 55.6%] agreed that "frequent feeding with milk or milk formula is of no harm to baby's teeth". A significantly [p=003] higher percentage of the middle SES mothers as compared to high SES mothers [66.7% versus 17.4%] agreed that a child should only visit a dentist in case of a dental pain/problem. The mothers need to be educated in several important areas related to feeding, diet and first dental check-up visit of their children

Use of oral midazolam sedation in pediatric dentistry: a review

Most fearful and uncooperative children can be managed with behavioral management tech-niques. However, when behavioral management strategies fail, some form of pharmacologic sedation or anesthesia has to be utilized. Midazolam, one of the commonly used oral sedation agent in children has several characteristics such as safety of use, rapid onset and some degree of amnesia that makes it a desirable sedation agent in children. Therefore, oral midazolam sedation is recommended for short dental procedures in children. This review paper discusses various aspects of oral midazolam sedation including, advantages of oral route of sedation, pharmacokinetics of midazolam, range of oral dose, midazolam antagonist, and clinical procedure. The paper also includes general guidelines for sedation. The need for appropriate training [for personnel] in sedation, provision of appropriate equipment/ monitoring devices and presence of rescue mechanisms is also emphasized

Plaque and gingival health status among cerebral palsied children of Riyadh city

The objective of this study was to evaluate and describe the plaque and gingival health status in cerebral palsy [CP] children of Riyadh city. One hundred and forty non-institutionalized CP children [82 males and 58 females] were examined in the dental clinic of the Disabled Children Association Center, Riyadh, for presence of plaque and gingival inflammation. Children were divided into three age groups; the first [3-6 years] consisted of 41 children, second [7-9 years] consisted of 52 children and third [10-12 years] had 47 children. The highest mean plaque index [PI] was recorded for the first group. There was no significant [p>0.05] difference between the three groups examined. The highest mean gingival index [GI] was recorded for the third group which differed significantly from the first [p=0.000] and second [p= 0.001] groups. GI scores were found to be related to the oral hygiene [OH] status of the CP children examined, as the children with poor OH got the highest mean GI followed by children with fair and good OH. Neither PI nor GI scores were affected by the gender of the examined CP children. The CP children examined in this study had mild to moderate plaque accumulation and the gingival inflammation increased as the age of the children increase. Gender had no significant effect on the PI or GI scores obtained, and the GI scores were found to be related to the OH status

Cross - infection control in dentistry: a review

The dental environment is associated with significant amount of risk for exposure to various micro-organisms. Infection control is one of the prime elements of a successful dental practice. There are many infectious diseases that can be transmitted in a dental environment. New diseases with serious consequences and a high rate of transmission have evolved in the recent past. Infection control is directed at prevention to exposure of such infections and also to prevent it being transferred from person to person. The universal infection control policy considers that 'Every patient should be considered Infectious'. This review article presents various aspects of cross-infection control in dental environment

Caries and oral hygiene status among a group of Saudi cleft lip and palate children

The objective of the present study was to determine caries prevalence and oral hygiene status among a group of Saudi cleft lip and palate [CLP] children. A total of 84 cleft children [45 males and 39 females] were examined for dental caries and oral hygiene status. The children were divided into two age groups; Group A with children age one to six years and Group B with children age seven to 14 years. All the children in both age Groups had dental caries. The mean dmft [decayed, missing and filled primary teeth] score in Group A children was 10.54 [SD 4.59] In Group B children, the combined mean dmft/DMFT [decayed, missing and filled primary and permanent teeth] score was 10.92 [SD 4.90] respectively. There was no statistically significant [p>.05] difference observed between the mean dmft/ DMFT scores in relation to age and gender of the cleft children. More than half [54. 7%] of the children had poor oral hygiene. In conclusion; the caries prevalence and severity was high in the studied cleft children. Majority of the children had poor oral hygiene

Oral health knowledge in parents of Saudi cerebral palsy children

To determine oral health knowledge in parents of cerebral palsy [CP] children, and the parents' attitude to oral health of their CP children. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect the required information from the parents. One hundred and six parents, 73 [68.9%] mothers, and 33 [31.1%] fathers completed the questionnaire between April and June 2006 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All [100%] the parents thought that good oral health was important for maintaining optimum general health. Most [95.3%] of the parents believed that they can maintain good dental health in their CP children by supervising their children's tooth brushing, reducing sugary food intake and making regular visits to a dentist. A significantly high [p=0.005] percentage of high education parents [96.8%] had heard of fluoride as compared with low education parents [79.5%].The overall oral health knowledge and attitude of parents of CP children is satisfactory

Oral health knowledge among female secondary school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

To determine the oral health knowledge among female secondary school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The information about oral health knowledge was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 656 randomly selected female secondary school children completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the children was 16.6 [SD 1.4] years ranging from 14 years to 18 years. A great majority [94.4%] of the children was aware that good dental health is important for good general health. About two-thirds [68.0%] of the children correctly thought that teeth should be cleaned after each meal, however, more than one-fifth [22.0%] of the children reported that no one taught them how to clean their teeth. More than one-third [37.3%] of the children thought that one must visit the dentist only in case of pain in teeth. About nine in ten children [91.0%] were aware that sweets [chocolates/candies] could cause tooth decay. However, a large number of children were not aware of cariogenic potential of sweetened milk [74.5%]. About three-fourth [76.5%] of the children knew that the best way to maintain optimum gingival health was to clean their teeth daily. Dentists were the most popular [48.5%] source of oral health information. The oral health knowledge of female secondary school children in Riyadh is satisfactory. However, further information needs to be provided in the areas of toothbrushing, importance of regular dental visits and harmful effects of sweetened/soft drinks

Oral health knowledge and sources of information in parents of Saudi disabled children

The objective of the study was to obtain information about oral health knowledge in parents of disable children and the parents' awareness about their disable child's oral health. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized for this purpose. A total of 300 parents [235 [78.3%] mothers and 65 [21.7%] fathers] from the six disability centers in Riyadh completed the questionnaire. Slightly more than two-third [68.0%] of the parents thought that one must visit a dentist at least once every six months. Almost all the parents [99.7%] thought that cleaning teeth was important; mainly to prevent tooth decay [89.3%]. About nine in ten [92.7%] parents had heard about fluoride. However, only 17.3% considered water as a possible source of fluoride. A high percentage of parents were not aware of cariogenic potential of packed juices [82.3%] and sweetened milks [74.3%]. Regarding parents' awareness about their child's oral health; 86.7% of the parents claimed to observe their child's oral health. Almost all [98.7%] of them responded that they can maintain a good dental health in their children by supervising their tooth brushing, reducing sugary food intake and making regular visits to a dentist. A great majority [94.7%] of the parents believe that their child needs assistance in maintaining good oral hygiene. In about half [47.5%] of the children, the last dental visit was the first ever visit to a dentist, and one-fifth [20.5%] of the last visits were due to dental pain. It can be concluded that parents' knowledge of oral health was satisfactory in most areas. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the oral health of their disable children

Trends in dental caries and missing teeth in adult patients in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

The aim of the study was to determine dental caries prevalence and severity among adult patients attending Al-Ahsa Dental Center in Al-Ahsa Region of Saudi Arabia. A total of 544 adult patients, 42% males and 58% females with a mean age of 42.7 +/- 18.1 years, were examined for dental caries utilizing WHO criteria for diagnosis of dental caries. The caries prevalence among the sample was 89.2% with a mean DMFT score of 13.24 +/- 11.53. The mean DMFT scores of the patients from urban areas [14.03 +/- 12.11] were significantly higher than patients from rural areas [11.39 +/- 9.84] [P<0.01]. Missing teeth was the major component of the total DMFT score. About 17% of the patients were edentulous. However, more than half [56.8%] of the patients above 61 years were edentulous. In conclusion, the caries prevalence and severity were very high among the subjects studied

Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices by parents of the children attending Ksucd clinics

The objective of the present study was to determine the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of the parents of children attending the King Saud University College of Dentistry [KSUCD] Clinics in Riyadh. The information about the parents'oral health knowledge, attitude and practices was collected through a specially designed self-administered questionnaire. A total of 73parents, 54 [74.0%] fathers and 19 [26.0%] mothers completed the questionnaire. Almost all [98.6%] the parents thought that good dental health was important for optimal general health and that routine check-up dental visits help in maintaining good dental health. While six in every ten [60.3%] parents thought that teeth should be cleaned three times daily, only four in ten [41.1%] parents actually brushed thrice daily. Majority of the parents understood the main causes of dental caries such as poor oral hygiene [93.2%] and high sugar intake [84.9%], but more than one-fourth [28.8%] did not think the frequent intake of soft drinks as a caries risk factor. A majority [82.2%] of parents claimed that they observed their children's diet [82.2%] and dental health [78.1%]. About one-fourth [24.0%] of the parents responded that they did not spend time with their children about how to maintain good dental health. It can be concluded that the parents'knowledge about oral health is generally satisfactory with some exceptions and their attitude towards oral health is positive. But, there are shortcomings in the area of preventive practices

Oral health knowledge and sources of information among a group of information among a group of female Saudi school children

To determine the oral health knowledge and sources of information in a selected group of female school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The information about oral health knowledge and sources of information was collected through an especially designed questionnaire. A total of 202 children completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the children was 13.4 [SD 2.1] with a range of 10 to 16 years. A great majority [81.2%] of the children had heard about fluoride, more than half [55.4%] correctly identified the action of fluoride as preventing tooth decay. Almost all [97.0%] the children thought that sweets [chocolates/candies] could cause tooth decay. However, a large number of children were not aware of cariogenic potential of sweetened milk [64.4%] and soft drinks [14.4%]. Toothbrush [79.2%] was rated as the best cleaning aid followed by miswak [12.4%]. Most of the children [85.1%] thought that teeth should be cleaned after each meal. Fifty% of children reported that their parents had taught them how to brush properly. About one in every five children [22.30%] thought that one must visit the dentist only in case of toothache. Parents [49.0%] were the most popular source of oral health information followed by dentists [36.6%] and media [18.9%]. It can be concluded that the children need further oral health education in areas of caries and periodontal prevention, and there was a need to utilize schoolteachers and media to enhance their oral health knowledge

Caries prevalence among secondary school children in Riyadh and Qassim

The aim of this study was to describe the caries prevalence and severity in secondary school children in Riyadh and Qaseem regions and, to correlate caries experience with fluoride levels in the drinking water. A total of 734. 15- to 19-year-old [Mean 16.4, SD 1.2 years] secondary school children from areas of various water fluoride levels were examined in Riyadh [236 male and 193 female] and Qaseem [163 male and 142 female], utilizing the World Health Organization [WHO] criteria for the diagnosis of dental caries. Results showed the prevalence of dental caries as 91.1% in Riyadh and 90.5% in Qaseem. The mean DMFT score In Riyadh was 7.35 [SD 4.99], with D component of 6.28, M component of 0.32 and F component 010.75. The mean DMFT score in Qaseem was 7.05 [SD 4.58] with D component of 6.02, M component of 0.46 and F component of 0.56. The overall data showed no significant difference [P> 0.05] in mean DMFT scores at various fluoride levels. However, low values of DMFT were found in two fluoride zones [0.61 -0.80 ppm and 0.81 - 1.50 ppm]. It was concluded that the caries prevalence was very high among the students studied in Riyadh and Qaseem regions. However, there was no linear correlation between the caries experience and water fluoride level in both Riyadh and Qaseem regions

Caries Prevalence in Saudi Primary Schoolchildren of Riyadh and their Teachers' Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practices

The purpose of the present study was to determine the caries prevalence and severity in primary school children Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of their teachers. A random sample of primary schoolchildren was examined for dental caries utilizing World Health Organization criteria for diagnosis of caries. The information regarding oral health knowledge, attitude and practices in schoolteachers was collected through an especially designed self-administered questionnaire. The prevalence of caries among the sample was 94.4%. The mean decayed, missing and filled score for primary teeth of the sample was 6.3 [+3.5], with decay component of 4.9 [+3.1], missing component of 1.1 [+1.7] and filled component of 0.3 [+1.0]. The mean decayed, missing and filled score for permanent teeth of the sample was 1.6 [+1.5] with decay component of 1.5 [+1.4] as the major component. All the teachers [100%] thought that good dental health was important for general health and that routine check up dental visits help in maintaining good dental health. All the teachers [100%] thought that tooth cleaning using brush or miswak was important for good dental health. Regarding the caries risk factors, the majority of teachers understood the main causes of dental caries such as poor oral hygiene [97.4%] and high sugar intake [97.4%]. Almost all the teachers [97.4%] thought that dental health lectures were of great importance for their students but less than half [41%] actually spent time on teaching proper oral health care. The caries prevalence in Riyadh primary schoolchildren is very high. The teachers' knowledge regarding oral health is satisfactory and their attitude towards oral health is very positive

success rate of formocresol pulpotomy performed by postgraduate students in King Saud University College of Dentistry

OBJECTIVE: To determine the success rate of formocresol pulpotomy in primary molars performed by pediatric dentistry postgraduate students in the King Saud University College of Dentistry, Riyadh. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty two children with 44 pulpotomized primary molars attended for the study. The pulpotomized primary molars were evaluated both clinically and radiographically. Eleven [50%] children were male and 11 [50%] female with a mean age of 6.3 [S.D 1.9] years. The mean time elapsed since the pulpotomy procedure was 26.5 [S.D 10.41] months with a range of 12 to 60 months. None of the patients complained of any pain associated with the pulpotomized teeth. There was no soft tissue swelling or fistula formation. Abnormal mobility was noticed in six [13.6%] teeth. The major radiographic finding was furcation radiolucency [21.4%] followed by internal root resorption [19.0%] and periapical radiolucency [14.3%]. The clinical and radiographic success rates were 81.8% and 65.9% respectively. The overall success rate of the formocresol pulpotomy was 61.4%. The success rate of the formocresol pulpotomy in primary teeth performed by the pediatric dentistry postgraduate students was low

Early childhood caries: a challenge to health care professionals

There are continuous reports of very high prevalence of early childhood caries. The most common factors in the aetiology of early childhood caries include, prolonged feeding of sweetened fluids from a nursing bottle at bed time, on-demand and prolonged breast feeding, use of sweetened pacifiers, carbonated beverages/fruit juices, poor oral hygiene and certain socioeconomic factors. In the Middle East, a very high caries prevalence [higher than 70%] has been reported in several recent studies. Strong preventive efforts are required to control this situation. The preventive programmes for early childhood caries should be designed in the light of socioeconomic, cultural and behavioural background of a specific population. All prospective and new parents need professional preventive advice and continuous reinforcement. Practical advice to parents is given regarding healthy feeding habits and good oral hygiene. The prevention of early childhood-caries needs considerable effort and planning, and prevention has proven to be much more cost effective than the costs incurred in treatment