Parental attitude toward behavioral management techniques in dental practice with school children in Kuwait

The objective of this study was to evaluate the parental attitude toward different management techniques used during dental treatment of schoolchildren in Kuwait. One hundred and eighteen parents who accompanied their children to the clinics of Hawally School Oral Health Program in Kuwait participated in this study. The parents viewed a videotape which showed scenes of different behavioral management techniques [BMTs] and then completed a questionnaire. Positive reinforcement, effective communication, tell-show-do, distraction, modeling and nonverbal communication were considered was the most approved techniques. Hypnosis and parental separation were moderately approved techniques. Voice control, nitrous oxide sedation, protective stabilization [physical restraint], general anesthesia, hand-over-mouth technique and conscious sedation were the least approved techniques. A majority [99%] of parents regarded the use of various BMTs as a key factor for successful dental care for their children. Acceptance of each BMT was not related to parental age, gender, nationality, educational level or occupation. Most parents preferred the nonpharmacological techniques to pharmacological techniques. Techniques employing drugs and restraint were considered as least acceptable. Further studies comparing the effectiveness of various BMTs are required

Maxillary canine with two root canals

To report a case of endodontic retreatment of a maxillary right canine in which an extra canal was located and successfully treated. A 35-year-old Asian male reported with pain and lingering discomfort in relation to his maxillary right canine after the conventional root canal therapy. Radiographic examination revealed the presence of another undetected and untreated root canal. Therefore, endodontic retreatment was performed and the patient reported complete relief of pain and found to be asymptomatic after a 3-month, 6-month and 1-year recall period. For successful endodontic therapy, the clinician should be aware of the variations in the root canal morphology. The science of extra canal is important in endodontics as failure to locate and treat an extra canal [s] is one of the common causes for failure of root canal treatments

Maxillary canine-to-first premolar bilateral transposition in a female with down syndrome [Case Report]

Objective and Importance: To report a case of the bilateral transposition of the maxillary canines with the premolars in a 17-year-old female with Down syndrome. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: A 17-year-old female presented with moderate mental retardation; she was short and of small stature, and she had a round cherubic face and a broad forehead. Clinical intraoral examination revealed bilateral malpositions of the maxillary canines and premolars as transposition. She had an open mouth, macroglossia and a protruding tongue. The case required the combined orthodontic and prosthetic treatment to achieve an acceptable morphologic and esthetic occlusion. However, the parents refused to accept the proposed treatment. Extractions of the roots and caries treatment were done as these were considered priority for the patient. This rare and severe positional anomaly represents an orthodontic challenge and its correction involves treatment risk and requires a great deal of control and carefully applied mechanics

Prevalence of dental fluorosis in disabled children and young adults in Kuwait.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental fluorosis in disabled subjects attending the special needs schools in Kuwait. Eight hundred and thirty-two subjects [442 males, and 390 females] aged 3-29 years, who were visually or hearing impaired or who had physical or developmental disorders, were included in the study. The mean age of the subjects was 12.1 years. The subjects were examined for dental fluorosis using WHO criteria. Dental fluorosis was scored according to Dean's index. None of the subjects had severe fluorosis; less than 1.0% of them showed moderate fluorosis; 0.7% had mild and 2.5% had very mild fluorosis. There were no subjects with fluorosis up to the age of 7 years, but the prevalence varied from 0 to 10% between 8 and 20 years and only 1 subject above 20 years of age had fluorosis. Non-Kuwaiti nationality was a significant risk factor for the occurrence of dental fluorosis [OR = 2.4; p = 0.027]. Fluorosis was less prevalent among these disabled subjects than had been reported among the healthy population in Kuwait