Impact of the undergraduate clinical teaching-learning process on caries detection and treatment decision-making

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate caries diagnosis and treatment decisions made by undergraduate dental students based on ICDAS or Nyvad criteria. Methods: Twelve students analyzed 90 digital photographs of permanent teeth at different clinical stages of carious lesion development and chose among different treatments in three different assessments: when there was no knowledge of the criteria (described as "No knowledge (N)"; when there was theoretical knowledge of the criteria (described as "Theoretical knowledge (T)" and when there was theoretical knowledge, clinical experience about dental caries and the criteria (described as "Theoretical and clinical knowledge (TC)". For "T" and "TC" the students were randomized into two experimental groups ­ ICDAS or Nyvad (experimental units: 6 students/group). The reference standard was established cooperatively by two experienced researchers. Criteria performance was evaluated by sensitivity, specificity, AUC, and Kappa statistics. Treatment decision was described in percentage by contingency tables and Spearman's correlation with the reference standard. Results: The first assessment demonstrated a high percentage of operative treatment even for initial enamel lesions based on ICDAS criteria and treatment was proposed for both active and inactive lesions, according to the Nyvad criteria. In the second assessment, the students continued recommending treatments for initial or inactive lesions, but less frequently. In the third assessment, treatment decisions presented greater cohesion in relation to the assigned classification criterion. The criteria presented no differences between them in terms of diagnostic in the third assessment. Conclusion: Clinical experience may improve caries detection and treatment decisions with the use of ICDAS and Nyvad criteria

Inheritance pattern of molar-incisor hypomineralization

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the segregation patterns of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in families, given the evidence that its etiology is influenced by genetics. Clinically, MIH may be detected in parents and/or siblings of MIH-affected children. Our study included children with at least one first permanent molar affected by MIH (proband) and their first-degree relatives (parents and siblings). The participants were examined clinically to detect MIH, according to the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry criteria (2003). A total of 101 nuclear families (391 individuals) were studied. Proband diagnosis was followed by MIH classification of the subject, his parents and siblings, as affected, unaffected, or unknown. Segregation analysis was performed using the multivariate logistic regression model of the Statistical Analysis for Genetic Epidemiology package, and segregation models (general transmission, environmental, major gene, dominant, codominant and recessive models). The Akaike information criterion (AIC) was used to evaluate the most parsimonious model. In all, 130 affected individuals, 165 unaffected individuals, and 96 unknown individuals were studied. Severe MIH was found in 50.7% of the cases. A segregation analysis performed for MIH revealed the following different models: environmental and dominance (p = 0.05), major gene (p = 0.04), codominant (p = 0.15) and recessive models (p = 0.03). According to the AIC values, the codominant model was the most parsimonious (AIC = 308.36). Our results suggest that the codominant model could be the most likely for inheriting MIH. This result strengthens the evidence that genetic factors, such as multifactorial complex defect, influence MIH.