ABSTRACT
Our statistical study included 344 participants selected from the patients of the Pedodontics-Orthodontics Discipline of the Tîrgu-Mures University of Medicine and Pharmacy. The patients' age was between 6 and 18 years, with an average of 13.70 and a standard deviation of 4.62. The study participants were informed and agreed to complete two questionnaires of our conception regarding their health status, oral hygiene, and motivation for pedodontics or orthodontic treatment. The results of the two questionnaires were interpreted according to the gender and age of the patients. Data processing was performed with NCSS/PASS Dawson Edition statistical software, using the CHI2 test, considering a p of less than 0.05 as significant for comparative results. Results showed that girls were more motivated than boys in addressing pedodontic services due to dental, periodontal, and articular problems. Children, aged between 11 and 14 years, were less intrinsically motivated to solve oral health problems due to their low frequency. The intrinsic motivation for a more beautiful dentition was very strong, regardless of age and sex. Girls were more intrinsically motivated for orthodontic treatment than boys. There was a linear increase together in the age of those who wanted to improve their smile and facial appearance. Children between 11 and 14 years had the best self-perception of the appearance of their teeth, mouth, smile, and facial harmony. The strongest extrinsic motivation for orthodontic treatment came from parents or another doctor. The most important reason for orthodontics was dental malpositions, the last one was the improvement of masticatory efficiency. The extrinsic motivation from parents for orthodontics decreases linearly with age, along with the increase in motivation from the person with whom the participants relate emotionally and from the group of friends.
ABSTRACT
The psychological management of children and adolescents in need of pedodontics or orthodontic treatments continues to be an essential objective in dental activity because along with the accuracy of the techniques that are used, anxiety reduction, and knowledge of how to approach the patient are necessary for the treatment to be successful. Therefore, our study aimed to validate the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders questionnaire, the child version of 41 items (SCARED-C) in the Romanian population for later use in pediatric dentistry. The instrument showed moderate to good internal consistency (α Cronbach from 0.63 to 0.91 for the total scale) and good test-retest reliability (0.70) on a subset of a sample comprising 85 children. A confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the factor structure of the Romanian version of the SCARED-C; the results showed that SCARED-C has good psychometric properties that can be used for screening anxiety in Romanian children and adolescents. The implications of using the SCARED-C in dental practice are discussed. Future studies need to be conducted to explore the convergent and discriminative validity of the instrument and its sensitivity to current DSM-V criteria. Application on a pediatric dental sample is also required.
ABSTRACT
The prevalence of dental caries and obesity is high as both raise significant health problems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between dental caries, the number of salivary colonies forming units of Mutans Streptococci (MS) and Lactobacillus (LB), and the nutritional status in a group of children from Transylvania. This observational study used a sample of 154 school children, aged 9 to 12 years. The prevalence of caries was measured using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index for deciduous teeth (dmft index) and for permanent teeth (DMFT index). Height and weight were assessed for each subject, and their body mass index (BMI) percentile was calculated. Salivary levels of Mutans Streptococci (MS) and Lactobacillus (LB) were determined using the CRT Bacteria Test from Ivoclar Vivadent. In our study, we found a positive association between the BMI percentile, MS count, LB count, tooth brushing frequency, and the incidence of dental caries in children aged 9 to 12 years old. Future preventive programs should include nutrition control in order to prevent both the apparition of dental caries and obesity in children.
