Pooled prevalence estimates of malocclusion among Indian children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the pooled prevalence estimates of the malocclusion among child and adolescent population of India. CONTENTS: A comprehensive electronic search was carried to find studies related to assessing malocclusion in Indian children and adolescent population. Indices and classifications considered for pooled analysis were Dental Aesthetic Index, Index of Orthodontic Treatment Needs, Angles classification and terminal plane relationship of primary secondary molars. An eligibility criterion was prepared and quality assessment was done for all the eligible studies. Initial search produced 1090 titles. After removal of duplicates, 850 records were left for further screening. Eighty one articles were found eligible for full text reading. Finally 60 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled prevalence was used to estimate overall effect, with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Statistical difference between the two genders was calculated using chi square test. SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK: The high prevalence of malocclusion is a public health problem around the world. The current status of burden of malocclusion among Indian children and adolescents is not known. Results of this pooled analysis showed that prevalence of malocclusion among Indian children and adolescents has increased since the last national oral health survey. Prevalence of malocclusion ranged from 28.4% (CI 25.02, 31.9) to 66.7% (CI 50.7, 81.06) depending on the type of index or classification used for recording. Boys recorded higher cumulative prevalence than girls. These findings can be utilized by oral health policy makers to draft measures required for reducing this burden of malocclusion.

Oral health status and knowledge among 10-15years old type 1 diabetes mellitus children and adolescents in Bengaluru.

CONTEXT: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic systemic metabolic disease. This disorder affects mainly children and adolescents. The main complications of diabetes mellitus affect the organs and tissues rich in capillary vessels such as kidney, retina, and nerves. These complications are secondary to the development of microangiopathy. Similar changes in small vessels can be found in the oral tissues. There is a significant increase in gingival inflammation and plaque seen in children with T1DM. AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess the oral health status and knowledge among T1DM children and young adolescents aged 10-15 years in Bengaluru. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred and seventy-five 10-15 year-old children with T1DM and 175 age, sex, and socioeconomic status matched nondiabetic controls were included in the study. Oral health status was assessed using community periodontal Index and decayed/decayed-missing/missing-filled/filled teeth index (DMFT/dmft). Oral health knowledge was assessed using 11 item questionnaire. Chi-square test and Student's t-test were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: With regard to periodontal status, subjects with healthy periodontal tissue were less in diabetic than control group. Patients with bleeding and calculus were more in diabetic group than control group. The difference between diabetic group and control group was statistically significant (P = 0.001).The mean number of DMFT/dmft were less in diabetics (0.07 ± 0.006)/(0.26 ± 0.05) compared to control groups (0.1 ± 0.01)/(0.84 ± 0.2), respectively. Overall, oral health knowledge was more among diabetic patients (8.3 ± 1.7) compared to controls (7.5 ± 1.8). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study showed more gingival changes and higher oral health knowledge in diabetic group when compared to control group.

Attitude toward Public Health Dentistry as a career among dental students in Odisha: A Cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of dental students' expectations of their profession as well as their attitudes to study a particular specialty of dentistry is of great importance. These attitudes and expectations make studying dentistry meaningful to dental students and society and understanding these factors facilitate workforce planning in the dental sector The aim of the study was to assess the attitude of dental students towards considering Public Health Dentistry as their future career. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted, which included the 3rd year, 4th fourth year and dental interns studying in the State of Odisha. It consisted of 27 questions that were graded on 5-point Likert scale. The responses for the attitude questions toward selecting Public Health Dentistry for postgraduation were categorized into three factors, which are a negative attitude (includes score 0-21), neutral attitude (score 22-44), and positive attitude (score 45-64). Differences between groups were examined using Chi-square test for proportions. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Among 886 respondents, 302 (34.08%) were males and 584 (65.91%) were females. One-third (33.52%) of them had a positive attitude toward selecting public health dentistry as their future career, and nearly two-third of them (58.23%) had neutral attitude, with very few students having a negative attitude (8.23%) toward the specialty for pursuing postgraduation. CONCLUSION: Respondents had a considerable amount of interest in pursuing postgraduation in this specialty. Efforts should be intensified, both by the dental council and by the dental colleges, to develop this specialty, keeping in mind the increasing attitude of dental undergraduates toward it.