Prevalence and experience of dental caries among Singaporean schoolchildren: A time-trend analysis from 2007 to 2019.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe caries prevalence and experience trends of permanent teeth among Singapore schoolchildren between 2007 and 2019. METHODS: Anonymized records of all 6-year-old Primary 1 (P1), 11-year-old Primary 6 (P6) and 14-year-old Secondary 3 (S3) before the start of each school year were extracted from the Integrated Dental Electronic Assessment System (IDEAS) by school level, ethnicity and sex. Prais-Winsten regression was used to assess trends of mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) and caries prevalence (% DMFT > 0) among the schoolchildren by school level, with reported Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) together with respective 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: In total, 519 471 P1, 566 573 P6 and 548 138 S3 were included during the above period, and the majority were comprised of Chinese children (P1: 67.2%, P6: 68.8% and S3: 71.0%, respectively). Overall, the prevalence of caries dropped from 6.9% in 2007 to 3.5% in 2019 among P1, from 34.5% in 2009 to 20.3% in 2019 among P6 and from 41.5% in 2007 to 33.5% in 2019 among S3 schoolchildren. The mean DMFT reduced from 0.11 to 0.05 among P1, 0.72 to 0.35 among P6 and 1.05 to 0.76 among S3 schoolchildren during the same period. Caries prevalence and mean DMFT were consistently higher among girls. On average, caries prevalence decreased 5% per year in P1 (AAPC -5.0 [95% CI: -6.1, -3.9]) and P6 (AAPC -4.9 [95% CI: -5.7, -4.1]) and 2% among S3 (AAPC -2.0 [95% CI: -3.5, -0.4]) schoolchildren. Caries prevalence decreased approximately 4% ~ 5% annually among P1 and P6 schoolchildren regardless of ethnicity. The average decrease in caries prevalence was lower (about 2%) among all ethnicities at S3 school level. CONCLUSION: Dental caries in permanent dentition of Singaporean schoolchildren had decreased from 2007 to 2019. However, the decrease observed among primary school students was more than double that among secondary schoolchildren.

At what age do children have the motor development to adequately brush their teeth?

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus regarding when children are ready to brush independently. AIM: To examine the effects of chronological age and motor development on toothbrushing effectiveness in 5- to 7-year-old children. DESIGN: In this cross-sectional study, the change in Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) score and the improvement in OHI category (eg, poor to fair) were used to measure toothbrushing effectiveness. Motor development was assessed using the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration, and a parental questionnaire was used to determine the child's ability to perform certain daily tasks. RESULTS: Children aged ≥6 years were significantly more likely to show improvement in OHI category (OR = 2.4, p = .032) than 5-year-old children. Parental report of their child's ability to write/print addresses (OR = 3.7, p = .009), tie shoelaces (OR = 2.9, p = .008), and cut/file nails (OR = 3.2, p = .036) was significantly more likely to show improvement in OHI category. A model using chronological age, visual motor age, ability to write/print addresses, tie shoelaces, cut/file nails, and toothbrushing duration achieved 61.8% sensitivity and 80.4% specificity in predicting a child's ability to achieve improvement in OHI category. CONCLUSIONS: Children entering elementary school (≥6 years old) brushed their teeth more effectively than preschool children. A multifactorial model provided an acceptable predictor of the child's ability to brush effectively.

Bonding of resin composite precured or postcured to primary dentin.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine in vitro the effect of cure mode on the shear bond strength (SBS), failure mode (FM), microleakage (ML), and resin tag penetration (RTP) of two resin composite (RC)/adhesive systems: (1) Clearfil Majesty Esthetic/Clearfil SE Bond (CME/SEB); and (2) TPH 3 Micro Matrix Restorative/Prime&Bond NT (TPH/P&B). METHODS: Paired RC samples (10 CME/SEB; 10 TPH/P&B) were precured or postcured with adhesive on primary molar dentinal substrates and tested for SBS (10 per group); debonded surfaces were examined. Cavities (Class V) in extracted primary molars were restored (20 CME/SEB; 20 TPH/P&B), following precuring or postcuring the adhesive, and examined for ML (eight per group) and RTP (two per group). RESULTS: Mean SBS (MPa) values differed: precured CME/SEB exceeded postcured CME/SEB (20.16±2.70 versus 10.97±4.39; P<.001), and postcured TPH/P&B exceeded precured TPH/P&B (14.17±3.73 versus 11.10±2.62; P=.007). The FM differed between systems: CME/SEB: precured (four adhesive-dentin; six mixed), postcured (10 adhesive-dentin); TPH/P&B: precured (10 adhesive-dentin), postcured (nine adhesive-dentin; one mixed). Only one specimen showed true ML (postcured TPH/P&B). The RTP was greater in postcured than precured specimens. CONCLUSION: Precured CME/SEB was deemed superior for restoration of primary teeth, despite extra time required clinically to precure the adhesive.