Caries Risk Assessment and Referral Tool (CRA-RT)-A novel risk scoring system for early childhood caries in community settings.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a brief and simple, easy-to-administer, culturally sensitive, reliable and valid risk scoring system for early childhood caries based only on behavioural and other nonclinical risk factors. The purpose was to allow risk scoring by child care providers without clinical examination in order to guide dental referral in a community setting. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using stratified multistage cluster sampling was conducted among 559 preschool children and their mothers in Anganwadi centres and Preprimary schools in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, India. All steps in the development of a new tool were carried out. Exploratory factor analysis and principal component analysis with Varimax rotation were employed for item reduction. Reliability and validity assessments were also performed. Past caries experience was recorded as dmft scores and the validity hypothesis of higher dmft scores in children with higher caries risk scores was also verified as an additional measure of construct validity. RESULTS: The newly developed Caries Risk Assessment and Referral Tool (CRA-RT) is presented as a unidimensional, 11-item, discriminative tool which showed high test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.8), high inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.8) and acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.6). Face, content and construct validity have been demonstrated. Children with higher CRA-RT scores were having higher dmft scores, and it provided an additional evidence for the construct validity of the tool. CONCLUSION: CRA-RT is a simple, valid and reliable novel risk scoring system for ECC, to be used in a nondental, nonmedical setting. The proposed tool contains those behavioural risk or protective factors, the presence or absence of which could be assessed by interviewing the mother. The quick and the easy risk scoring pattern with a cut-off score can guide the dental referral of preschool children by child care providers in a community setting.

Photographic Profile Analysis in Preschool Children of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

AIM: The purpose of the study is to establish baseline normative data regarding facial soft tissue profile measurements in preschool children of Thiruvananthapuram. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Department of Pedodontics, Government Dental College, Thiruvanthapuram. Two hundred fifty children of 3 to 5 years of age reporting at the outpatient department with complete primary dentition and flush terminal plane molar relation were the sampling unit. Children with mixed dentition, with the a presence of proximal caries and any oral habit and maxillofacial trauma/pathology/developmental defects, were not included in the study. The level of significance for the study was set as p < 0.05. RESULTS: Mean values of the study variable with standard deviation obtained with a narrow range of 95% the confidence interval indicated higher accuracy of the study. CONCLUSION: The values obtained in the study can be used as a reference for an initial orthodontic evaluation of a child during the early mixed dentition period. The study will help in predicting the direction of growth of the dentofacial region, its effect on facial parameters, and, hence, the treatment plan can be modified accordingly. The study will serve as the reference study for further studies with molar plane relation other than FTP. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Gautam B, Sreedharan S, et al. Photographic Profile Analysis in Preschool Children of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2019;12(2):111-115.

Comparative Evaluation of the Remineralization Potential of Monofluorophosphate, Casein Phosphopeptide-Amorphous Calcium Phosphate and Calcium Sodium Phosphosilicate on Demineralized Enamel Lesions: An In Vitro Study.

AIM: The aim of the study is to compare the remineralization potential of monofluorophosphate, casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP), and calcium sodium phosphosilicate on demineralized enamel lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Enamel sections from 30 sound human premolar crowns were prepared and sectioned into quadrants. Early enamel lesions were created in each sample by immersion in a demineralizing solution for 72 hours. Of the four sections, the first quadrant (A) was not given any surface treatment, the second quadrant (B) was treated with monofluorophosphate dentifrice, the third (C) was treated with casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP), and the fourth (D) was treated with calcium sodium phosphosilicate while being subjected to a five-day pH cycling protocol. The sections were further cross-sectioned to expose the lesion depth and were then viewed under the confocal laser scanning microscope after staining with 0.1 mM rhodamine B dye for 24 hours. The two parameters evaluated were the cross-sectional demineralized lesion area and total fluorescence. RESULTS: Amongst the dentifrices tested, the lowest values for lesion area and total fluorescence were recorded by calcium sodium phosphosilicate (3874.1 µ2 and 107282.6, respectively), followed by casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (5776.6 µ2 and 129470.8) and then by monofluorophosphate dentifrice (7371.2 µ2 and 233765.9) in increasing order. The highest values for lesion area and total fluorescence were recorded by the no treatment group (16449.2 µ2 and 759743.1). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant variations (p<0.01) between the groups and Scheffe multiple comparisons confirmed the significance (p<0.01) of intergroup variations. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that, among the three agents tested, calcium sodium phosphosilicate is the most effective remineralizing agent followed by casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate. Monofluorophosphate is the least effective remineralizing agent when tested under the conditions mentioned in this study.

Efficacy of various intracanal medicaments against aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganism found in human primary teeth with necrotic pulp: A randomized clinical trial.

AIM: The aim of this in vivo study is to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), chlorhexidine (CHX), and metronidazole gel as intracanal medicaments against aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms found in root canals of human primary teeth with necrotic pulp. SETTING AND DESIGN: It is a double-blinded randomized clinical trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pulp canals of 45 single-rooted primary maxillary anterior teeth with pulp necrosis in 34 children were included in the study. They were divided into three groups of 15 samples each: Group I: Ca(OH)2; Group II: 1% CHX gel; and Group III: 1% metronidazole gel. Microbial count was obtained from each tooth at two different stages - (1) after instrumentation and (2) after placement of the medication. Statistical analysis using the SPSS 10.0 software program (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) with Wilcoxon signed-rank test after grouping the samples was performed. RESULTS: Ca(OH)2, 1% CHX gel, and 1% metronidazole gel were ineffective in completely eliminating aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganism from root canal of human primary teeth with necrotic pulp. CONCLUSION: None of the commonly used intracanal medicaments, that is Ca(OH)2, 1% CHX gel, and 1% metronidazole gel, was effective in completely eliminating aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganism from root canal of human primary teeth with necrotic pulp. Ineffectiveness of these medicaments against aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganism has opened new door of research regarding the manner of bacterial growth in unfavorable environmental and nutritional conditions, the way root canal environment favors biofilm formation and the use of suitable intracanal medicaments against single and multispecies biofilms.

Efficacy of Various Intracanal Medicaments in Human Primary Teeth with Necrotic Pulp against Candida Biofilms: An in vivo Study.

BACKGROUND: Candida has been associated with cases of secondary and persistent root canal infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of commonly used intracanal medicament against Candida biofilms found in root canals of human primary teeth with necrotic pulp. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pulp canals of 45 single-rooted primary maxillary anterior teeth with pulp necrosis in 34 children were included in the study. They were divided into three groups of 15 samples each - group I: Ca(OH)2 (calcium hydroxide); group II: 1% chlorhexidine gel (CHX); and group III: 1% metronidazole gel. Bacterial count was obtained from each tooth at two different stages: (1) after instrumentation, and (2) after placement of the medication. Statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 10.0 software program (Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) with Wilcoxon signed rank test after grouping the samples was performed. RESULTS: Ca(OH)2, 1% CHX gel, and 1% metronidazole gel were ineffective in completely eliminating Candida biofilms from root canal of human primary teeth with necrotic pulp. CONCLUSION: None of the commonly used intracanal medicaments, i.e., Ca(OH)2, 1% CHX gel, and 1% metronidazole gel, was effective in completely eliminating Candida biofilm from root canal of human primary teeth with necrotic pulp. Ineffectiveness of these medicaments against Candida has opened new door of research regarding the use of suitable intracanal medicaments against single and multispecies biofilms. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Paikkatt JV, Sreedharan S, Philomina B, Kannan VP, Santhakumar M, Kumar TVA. Efficacy of Various Intracanal Medicaments in Human Primary Teeth with Necrotic Pulp against Candida Biofilms: An in vivo Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017;10(1):45-48.

Mis- or missed diagnosis: a series of four cases.

Diagnosis forms the backbone of treatment planning. Accurate diagnosis is essential to initiate the appropriate treatment at the apt time. Diagnosis involves eliciting the signs and symptoms of the patient and their accurate interpretations. The subtle signs that can go unnoticed lead to misdiagnosis and subsequent agony to the patient. Alertness on part of the clinician is important to avoid this error. Reported in this paper are four cases that were wrongly diagnosed either due to lack of clinical experience or due to omission of careful clinical, radiographic, and histopathological examinations.

A comparative evaluation of electronic and radiographic determination of root canal length in primary teeth: An in vitro study.

AIMS: The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the root canal length determination by Electronic apex locator (EAL) (Raypex 5) and conventional radiography, and then compare them with the actual measurements obtained by direct visualization. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This study was conducted at the Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred single rooted primary teeth extracted due to extensive caries, trauma, serial extraction or unwillingness of the parent to save the teeth were selected. The teeth were numbered and root canal length was determined using the visual, electronic and the radiographic methods. The actual, electronic and the radiographic measurements were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed using Intraclass correlation test and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The accuracy of EAL and radiographic methods were 92% and 72%, respectively within + 0.5 mm. Both the electronic and conventional radiographic methods showed a high correlation and agreement (ICC intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99 and 0.98 respectively) with the actual measurements. CONCLUSIONS: EALs proved to be more accurate in determining the root canal length than the radiographic method.