Parental Perception of the Importance of the Permanent First Molar in Their Children.

Purpose: To evaluate parental knowledge of the importance of the permanent first molar (PFM).
Methods: Three hundred and eighty parents filled a 22-item questionnaire assisted by a trained investigator. They were asked to indicate the correct answer from the given list of options in order to assess their awareness about the eruption sequence of primary and permanent teeth and the importance of PFMs. Assessment of parental attitude toward preventive management and treatment of carious or infected permanent teeth was done, together with their willingness to comply with the treatment options suggested for such teeth. The sequelae of caries in PFM and their effect on the growth and development of the face and jaws were assessed as well.
Results: Seventy-five percent and 72.4 percent of parents responded correctly about the number of primary and permanent teeth. When parents were asked about the chronology of tooth eruption, 53.9 percent of parents thought that the PFM erupted between 10 and 12 years of age. Almost 65 percent of the parents said they would start brushing their child's teeth after all the primary teeth erupt. Forty-five percent agreed to the extraction of PFMs, considering them to be primary teeth, as they felt unnecessary to treat a carious tooth that was going to exfoliate.
Conclusion: Parents often based their decision for dental treatment choices for their children on lack of information as they were unaware about the eruption and importance of PFM. There is a need to emphasize the importance of PFM during interaction with parents.

Evaluation of the association between tuftelin gene polymorphism, Streptococcus mutans, and dental caries susceptibility.

CONTEXT: Dental caries can be conceptualized as an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to identify any polymorphism in tuftelin gene and its association with dental caries susceptibility, either singly or in combination with the microbial causing agent: Streptococcus mutans. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The presented study included a total of 30 children of age group 12-16 years categorized into two groups: 15 children with no detectable caries in Group I and 15 children with high caries (DMFS ≥10) in group II. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The stimulated salivary samples were inoculated in mitis salivarius bacitracin agar plates and growth of S. mutans was estimated. DNA extraction was done from whole blood and amplification was done with the help of real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. Oligonucleotide primers were designed to flank single nucleotide polymorphism in the gene. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The collected data was statistically analyzed by unpaired t-test, paired t-test, Chi-square test, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis. RESULTS: The difference in mean salivary S. mutans counts between the two groups was highly significant. Correlation between tuftelin gene polymorphism and dental caries susceptibility was not significant in both Group I and Group II. Only 4.1% of the variability in dental caries risk can be explained by interaction between tuftelin gene and S. mutans. CONCLUSIONS: Future research studies including parents and siblings should be carried out to focus on further investigation into the mechanism of this gene-environment interaction.