Effectiveness of Fluoride Varnish in Prevention of Early Childhood Caries in 3-4 Years Old Children - A 36 Month Prospective Community Based Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence for the benefit of applying Fluoride Varnish FV to permanent teeth is generally very positive. However, the caries-inhibiting effect of FVs on primary teeth is still debatable. AIM: To assess the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in prevention of early childhood caries in children over the period of 3 years in high fluoride areas. STUDY DESIGN: A double-blind cluster-randomized controlled trial was undertaken amongst 3-4 years old children. The varnish application was done at three points in the intervention group. RESULTS: Experimental group showed significantly lesser increment in mean ICDAS score than control group at both 12 month and 36 months. Preventive fraction was 72.4% at 12 months and 18.2% at 36 months. Multiple linear regression showed that at 12 months, intervention was the significant predictor with varnish group having 0.140 (95% CI 0.175-0.230) lower net caries increment. At 36 months, baseline ICDAS score and intervention were the significant predictors. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that fluoride varnish is an effective and a safe mode of prevention of early childhood caries in children residing in high fluoride zone. However, the overall effect is influenced by the baseline caries status.

Validation of Hindi (Indian) version of the child perceptions questionnaire (CPQ11-14) among 11-14 year old School Children.

CONTEXT: Oral health is a fundamental aspect of general health which significantly affects quality of life (QoL) of an individual. Oral health-related QoL is a multidimensional concept determined by race, education, culture, and experiences related to oral diseases. AIM: This study aims to evaluate the Hindi (Indian) version of the child perceptions questionnaire (CPQ11-14) among 11-14-year-old school children in Rohtak City, Haryana, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 586 children in Rohtak city, Haryana, India, to find out the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of CPQ11-14. The original version of CPQ11-14was translated to Hindi language, and the dental caries experience was measured by caries assessment spectrum and treatment index. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS 18. Reliability was assessed in 2 ways: internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability. The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Construct validity was confirmed demonstrating statistically significant associations between total CPQ11-14 score and global ratings of oral health (P = 0.00) and overall well-being (P = 0.00). Mean CPQ11-14scores (20.30 ± 10.91) including all the domain scores were higher among children without dental caries when compared to children with dental caries (19.79 ± 9.88) and the instrument was not able to discriminate between two clinical groups significantly (P = 0.08). CONCLUSION: The Hindi version of the CPQ11-14 questionnaire is a reliable instrument having good reliability, good construct, and convergent validity but lacks discriminant validity. Shorter forms of CPQ11-14may be more useful when compared to original construct.

Validation of the Hindi version of the early childhood oral health impact scale among 3-5-year-old preschool children in Rohtak city, Haryana.

BACKGROUND: The early childhood oral health impact scale (ECOHIS) has been developed for assessing oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in the preschool children and translated and validated in different languages to conform to their cultures. This tool has not been validated in Hindi for use among Indian preschool children till now. Hence, the present study was undertaken to assess the validity of the Hindi version of the ECOHIS among 3-5-year-old preschool children in Rohtak city, Haryana. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Hindi version of the ECOHIS was developed through standardized forward-backward linguistic translation method. It was tested for validity and reliability among 469 parents and their children after obtaining informed consent. Construct validity of the measure was assessed by correlating ECOHIS score to dental caries experience (deft). For internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha was determined. A subsample of the parents repeated the ratings of the measure to enable test-retest reliability assessments. RESULTS: Construct validity was r = 0.298. Reliability of the questionnaire was 0.873 (Cronbach's alpha), and test-retest reliability as assessed by intraclass correlation value was 0.91. CONCLUSIONS: The Hindi version of the ECOHIS is a valid instrument for assessing OHRQoL in preschool children.

Relationship of sociodemographic factors on dental caries experience among 11-14-year-old schoolchildren in India.

BACKGROUND: As dynamics of caries is changing, there is a need to understand the impact of sociodemographic factors on dental caries to broaden the horizon of dental caries etiology. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of sociodemographic factors on dental caries experience among 11-14-year-old schoolchildren in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 11-14-year-old schoolchildren in 2015 at Rohtak, India, after approval from the Institution's Ethics Committee. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed for selecting a school randomly from every cluster. Every odd-numbered child from selected class was included in the study through systematic random sampling. Demographic factors were recorded such as education, occupation, income, and socioeconomic status (SES) were assessed using modified Kuppuswamy classification (Oberoi SS 2015). Dental caries was recorded using Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment index. Data were analyzed using SPPS 18, Kruskal-Wallis, and Chi-square tests were used with P value fixed at 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental caries was 28.6% with mean decayed, missing, or filled teeth of 0.60 ± 1.13. Age, gender, position of child, number of siblings, type of family, father's and mother's education, and father's occupation had no significant relationship with dental caries (P > 0.05), whereas mother's occupation, family income, and SES were significantly related to dental caries (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: High socioeconomic status of parents had a significant role on increased dental caries experience among children.