Dental caries and associated factors in 7-, 12- and 15-year-old schoolchildren in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland: Changes in caries experience from 1992 to 2021.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological surveys in schoolchildren are used to assess the current status of oral health. AIM: To investigate the changes in caries experience among schoolchildren in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland, over a period of three decades. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the impact of various personal and demographic factors such as age group, place of residence or dental hygiene awareness on caries prevalence as well as the history of orthodontic treatment in the year 2021. DESIGN: A random sampling of school classes from first, sixth and ninth grades, that is schoolchildren aged 7, 12 and 15 years, was performed. Children's dmft and DMFT scores were determined according to the WHO methodology while information on oral hygiene habits and dental prophylaxis awareness was collected by means of a questionnaire directed to the legal guardians of the children. Individual logistic regressions were performed to identify possible influencing factors for caries. RESULTS: A total of 1357 schoolchildren could be included in the study. In the year 2021, the youngest age group had an average of 0.68 primary teeth that needed treatment, whereas the 12- and 15-year-olds each had approximately 0.3 permanent teeth requiring treatment. While these numbers remained constant over the examination period of three decades, most of the other caries indices improved. Younger children (p = .001) and children with a migrant background (p < .001) were found to be risk groups. Orthodontic treatment was more frequent in females, schoolchildren of Swiss nationality and children attending higher secondary schools at ninth grade. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that even in a country with a low prevalence of caries experience, untreated carious lesions remain a problem as their prevalence remained unchanged over the examination period of three decades.

Influence of time, toothpaste and saliva in the retention of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis on different toothbrushes.

OBJECTIVES: The intraoral transmission of cariogenic and periodontopathogenic species seems to be facilitated by contaminated toothbrushes and other oral hygiene devices. The aim of this investigation was to analyze the in vitro retention and survival rate of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis on different toothbrushes. The impacts of human saliva and antimicrobial toothpaste on these parameters were further evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Part I: Four toothbrushes (Colgate 360°, Curaprox CS5460 ultra soft, elmex InterX, Trisa Flexible Head3) were contaminated by S. mutans DSM 20523 or S. sanguinis DSM 20068 suspensions for three minutes. Bacteria were removed from the toothbrushes after either three minutes (T0) or 24 hours (T24) of dry storage and grown on Columbia blood agar plates for the quantification of colony-forming units (CFUs). Part II: The effects of saliva from a caries-active or a caries-inactive person and of toothpaste containing 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate were also tested. RESULTS: Part I: After three minutes of dry storage, approximately one percent of the bacteria were still detectable on the toothbrushes. After 24 hours, S. sanguinis exhibited a more pronounced decrease in viable cell numbers compared with S. mutans but the differences were not significant (Kruskal-Wallis test, p>0.05). Part II: The addition of human saliva from a caries-active or caries-inactive person slightly increased the retention of both streptococcal species at T0. The use of toothpaste had no influence on the amount of viable streptococci at T0, but it reduced the microbial load after 24 hours of storage. There were only slight nonsignificant differences (p>0.05) between the four toothbrushes. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro bacterial retention and survival of S. sanguinis and S. mutans on different toothbrushes occurred. Within the limitations of this study, the use of human saliva or an antimicrobial toothpaste did not lead to significant differences in the microbial load on toothbrushes.

Influence of time, toothpaste and saliva in the retention of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis on different toothbrushes

Objectives: The intraoral transmission of cariogenic and periodontopathogenic species seems to be facilitated by contaminated toothbrushes and other oral hygiene devices. The aim of this investigation was to analyze the in vitro retention and survival rate of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis on different toothbrushes. The impacts of human saliva and antimicrobial toothpaste on these parameters were further evaluated. Material and Methods: Part I: Four toothbrushes (Colgate 360°, Curaprox CS5460 ultra soft, elmex InterX, Trisa Flexible Head3) were contaminated by S. mutans DSM 20523 or S. sanguinis DSM 20068 suspensions for three minutes. Bacteria were removed from the toothbrushes after either three minutes (T0) or 24 hours (T24) of dry storage and grown on Columbia blood agar plates for the quantification of colony-forming units (CFUs). Part II: The effects of saliva from a caries-active or a caries-inactive person and of toothpaste containing 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate were also tested. Results: Part I: After three minutes of dry storage, approximately one percent of the bacteria were still detectable on the toothbrushes. After 24 hours, S. sanguinis exhibited a more pronounced decrease in viable cell numbers compared with S. mutans but the differences were not significant (Kruskal-Wallis test, p>0.05). Part II: The addition of human saliva from a caries-active or caries-inactive person slightly increased the retention of both streptococcal species at T0. The use of toothpaste had no influence on the amount of viable streptococci at T0, but it reduced the microbial load after 24 hours of storage. There were only slight nonsignificant differences (p>0.05) between the four toothbrushes. Conclusions: In vitro bacterial retention and survival of S. sanguinis and S. mutans on different toothbrushes occurred. Within the limitations of this study, the use of human saliva or an antimicrobial toothpaste ...