Comparison of temperaments of children with and without baby bottle tooth decay.

Several demographic studies have been done to identify children at risk for Baby Bottle Tooth Decay (BBTD). Discussions have described these children with Baby Bottle Tooth Decay as strong tempered, cranky, restless, and fussy. The parents of these children have acknowledged these behaviors. To determine whether there were differences in temperament, children with Baby Bottle Tooth Decay were compared with children without Baby Bottle Tooth Decay by assessing the nine temperament components described by the Toddler Temperament Scale (TTS) questionnaire. Parents completed the temperament questionnaire and ninety-two children between twelve and thirty-six months old were studied. Scores for the nine temperament components were tabulated and temperament difficulty was determined as defined by the authors of the toddler Temperament Scale. At-test comparison between the two groups revealed no significant difference for the nine temperament components. There was also no difference when comparing clusters of the nine components. The conclusion is that there is no difference in the temperaments between the group of children with Baby Bottle Tooth Decay and the comparison group of children without Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

Relationship of tonsil size on an airway blockage maneuver in children during sedation.

A previous report suggested that airway compromise without self-correction may occur in pediatric dental patients sedated with chloral hydrate (CH) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and may be interpreted as "deep" sedation. The purpose of this institutionally approved study was to determine 1) the association between the size of the tonsils and 2) the degree of expired carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen saturation (SaO2) changes to simulated airway obstruction using the Moore head-tilt maneuver for 30 sec or less. Thirty healthy children (ASA I), aged 22-40 months, were evaluated for tonsil size and sedated with CH (50 mg/kg) and hydroxyzine (2 mg/kg) and supplemented with N2O. Pulse oximetry and capnography were used to monitor the child. During the restorative phase when the patient appeared asleep, the head was rolled forward with the chin touching the chest for a period of 30 sec. Changes in SaO2 and CO2 waveform were observed during this period. The results indicated that seven children who had enlarged tonsils had blocked airways (as determined by capnography) lasting approximately 15 sec. The remaining children did not have enlarged tonsils and continued to exchange air appropriately. O2 levels did not change during this period. The results suggest that the likelihood of airway blockage increases with enlarged tonsils. In children without airway blockage, ventilation occurs unimpeded, and attempts to readjust the head may not occur. The association between airway blockage and patient responsiveness is discussed in relation to sedation levels.

A comparison of opinions from parents of disabled and non-disabled children on behavior management techniques used in dentistry.

The purposes of this study were to compare the acceptance of pediatric dental behavioral management techniques by 40 parents of children with disabilities with that of 40 parents whose children were not disabled and to determine the effect of prior information on the level of acceptance for both groups of parents. An instrument containing a demographic questionnaire and using a visual analog scale asked parents to indicate acceptance level of hand-over mouth, sedation, restraint using Papoose board, and general anesthesia for either a check-up/cleaning, dental filling, or treatment of a toothache. One half of each parent group received a written description and rationale for the behavior management technique prior to rating acceptance, and the other half did not. Although differences were found between parents of the disabled and non-disabled and between those informed and not informed, only one technique and procedure (restraint for check-up/cleaning) was significantly different for acceptability (p < or = 0.05), and that was between uninformed parents of non-disabled children and informed parents of disabled children. We conclude that having a disabled child or receiving a prior rational for pediatric behavior management techniques was not significantly related to differences in acceptance of the techniques for the procedures described.

Prevalence of dental caries in USAF family members age 3-15.

This study was undertaken to determine the caries prevalence and restorative needs of United States Air Force (USAF) family members ages 3-15. Examinations were performed on 1802 USAF children at five bases. Indexes recorded were: Decayed, Missing, Filled Surfaces (DMFS) for permanent teeth; decayed, filled surfaces (dfs) for primary teeth; and a Dental Restorative Treatment Need Index. Results indicate an increase in the dfs and DMFS index with age, with more caries present in young children located overseas. No significant differences between children of officers and enlisted members were found. A higher dfs and DMFS index was found in other racial families as compared to blacks or whites. This study's overall population sample had a higher dfs index but lower DMFS index than the 1986-87 NIDR survey showed.

The effect of tetracycline on the incidence of postextraction alveolar osteitis.

Four hundred twenty-four mandibular third molar extractions of varied surgical difficulty were evaluated for the occurrence of alveolar osteitis. In 219 of these sockets, tetracycline powder was placed immediately after the tooth was removed. This resulted in a significant reduction in the incidence of alveolar osteitis from 28.7% to 14.6%. There was also a positive correlation between the rate of alveolar osteitis and the increasing depth of the impaction and the degree of surgical difficulty.

Gustatory lacrimation in association with the branchio-oto-renal syndrome.

Branchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome is a developmental complex presenting with various combinations of ear pits, branchial cleft cysts, deafness and renal anomalies, which is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. This report describes a father and 2 children with BOR syndrome in which gustatory lacrimation (GL) was also present in 2 of them. GL is considered to be a rare, non-hereditary type of anomalous, cranial nerve-end organ innervation. Since lacrimal stenosis, which can clinically mimic GL, is also a feature of the BOR syndrome, future reports require lacrimal reflex testing and duct patency evaluation to define this variation in the BOR phenotype.