Dentistry for the child and adolescent

Oral health behavior and attitudes of pregnant women in low-income countries are rarely examined, yet should be considered when designing preventative or therapeutic studies to reduce burden of oral diseases. We aimed to understand dental care-seeking behavior, as well as oral health knowledge and attitudes of oral health among pregnant women in rural Nepal. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 16) and focus group discussions (3 groups, n = 23) were conducted among pregnant and recently-delivered women in Sarlahi, Nepal. Transcripts were translated from the local language to English then analyzed using a hybrid approach to thematic coding with Atlas.ti version 7. Women felt confident describing the signs and symptoms of tooth decay and gum disease, but were not knowledgeable about where to receive care for tooth and/or gum pain and relied heavily on the knowledge of their community. Some women used a toothbrush and toothpaste at least once a day to clean their teeth, but many reported the traditional use of a branch of a local shrub or tree as their teeth cleaning instrument. Women suggested a willingness to consider using an oral rinse throughout pregnancy, perceiving that it might have a positive impact on infant health. Future studies should focus on providing adequate and sustainable resources for pregnant women in Nepal and other low income settings to engage in good oral health behaviors (possibly supported through community-based workers), to maintain dental hygiene, and to access qualified dentists as a means of improving their oral health. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01177111
 (Nepal Oil Massage Study) and NCT02788786
 (Pilot Trial).

/pdf/oral-health-knowledge-behavior-and-care-seeking-among-4xwzsgp6kj.pdf

Oral health knowledge, behavior, and care seeking among pregnant and recently-delivered women in rural Nepal: a qualitative study.

As a nutrition scientist, I wonder why the authors have highlighted in the discussion section that “... the caries prevalence in children has not shown a significant decline”.1 This statement is not correct. For example, a comprehensive review conducted by Frencken et al (published in March 2017) found sufficient evidence that the prevalence and severity of cavitated dentine carious lesions among 5and 12-year-olds has decreased over the last three decades.2 Other published data analyses from 2016/2017 have also shown a significant decline in the prevalence and severity of dental caries in children in countries such as Brazil, China, Korea, Thailand, or United States.3-7

/pdf/are-you-discussing-dental-caries-in-children-with-current-3tzn3ezp6h.pdf

Are you Discussing Dental Caries in Children with Current and Local References ? - Letter to The Editor

Background: Oral health is an integral component of general health. School age, especially younger ages, is a period of overall development. Although enjoying good oral health includes more than just having healthy teeth, many children have inadequate oral and general health because of improper oral hygiene, bad eating habits etc. Oral health affects the general health, well-being, education and development of children and diminishes their quality of life. Objectives were to assess the oral health status and oral hygiene of rural school children and to determine the factors associated with it.Methods: A Community based cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural field practice area of Rajahmahendravaram for a period of 3 months. All the children between 1st to 5th classes were screened to evaluate the oral health and hygiene status. Findings were documented in a pre-validated proforma and subsequently analyzed.Results: Total 620 students were screened in 4 rural schools. About 165 (26.6%) students were 10 years age and 54.3% were boys. Decayed tooth were present in 294 (47.4%). About 17% had only 1 decayed tooth, six teeth were seen decayed among 4 (0.6%) students. Dental morbidities are seen in 509 (82.1%). Pulp involvement was seen in 11 (1.8%) students, tooth fracture in 4 (0.8%), gingival involvement in 13 (2.1%), calculus in 52 (8.4%) and scaling in 80 (12.9%). Good oral hygiene was seen in 156 (25.2%).Conclusions: Oral health status and oral hygiene among rural school children is not satisfactory and needs attention.

/pdf/oral-hygiene-and-health-status-of-rural-school-children-in-hgyuz9tb4i.pdf

Oral hygiene and health status of rural school children in Rajahmahendravaram: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Dental caries is still a major health problem in most countries as it school-aged children and adults also. Dental caries continues to be a major public health problem, especially in low- and middle- income countries. It can be prevented and treated with proper utilization of dental services. Untreated dental caries can have pain and infection with significant impact on general health.
Method: This study was conducted to assess the untreated dental caries in children using the pufa/PUFA index. A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out in 297 children aged 2-12 years old. Caries status was assessed by dmft/DMFT index and untreated caries by pufa/PUFA index.
Results: The “untreated caries PUFA ratio” of the population was 30.69%. The mean dmft index was 5.51+3.59, mean pufa 1.39+1.48 and mean DMFT 0.43+1.03 mean PUFA 0.11+0.46 respectively for primary and permanent teeth. Primary dentition had more caries and pufa score than the permanent teeth.
Conclusion: There were untreated caries present in the children showing lack of timely utilization of dental services.

/pdf/assessment-of-sequelae-of-untreated-dental-caries-using-pufa-1lbgpko8.pdf

Assessment of Sequelae of Untreated Dental Caries using PUFA index in Children Visiting a Tertiary Center in Kathmandu

Dental caries occurrence, distribution, oral health status and corresponding treatment needs in 12 - 15 year old children are useful tools for evaluation of oral health. Dental caries status along with its treatment needs was recorded according to World Health Organization (WHO) index (1997) in 366 children from five schools within Jorpati Village Development Committee (VDC), Kathmandu. Dental caries was diagnosed in 156 (42.6%) children, out of which 122 (78.21%) had caries in permanent teeth, 26 (16.67%) had caries in primary teeth, and 8 (5.13%) had caries in both dentition. The age wise distribution of dental caries showed the highest prevalence among 12 year old students (23.8%) and the lowest among 15 year olds (3.8%). Among the female students (177), 43.5% showed presence of dental caries, while the prevalence among male students (179) was 41.8%.Out of the total number of teeth affected by dental caries (336), 273 (81.25%) were permanent teeth and 63 (18.75%) were primary teeth. The intra arch distribution of dental caries in permanent as well as primary dentition was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Restorative treatment (89.38%) was the main need in permanent dentition, and endodontic treatment (60.32%) in primary dentition. Chronologic enamel hypoplasia was found in 14 (3.83%) of the total population, and 62 (16.94%) required oral prophylaxis. These findings are significant as they can initiate further research in this area, which may help establish reliable baseline data for implementation of preventive oral health programs.

Occurrence of dental caries in primary and permanent dentition, oral health status and treatment needs among 12-15 year old school children of Jorpati VDC, Kathmandu.

J Acharya

Papers

Occurrence of dental caries in primary and permanent dentition, oral health status and treatment needs among 12-15 year old school children of Jorpati VDC, Kathmandu.