Pediatric Dentistry 

About: Pediatric Dentistry is an academic journal published by American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Early childhood caries. It has an ISSN identifier of 0164-1263. Over the lifetime, 2795 publications have been published receiving 69351 citations. The journal is also known as: Pediatr dent.

Early childhood caries and quality of life: child and parent perspectives.

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early childhood caries (ECC) on children’s oral health-related quality of life (QOL) before and 4 weeks after its treatment, as assessed by the children themselves as well as by their parents/guardians. Methods: This study had a longitudinal intervention design. Sixty-nine children diagnosed with ECC and 43 children without caries (combined children’s mean age=50.4 months; range=22 to 70 months) and their parents/guardians responded to face-to-face administered surveys before a dental treatment was started (baseline assessment). Thirtyseven children with ECC completed dental rehabilitation. Four weeks after the treatment was completed, these 37 children as well as their parents/guardians responded to a second survey (follow-up assessment). Results: The results show that children with ECC have significantly lower oral healthrelated QOL than children without ECC as assessed both by the children and the parents/ guardians at baseline. The children with ECC who received dental treatment had a significantly improved oral health-related QOL at the follow-up assessment when compared with their baseline measurement as measured both with the children’s self-ratings of oral health-related QOL and the parents’/guardians’ perception of their child’s oral healthrelated QOL. Conclusions: ECC and its treatment affect children’s oral health-related QOL in a significant way. Oral health-related QOL can be assessed validly and reliably both in self-reports from children as young as 36 months of age as well as by asking parents/ guardians about their perceptions of their child’s oral health-related QOL. (Pediatr Dent. 2003;25:431-440)

The effect of severe caries on the quality of life in young children

Abstract: Purpose: This pilot study assessed the possible effects of extensive dental caries on the quality of life in young children. Methods: Information was collected for 77 children (age 3566 months, mean=44 months) with severe caries in the primary dentition. Parents or guardians were asked questions concerning pain, eating habits, and social behavior of the children before and after oral rehabilitation. Results: Dental disease was found to have an impact on children’s well being. There was a significant change in complaint of pain, eating preferences, quantity of food eaten, and sleep habits before and after treatment of dental caries. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the effect of severe caries on quality of life in young children. (Pediatr Dent 21:325-326, 1999)

Anterior supernumerary teeth--assessment and surgical intervention in children.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to present various guidelines in the diagnostic assessment and surgical management of anterior supernumerary teeth in chiMren. Early detection and prudent management of these teeth was considered essentiai in reducing disturbances in the eruption and position of the adjacent permanent incisors. It was recormnended that immediate surgical removal be performed unless the supernumerary tooth was diagnosed as a non-inverted conical type or placed above the apices of the adjacent permanent teeth. If sufficient arch space was provided but the permanent incisor failed to erupt on its own accord, surgical exposure was then indicated for the unerupted crown. I~nally, orthodontic traction was recommended only if spontaneous eruption did not occur within a short period of observation following crown exposure.

Pulp revascularization of a necrotic infected immature permanent tooth: case report and review of the literature.

Abstract: The purpose of this report was to present the case of a patient wherein revascularization of the necrotic infected pulp space of an immature permanent maxillary central incisor tooth was induced in vivo by stimulation of a blood clot from the periapical tissues into the canal space. This was achieved after disinfection of the canal space with a topical antibiotic paste followed by a blood clot scaffold induced from the periapical tissues. This treatment approach offers clinicians great potential to avoid the need for traditional apexification with calcium hydroxide or the need to achieve an artificial apical barrier with mineral trioxide aggregate. Furthermore, this treatment approach can help rescue infected immature teeth by physiologically strengthening the root walls.

Pit and fissure sealant: review of the literature.

Abstract: For this literature review of pit and fissure sealant, 1,465 references were selected by a search for "sealants" on PubMed. References were limited to dental journals and papers in the English language. The search comprised papers from 1971 to October 2001. Additional papers of historical significance prior to 1971 were added from memory and from reference lists published in early papers. This paper reviewed the literature on pit and fissure sealants under the following subheadings: (1) laboratory studies, (2) clinical technique and tooth preparation, (3) etching time, (4) auxiliary application of pit and fissure sealant, (5) retention and caries prevention, (6) fluoride used with sealants and fluoride-containing sealant, (7) glass ionomer materials as sealants, (8) options in sealant: filled vs unfilled; colored vs clear; autocure vs light-initiated, (9) sealant placed over caries in a therapeutic manner, (10) cost effectiveness of sealant application, (11) underuse of pit and fissure sealant, (12) the estrogenicity issue, (13) use of an intermediate bonding layer to improve retention, (14) new developments and projections, and (15) summary and conclusions. From a careful and thorough review of peer-reviewed publications on pit and fissure sealant, it is clear that sealants are safe, effective and underused (at least underused in the United States). Pit and fissure sealant is best applied to high-risk populations by trained auxiliaries using sealant that incorporates the benefit of an intermediate bonding layer, applied under the rubber dam or with some alternative short-term, but effective, isolation technique, onto an enamel surface that has been cleaned with an air polishing technique and etched with 35% phosphoric acid for 15 seconds. The dental profession awaits with enthusiasm, and some impatience, the incorporation of dentin-bonding technology into the development of a modern, more durable, resin-based sealant.