In vivo comparison of bioceramic putty and mineral trioxide aggregate as pulpotomy medicament in primary molars. A 12-month follow-up randomized clinical trial.

Background: Pulpotomy is one of the common vital pulp therapy procedures for primary molars. The present trend in pulpotomy materials is to use regenerative materials that promote dentinogenesis. Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) is a very popular pulpotomy material. However, it has some limitations including difficult handling characteristics and long setting time. Tricalcium silicate cements evolved, in which bioceramic cements came into existence, have better properties than MTA. The aims and objectives of the study are to evaluate the efficacy of bioceramic putty with MTA as a pulp medicament in primary molars. Materials and Methods: In this randomized in vivo study, sixty primary molars in children aged 4-9 years indicated for pulpotomy were selected. They were assigned using nonprobability convenient sampling technique into two groups: test group - bioceramic putty (EndoSequence Root Repair Material) and control group - MTA (Angelus). After pulp therapy, teeth were restored with stainless steel crowns. Recall clinical and radiographic evaluation was done at 3-, 6-, and 12-month interval to assess success rate. The data were statistically analyzed using Chi-square test, and P ≤ 0.05 was set for statistical significance. Results: At 3-month interval, the success rates were 96.7% and 93.1% with bioceramic and MTA groups, respectively. At 6- and 12-month interval, the success rates were 93.3% and 93.1% with bioceramic and MTA groups, respectively. However, the difference in success rate between the groups was statistically not significant at all the time intervals (P = 0.533 at 3 months, P = 0.972 at 6 and 12 months). Conclusion: Bioceramic putty exhibited comparable results to MTA. Hence, it can be considered alternative pulpotomy agent.

Impact of verbal, Braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children.

BACKGROUND: Visually impaired children face limitations in interacting with the environment, as they cannot see the facial expression of parents, teachers and cannot perceive social behavior. These children are challenged every day in learning basic life skills and maintenance of oral hygiene being one among them. AIM: To evaluate the impact of verbal, braille text, and tactile oral hygiene awareness instructions on oral health status of visually impaired children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty institutionalized visually impaired children aged 6-16 years were selected and divided into three groups (40 children each). Group I: Verbal and tactile, Group II: Verbal and braille, Group III: Verbal, braille, and tactile. Instructions regarding maintenance of good oral hygiene and brushing technique were explained to all the children, and oral health status of these children using plaque index (Silness and Loe) and gingival index (Loe and Silness) was evaluated at 1, 3, and 6 months interval. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: ANOVA test was used to analyze the intra- and inter-group comparisons and Tukey post-hoc test for multiple group comparisons. RESULTS: Children in all the groups showed reduction in plaque and gingival scores. There was the highest percentage of reduction in plaque scores in Group III (70.6%), and the decrease in gingival scores was the highest in Group II (84%). CONCLUSION: Severity of dental plaque and gingivitis in visually impaired individuals can be reduced by a controlled and supervised educational program. The combination of all three, i.e., verbal, braille, and tactile mode of oral health educational aids proved to be effective.

Prevalence and Predictors of Early Childhood Caries in 3- to 6-year-old South Indian Children--A Cross-sectional Descriptive Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and potential risk factors of ECC in 3- to 6-year-old preschool children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 477 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years was randomly selected from the schools in the area of study. Caries was recorded according to the WHO criteria from 1997. Information regarding demographic data, socioeconomic status, feeding habits, oral hygiene practices, birthweight and the children's visits to the dentist was obtained through a structured questionnaire. The data were analysed using Student's t-test, the chi-square test and Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of early childhood caries in 3- to 6-year-old preschool children was found to be 27.3% with a mean dmft of 2.36. ECC increased significantly with age and is more predominant in girls. The maxillary arch was more affected than mandibular arch and children belonging to the low socioeconomic group showed higher caries prevalence. ECC is more prevalent in children accustomed to on-demand breast feeding, bottle feeding at night, between-meal snacking and sweetened pacifier use. Factors such as increased frequency of toothbrushing, use of toothbrush and fluoridated dentifrice were found to be the protective factors against the risk of ECC. CONCLUSION: A strong correlation between the risk factors studied and ECC was found. Health education, proper guidelines on feeding and oral hygiene practices and access to early oral health care can substantially reduce the risk and prevalence of ECC.