Factors relating to failure rates of dental procedures in children following comprehensive dental treatments under general anesthesia: A 2-year retrospective study.

Background and Aim: This study assessed the demographic, treatment, and patient characteristics relating to 2-year postoperative failure and success rate of 2 to 12-years-old healthy children that underwent various dental procedures during comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia (GA). Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted after the completion of a 2-year postoperative follow-up examination. The hospital records of all the children were reviewed by an experienced examiner. In the follow-up appointment, the clinical and radiographic evaluations of the treatments, oral hygiene, and oral hygiene practices were recorded. A P value of <0.05 was set as statistically significant. Results: Around 221 healthy children were included in the study, with a mean (SD) age of 4.92 (1.37). The most common type of failure detected 2 years postoperatively were recurrent decay (mean = 2.68, SD = 2.50), followed by stainless steel crown (SSC) open margin (mean = 0.69, SD = 1.02). Children with good oral hygiene involved the highest number of successful procedures (mean = 5.28, SD = 1.99) (P = 0.032). Children with poor oral hygiene was the factor that involved the highest number of procedure failures (mean = 8.28, SD = 3.38) (P < 0.001). The Pearson correlation coefficient showed that the younger the mean age of children during treatment under GA, the higher the rate of dental procedure failure (r = -0.202, n = 221, P < 0.01). Conclusion: The failure rate of dental procedures performed during treatment under GA was highest among younger children and children with poor oral hygiene at the time of treatment. SSC crown restoration was the most common type of dental procedure received, and recurrent decay and SSC open margin were the most common types of failure detected.

Accuracy of the DIAGNOcam and bitewing radiographs in the diagnosis of cavitated proximal carious lesions in primary molars.

AIMS: To evaluate the diagnostic abilities of near-infrared light transillumination (using the DIAGNOcam) and bitewing radiographs in detecting cavitated proximal carious lesions in primary molars. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional analytical, clinical study. The proximal surfaces of primary molars of healthy 5- to 8-year-old children were radiographically screened for the presence of carious lesions in the enamel or outer third of dentin (D1). Two trained and calibrated examiners evaluated the depth of caries in bitewing radiographs and DIAGNOcam images and then verified the presence of cavitation by direct visual examination using the "International Caries Detection and Assessment System" after temporary tooth separation. RESULTS: A total of 236 proximal lesions were included in the study. Most of the clinically cavitated lesions (51.9%) were D1 radiographically and in outer dentin lesions (scores 3 and 4) by the DIAGNOcam (37% and 48.1%, respectively). Although DIAGNOcam showed higher sensitivity (0.852) compared to the radiographs (0.519), it showed slightly less specificity (0.569) compared to the radiographs (0.579). However, DIAGNOcam showed higher value of the area under the curve (AUC = 0.722; P < 0.001) compared to the radiographic method (AUC = 0.561; P = 0.308). CONCLUSIONS: The DIAGNOcam showed higher sensitivity and better accuracy than bitewing radiographs in diagnosing cavitated proximal lesions in primary molars and can be generally considered as an alternative to radiographs to detect cavitation without the hazards of ionizing radiation in children.

Effectiveness of an oral health education seminar for paediatric and family medicine residents.

AIM: To assess the immediate effect of a 60-minute oral health educational seminar for paediatric and family medicine residents in improving their knowledge, attitude, likelihoodtowards incorporating oral health preventive practice in their current practices to well-child visits, and confidence in identifying and referring patients with dental trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Baseline pre- and post-test design was used to evaluate the immediate effect of a 60-minute PowerPoint oral health educational seminar given to the paediatric and family medicine residents. STATISTICS: Multiple-choice items were used and the pre- and post-test data were analysed with McNemar and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Sixty-eight residents participated in the oral health educational seminar and completed the questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 29.9 years old (SD ±4.8 yrs.). Immediately following a 60-minute oral health educational seminar, there was an overall significant increase in participants' knowledge, attitudes and likelihood towards incorporating oral health preventive practice in their current practices to well-child visits (p<0.05). More confidence in identifying and referring patients with dental trauma was reported by 100% of participants. CONCLUSIONS: A 60-minute oral health educational seminar was effective in improving paediatric and family medicine residents' immediate knowledge, attitude, and likelihood towards incorporating oral health preventive practice in their current practices to well-child visits. Significantly more residents felt more confident in identifying and referring patients with dental trauma. Key messages: an oral health educational seminar can be effective in improving paediatric and family medicine residents' immediate knowledge, attitude, and likelihood towards incorporating oral health preventive practice in their current practices to well-child visits.