Sports drinks effect on salivary volume and pH in children after exercise: a randomized clinical study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the sports' related oral health behavior and the effect of sports drinks on the salivary volume and acidity of 6 to 14 years old children. METHODS: Sixty-eight children with a median age of 8 years old from Waterford Tennis Association camp participated in the study. Each child was randomly assigned to either the control group that consumed water or the experimental group that consumed a sports drink. Salivary volume and acidity were measured for all groups before exercise, right after exercise and after consuming the rehydrating agent. Salivary volume was measured by dripping into a pre-measured (mL) plastic medicine cup while salivary acidity was measured using an electric pH meter with 0.01 sensitivity. RESULTS: Oral health behavior did not differ between the two groups. No statistically significant difference was detected in the salivary volume before and after exercise. A statistically significant increase (P=0.005) was found in the salivary volume before (1.73ml) and after re-hydration (2.92ml) regardless of the drink consumed (P=0.813). Salivary pH increased significantly (P=0.012) before (7.06) and after exercise (7.73), and dropped significantly (P=0.001) after the consumption of the rehydration drink (6.63) among the same group. The pH decrease was greater in the sports drink group (P=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: No difference in the children's salivary volume was found between the two groups. However, consumption of sports drinks reduces significantly salivary pH and thus, water should be the drink of choice for rehydration in children.

Association of food insecurity with early childhood caries.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the association of food insecurity on the prevalence of dental caries in preschool children. METHODS: Eighty-two children, aged 12-71 months old, from the Marquette University School of Dentistry Community South Clinic and their caregivers participated in this cross-sectional study. Following informed consent, parents completed the validated six-item US Department of Agriculture food insecurity questionnaire and questions regarding demographic information and family structure. Upon clinical examination caries was recorded using the decayed, missing, filled teeth (dmft) index based on the International Caries Detection and Assessment System criteria. RESULTS: The correlation between dmft and food insecurity was found statistically significant (P = 0.002, R2 = 0.115), and children of higher food insecurity demonstrated higher levels of dental caries. Food insecurity was also positively correlated with parental age (P = 0.034), whereby higher levels of food insecurity were associated with the father being less than 25 years of age. Results from the questionnaire revealed that 58.5 percent of the families were fully secure, 11.0 percent had marginal, 24.4 percent had low, and 6.1 percent had very low food security. Results from clinical examination reported dmft 4.09 ± 4.38, dt 2.20 ± 2.83, and ft 1.83 ± 2.95. Most of the children (79.7 percent) were Hispanic, 53.1 percent were female and the median age of the sample was 48 months. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study suggest that preschool children with food insecurity have higher levels of dental caries.

Survival Rates of Stainless Steel Crowns and Multi-Surface Composite Restorations Placed by Dental Students in a Pediatric Clinic.

PURPOSE: This study examined survival rates of multi-surface composite restorations and stainless steel crowns (SSCs) placed by students in a pediatric dental clinic as well as the length of time it takes for restorations to be replaced with stainless steel crowns. STUDY DESIGN: Data from electronic dental records for all children with at least one 2-surface composite restorations or SSCs on a primary first or second molar from January 1, 2007 to September 30, 2015 were analyzed. The primary outcome was the time to a new restoration or SSC on the same tooth, with time to a crown as a secondary outcome. Descriptive statistics were obtained and the cumulative incidence of the event of interest was estimated using 95% confidence intervals and compared between groups using Fine-Gray regression. RESULTS: A total of 6,288 teeth from 2,044 children were analyzed. Three years after the initial procedure, 1.5% of SSCs and 21% of 2 and 3 surface composite restorations failed and needed a replacement (Hazard Ratio [HR]= 14; 95% Confidence interval [CI] 9-22, p<0.001). Also, 6.8% of composite restorations needed replacement with SSCs' (HR=4; 95% CI: 3-7). CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates that stainless steel crowns had a higher survival rate than multi-surface composite resins placed by students at a pediatric dental clinic in primary molars of children.

Senior dental students' experience with Cariogram in a pediatric dentistry clinic.

The study objective was to assess predoctoral dental students' experience with a caries risk assessment computer program in the pediatric dentistry clinic at Marquette University School of Dentistry. In 2005, spring semester sophomore dental students (class of 2008) were introduced to the caries risk assessment computer program "Cariogram." The students received a fifty-minute lecture on caries risk assessment and a demonstration on how to use Cariogram in the clinic. After two years of clinical exposure to Cariogram, sixty-six out of eighty senior dental students completed an anonymous eleven-item questionnaire on their experience with the tool. Each item on the questionnaire was scored on a five-point Likert scale with the exception of two questions. Full- and part-time faculty members in the pediatric dentistry clinic were involved in teaching and supervising students in the use of Cariogram for caries risk assessment after their training and calibration. Forty-five percent of the students who participated in the study agreed that Cariogram was easy to understand, and 18 percent disagreed. Thirty-six percent felt that it was easy to apply, and 25 percent reported that it was useful in determining caries preventive procedures. The students reported that 60 percent of full-time and 33 percent of part-time faculty were knowledgeable about Cariogram use. A majority of the students felt that Cariogram was not easy to understand, and eighty-two percent of them reported that they would not be using Cariogram in their private offices. Future studies should explore reasons why students do not feel inclined to use Cariogram as a caries risk assessment tool in their private practices even after being exposed to the tool in dental school.

Acrocallosal syndrome: a case report and literature survey.

Acrocallosal syndrome (ACS) is a rare, genetically transmitted disorder characterized by facial deformities. These include a large forehead, large anterior fontanelle, broad nasal bridge with increased intercanthal distance, partial or complete agenesis of the corpus callosum, polysyndactyly, polydactyly, and mental retardation. Limited information concerning the dental development and treatment has been published. In addition to the classic facial deformities aforementioned, the other most commonly reported oral findings are: short philtrum/upper lip (30%); high-arched palate (30%); cleft lip/palate (20%); micro/retrognathia (13%); open mouth (15%); thin lips (11%); and 1 report of over-retained primary teeth. Seizure disorders are also a common finding due to the neuroanatomical deformities associated with this disorder. The purpose of this report was to describe the case of a 7-year-old male child with acrocallosal syndrome who presented with a cleft lip and palate, hydrocephalus, a seizure disorder, and delayed exfoliation of his primary dentition and was observed for 4 years. A review is conducted to present the pertinent medical literature concerning the oral findings associated with ACS. Dental management of this case and possible contributing factors of delayed exfoliation/permanent tooth eruption are also discussed.

Dental treatment under general anesthesia in healthy and medically compromised developmentally disabled children: a comparative study.

AIM: To compare the type, number of procedures and working time of dental treatment provided under dental general anesthesia (DGA) in healthy and medically compromised/developmentally disabled children (MCDD children). DESIGN: This cross-sectional prospective study involved 80 children divided into two groups of 40 children each. Group 1 consisted of healthy and Group 2 consisted of MCDD children. RESULTS: Healthy children needed more working time than MCDD children, the means being 161 +/- 7.9 and 84 +/- 5.7 minutes, respectively (P = 0.0001). Operative dentistry and endodontic treatments showed a significant statistical difference (P = 0.0001). The means of procedures were 17 +/- 5.0 for healthy children and 11 +/- 4.8 for MCDD children (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Healthy children needed more extensive dental treatment than MCDD children under DGA. The information from this sample of Mexican children could be used as reference for determining trends both within a facility as well as in comparing facilities in cross-population studies.

Análisis de esmalte grabado con ácido fosfórico y esmalte grabado con energía láser de CO2 usando la técnica de fluorescencia láser / An analysis of phosphoric acid and CO2 laser etched dental enamel using the laser fluorescence technique

El objetivo de este estudio fue buscar si el esmalte grabado con energía láser demostraba un nivel distinto de fluorescencia que el esmalte grabado con ácido fosfórico. Cinco molares extraídos fueron usados. Tres ventanas fueron formadas en la superficie bucal. La primera ventana sirvió como control; la segunda ventana fue grabada con láser CO2; la tercera ventana con ácido fosfórico. Una superficie de 1 mm2 fue analizada con un espectrómetro de fluorescencia láser. Cada mm2 fue examinado a intervalos de 50 micrones por un total de 400 veces. El valor de fluorescencia obtenido en la ventana control fue sustraído de los valores de fluorescencia obtenidos en la dos ventanas grabadas para determinar un valor incremental de fluorescencia por cada ventana grabada. El examen estadístico "paired t-test" mostró que el esmalte grabado con láser de CO2 tuvo un incremento de fluorescencia significativamente mayor (p=0.002). Este resultado parece indicar que el grabar esmalte con láser de CO2 aumenta su nivel de fluorescencia. Esto puede tener implicaciones positivas para reducir la desmineralización que ocurre en áreas de esmalte grabado

La restauración de resina preventiva. Revisión de la literatura y técnica / The preventive resin restoration. Review of the literature and technique

El propósito de este artículo es actualizar al clínico con esta alternativa de tratamiento para lesiones mínimas de caries en fosas y fisuras. En contraste con las restauraciones de amalgama de clase I, existe una preservación máxima de estructura dental. Esta técnica es de valor particular en odontopediatría donde el clínico encuentra pequeñas lesiones cariosas en fosas y fisuras de los dientes permanentes recién erupcionados. Las restauraciones preventivas con resinas ofrecen una solución que es terapéutica y minimiza la invasión al diente