Parental knowledge of dental erosion and erosion-related risk factors in children.

INTRODUCTION: Dental erosion in children has been steadily on the increase in recent years. This is mainly due to the contemporary eating habits of the new generations and their upbringing from an early age to prefer foods and beverages with high acid content. AIM: To study the knowledge of parents about dental erosion and the most common risk factors associated with it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were gathered through a direct individual questionnaire administered to the parents of children aged 3 to 5 years. The results were analyzed by descriptive statistics and the Pearson chi-squared test for independence using SPSS 19. RESULTS: A large proportion of respondents (68.5%) stated that they knew what dental erosion was. Most of them (77.4%) were aware of the detrimental effect of carbonated beverages. In contrast, only 23.8% were aware of the potentially harmful effect of excessive consumption of citrus fruits, and only 31.9% of parents considered the impact of excessive intake of fruit juices. 16.1% of the participants were informed about the erosive potential of some medicines such as vitamin C. Nearly half of the parents (46.6%) found vigorous tooth brushing damaging. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high self-esteem, a low percentage of the respondents were actually aware of the most common risk factors for dental erosion in children.

Oral Hygiene Status and Gingivitis in Overweight and Obese Children.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity poses a significant health risk to our society with prevalence that has dramatically increased in children. Obesity and periodontal diseases share many common risk factors. AIM: To study the oral hygiene status and prevalence of gingivitis in children with increased body mass index. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in Plovdiv, October-December 2017 and January-March 2018 among 1826 school children aged 6-11. The oral hygiene status was determined using Silness-Loe plaque index and Green-Vermillion calculus index assessed on vestibular surfaces of first maxillary permanent molars and one maxillary and one mandibular central permanent incisor, and lingual surfaces of mandibular first permanent molars. The condition of the gingiva was determined as presence or absence of gingivitis. RESULTS: The study included 1826 children (953 boys and 921 girls). With regard to BMI, the distribution should be 5% underweight, 66.5% normal weight, 17.7% overweight, and 10.8% obese, as in the text below. There was no significant correlation between age and BMI. No significant correlation was found between BMI and gingivitis (. CONCLUSION: Increased BMI is not an independent predictor of gingivitis. Poor oral hygiene is strongly associated only with gender.

Molar incisor hypomineralisation in 7-to-14-year old children in Plovdiv, Bulgaria--an epidemiologic study.

INTRODUCTION: Molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) is a developmental disturbance of enamel affecting the first permanent molars and permanent incisors. The epidemiological evidence on MIH prevalence shows it to be in the range of 3.6 to 25%. The prevalence of MIH has not been documented in Bulgaria which warranted the conduction of the present study. AIM: To find the prevalence of molar incisor hypomineralisation in Bulgarian children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included randomly selected 2960 children aged 7 to 14 years from Plovdiv and born between 1992 and 1999. The children were allocated to age groups which were matched in number--each of them included 370 children and consisted of approximately equal number of girls and boys. The defect was assessed by visual and tactile inspection using directed light without the enamel surface being preliminary dried. The prevalence of MIH was determined totally and for each age group; also we determined the degree of damage by type of teeth, and the average number of affected teeth of one person with MIH. The results were analysed using alternative analysis at a level of significance P < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean prevalence of MIH of the studied populations was 3.58%. The prevalence of MIH for the different age groups was within the range of 2.43-7.84%. The highest prevalence was found for the children born in 1999 (7.84%). It was significantly higher in comparing all age groups (P < 0.05) with the exception of those born in 1992 (P > 0.05). The mean number of affected teeth per person with MIH was 3.99 of which 2.08 were first permanent molars, 1.86--incisors and 0.5--canines. The incisors and the first permanent molars were approximately equally affected (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study suggest that molar incisor hypomineralization can be found in Bulgarian children too. The prevalence of MIH and the mean number of affected teeth of one individual are lower than the data reported in similar studies in other countries.