Trends of Pediatric Dental Rehabilitation Using General Anesthesia by Service Location During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, 2019 to 2021.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the trends of pediatric dental rehabilitation in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) from 2019 to 2021 across states and demographic groups. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the 2019 to 2021 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytical Files to examine trends in dental rehabilitation for children ages 12 years and younger enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. The final analytic sample included 20,508,093 beneficiaries from 2019, 19,436,957 beneficiaries from 2020, and 20,416,440 beneficiaries from 2021. Chi-square tests were used to compare dental rehabilitation usage across groups (age, sex, race/ethnicity, and place of service). Results: Rehabilitation of Medicaid beneficiaries performed in HOPDs showed a decrease year over year (51 to 34 to 30; P<0.001), while the usage in ASCs increased (1,307 to 1,310 to 1,367; P<0.001). For all three years, the highest usage was seen in Non-Hispanic (NH) American Indian/Alaskan Native children (154, 66, 74; P<0.001), while the lowest usage was seen in NH Black children (21, 16, 17; P<0.001). Rehabilitation for Hispanic children had the greatest relative recovery over the three years (39 to 34 to 38; P<0.001). Conclusions: Dental rehabilitation usage in ambulatory surgery centers showed continued growth through the public health emergency. There was significant variation in rates across states and demographics.

Biology and genome sequence of Streptococcus mutans phage M102AD.

M102AD is the new designation for a Streptococcus mutans phage described in 1993 as phage M102. This change was necessitated by the genome analysis of another S. mutans phage named M102, which revealed differences from the genome sequence reported here. Additional host range analyses confirmed that S. mutans phage M102AD infects only a few serotype c strains. Phage M102AD adsorbed very slowly to its host, and it cannot adsorb to serotype e and f strains of S. mutans. M102AD adsorption was blocked by c-specific antiserum. Phage M102AD also adsorbed equally well to heat-treated and trypsin-treated cells, suggesting carbohydrate receptors. Saliva and polysaccharide production did not inhibit plaque formation. The genome of this siphophage consisted of a linear, double-stranded, 30,664-bp DNA molecule, with a GC content of 39.6%. Analysis of the genome extremities indicated the presence of a 3'-overhang cos site that was 11 nucleotides long. Bioinformatic analyses identified 40 open reading frames, all in the same orientation. No lysogeny-related genes were found, indicating that phage M102AD is strictly virulent. No obvious virulence factor gene candidates were found. Twelve proteins were identified in the virion structure by mass spectrometry. Comparative genomic analysis revealed a close relationship between S. mutans phages M102AD and M102 as well as with Streptococcus thermophilus phages. This study also highlights the importance of conducting research with biological materials obtained from recognized microbial collections.