A systematic review of caries risk in children <6 years of age.

BACKGROUND: For caries risk assessment (CRA) tools for young children to be evidence-based, it is important to systematically review the literature to identify factors associated with the onset of early childhood caries (ECC). AIM: This updated systematic review aimed to identify current evidence on caries risk in young children. DESIGN: A comprehensive and systematic literature search of relevant databases was conducted to update a previous systematic review and identify risk factors associated with ECC. Potential risk factors were identified based on strength of association using odds ratios, hazard ratios, relative risk, etc. GRADE was used for rating quality evidence through consensus. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies met inclusion criteria for the search from mid-2017 to 2021. Twenty-five publications from the prior systematic review, from 1997 to mid-2017, were also included. Several socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical variables were identified as ECC risk factors. Factors included the following: age, socioeconomic status, frequency of and supervised toothbrushing, fluoride exposure, breast- and bottle-feeding, feeding habits, absence of a dental home, past caries experience, active non-cavitated lesions, visible plaque, enamel defects, and microbiome. CONCLUSION: This study provides updated evidence of risk factors for ECC that could be included in CRA tools.

Children's Oral Health Initiative: workers' perspectives on its impact in First Nations communities. / Initiative en santé buccodentaire des enfants : le point de vue des intervenants quant à ses effets dans les communautés des Premières Nations.

INTRODUCTION: Since 2004, the Children's Oral Health Initiative (COHI) has been working in many First Nations and Inuit communities in Canada to address oral health disparities, specifically early childhood caries (ECC). The COHI community-based approach improves early childhood oral health (ECOH) by balancing prevention with minimally invasive dentistry. The goal is to reduce the burden of oral disease, mainly by minimizing the need for surgery. We investigated program success in First Nations communities in the province of Manitoba, from the perspective of COHI staff. METHODS: First Nations community-based dental therapists and dental worker aides participated in three focus groups and an in-depth semistructured interview. The collected data were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Data from 22 participants yielded converging and practitioner-specific themes. Participants reported that dental therapists and dental worker aides provide access to basic oral care in their communities including oral health assessments, teeth cleaning, fluoride varnish applications and sealants. The participants agreed that education, information sharing and culturally appropriate parental engagement are crucial for continuous support and capacity building in the community programs. Low enrolment, difficulty accessing homes and getting consent, limited human resources as well as lack of educational opportunities for dental worker aides were identified challenges. CONCLUSION: Overall, the participants reported that the COHI program positively contributes to ECOH in First Nations communities. However, increased community-based training for dental workers, community awareness about the program, and engagement of parents to facilitate culturally appropriate programming and consent processes are critical to improving program outcomes.

Canadian dentists' awareness and views on early childhood caries and its prevention and management.

Introduction: The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) recommends children visit a dentist within 6 months of the eruption of their first tooth or by 12 months of age. The aim of this study was to investigate Canadian dentists' awareness and views on early childhood caries (ECC) and its prevention and management. Methods: This study analyzed a subset of questions relating to dentists' knowledge of ECC and prevention strategies, from a national survey of general and pediatric dentists, commissioned by the CDA in 2013. Analyses included descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: Three thousand two hundred thirty-two out of 14,747 dentists responded (response rate of 21.9%), with 95.1% having heard of ECC. Overall, 60.9% of respondents reported that they were comfortable providing treatment to children with ECC. Significant differences were found between the number of years in practice and whether dentists were or were not comfortable providing prevention (19.5 ± 12.6 years vs. 25.4 ± 12.1 years; p < 0.001) or treatment for patients with ECC (19.1 ± 12.7 years vs. 22.5 ± 12.3 years; p < 0.001). Pediatric dentists (OR = 6.92; 95% CI: 2.57, 18.61), female dentists (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.24), dentists practicing in smaller urban areas (OR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.28), and dentists who were aware of the CDA's position on ECC (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.41) were more likely to be comfortable providing treatment for children with ECC. Conclusions: While the majority of Canadian dentists have sufficient knowledge of ECC, not all are comfortable providing oral health care services to children at a young age. It is encouraging however, that most dentists are wanting additional oral health resources designed for education on ECC prevention for parents of young children.

An investigation of data from the first year of the interim Canada Dental Benefit for children <12 years of age.

Introduction: In 2022, the federal government announced a commitment of $5.3B to provide dental care for the uninsured, beginning with children <12 years of age. Now referred to as the Interim Canada Dental Benefit (CDB), the program targets those <12 years of age from families with annual incomes <$90,000 without private dental insurance. The purpose of this study was to review federal data from the Government of Canada on public uptake and applications made to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) during the first year of the Interim CDB. Methods: Data for the first year of the Interim CDB (up to June 30, 2023) were accessed from the Government of Canada Open Data Portal through Open Government Licence-Canada. Rates of children receiving the Interim CDB per 1,000 were calculated by dividing the number of beneficiaries by the total number of children 0-11 years by province or territory, available from Statistics Canada for the year 2021. Results: During the first year of the program, a total of 204,270 applications were approved, which were made by 188,510 unique applicants for 321,000 children <12 years of age. Over $197M was distributed by the CRA. Overall, the national rate for receiving the Interim CDB was 67.8/1,000 children. Ontario (82.5/1,000), Manitoba (77.1/1,000), Nova Scotia (73.4/1,000), and Saskatchewan (72.3%), all had rates of children with the Interim CDB above the national rate. Conclusions: Data from the first year of the Interim CDB suggests that this federal funding is increasing access to care for children <12 years by addressing the affordability of dental care. Governments and the oral health professions need to address other dimensions of access to care including accessibility, availability, accommodation, awareness, and acceptability of oral health care.

The Burden of Early Childhood Caries in Canadian Children and Associated Risk Factors.

Introduction: Early childhood caries (ECC) is any caries in the primary dentition occurring in children under the age of six. ECC is common in many population groups in Canada. Objective: The purpose of this review was to describe the burden of ECC in Canada, the prevalence and associated risk factors for ECC, and its impact on childhood health based on the existing published literature. Methods: A review was conducted to assess published Canadian studies on ECC identified through searches of electronic databases. Databased searched included PubMed, Medline, Cinahl, and the library catalog of the University of Manitoba. Known publications on ECC that were not identified by the electronic search were also considered. Only the studies that reported the prevalence of ECC or caries in preschool aged children were considered. In-depth assessments were restricted to those studies that employed logistic regression analysis to investigate relationship between ECC and risk factors or nutritional status and quality of life. Results: A total of 36 studies were identified that related to ECC in Canadian children. Overall, 27 related to prevalence and 12 reported on risk factors, four related to the association between severe ECC and nutritional health and well-being, while only one related to the oral microbiome composition. Published studies reveal that the prevalence of ECC can be as high as 98% in some parts of Canada. Commonly identified risk factors include age, sex, socio-economic status, parental beliefs, family characteristics, debris/plaque, enamel hypoplasia, and behavioral (oral health or feeding behaviors) tendencies. Conclusions: Current literature reveals that many Canadian children are affected by ECC. The development of ECC appears to be strongly associated with social determinants of health including low household income and the level of parental education or employment status. Associations were also observed between ECC and the child's age at first dental visit and parental beliefs about child's oral health. Children with enamel hypoplasia are also at significantly greater odds for experiencing caries. Future research should include assessments of developmental defects of enamel to better understand the association between enamel hypoplasia and ECC.

Perfil Sistêmico e Manifestações Bucais em Pacientes com Hipotireoidismo / Perfil sistémico y manifestaciones bucales en pacientes con hipotiroidismo / Profile systemic and oral manifestations in patients with hypothyroidism

O hipotireoidismo é uma desordem endócrina, de natureza sistêmica caracterizada pela disfunção na glândula tireóide. Os hormônios tireoidianos T3 e T4 são necessários para suprir funções orgânicas normais do organismo. Desta forma, distúrbios na secreção de T3 e T4 podem estar associados a alterações no sistema estomatognático. Dentre essas alterações encontram-se hipoplasia condilar, atresia maxilar ou mandibular, hipodesenvolvimento da mandíbula, prognatismo maxilar, hipoplasia de esmalte e dentina, taurodontia e retardo na erupção dentária e no desenvolvimento radicular. Desta forma é imprescindível que o cirurgião dentista tenha conhecimento sobre as manifestações locais ou sistêmicas associadas a esta desordem endócrina. O objetivo deste artigo é abordar as alterações sistêmicas e bucais em pacientes acometidos pelo hipotireoidismo, bem como os cuidados e condutas terapêutica que podem ser adotados durante o tratamento odontológico. A coleta de dados foi realizada através da seleção de artigos publicados a cerca das manifestações bucais em pacientes acometidos por hipotireoidismo nos principais bancos de dados, Bireme, Medline e Scielo. O hipotireoidismo é uma patologia sistêmica comum, que ocasionalmente apresenta manifestações bucais e necessitam de cuidados especiais durante tratamentos odontológicos. A interação medicamentosa frente à pacientes em tratamento do hipotireoidismo também deve ser considerada, uma vez que medicações comumente prescritas na odontologia podem promover reações adversas. Desta forma, é imprescindível que o cirurgião-dentista tenha conhecimento sobre os procedimentos adequados na terapêutica de pacientes com essa síndrome(AU)

El hipotiroidismo es un trastorno endocrino que se caracteriza por el carácter sistémico de la disfunción de la glándula tiroides. Las hormonas tiroideas T3 y T4 son necesarias para cumplir con las funciones normales del cuerpo físico. Por lo tanto, alteraciones en la secreción de T3 y T4 pueden estar asociadas con cambios en el sistema estomatognático. Entre estos cambios se presentan la hipoplasia condilar, la atresia mandibular o maxilar, la mandíbula subdesarrollada, la hipoplasia del esmalte y la dentina, el taurodontismo y el retraso de la dentición y del desarrollo radicular. Por lo tanto, es esencial que el dentista tenga el conocimiento de las manifestaciones locales o sistémicas asociadas con este trastorno endocrino. El objetivo de este trabajo es abordar los cambios sistémicos y bucales en los pacientes afectados por el hipotiroidismo, así como el mejor trato y cuidado que deben adoptarse durante el tratamiento dental. La recolección de datos se llevó a cabo a través de la selección de artículos publicados sobre las manifestaciones bucales en los pacientes afectados por hipotiroidismo en grandes bases de datos como Bireme, Scielo y Medline. El hipotiroidismo es una enfermedad sistémica común que ocasionalmente presenta manifestaciones bucales que deben ser de domino del odontólogo, ya que son pacientes que necesitan de cuidados especiales durante los tratamientos odontológicos. También debe ser considerada la interacción medicamentosa en estos pacientes, ya que medicamentos comúnmente prescritos en odontología pueden provocar reacciones adversas. Es imprescindible que el cirujano dentista tenga conocimientos sobre los procedimientos adecuados en el tratamiento de pacientes con hipotiroidismo(AU)

The hypothyroidism is an endocrine disorder characterized by the systemic character of the thyroid gland dysfunction. The T3 and T4 thyroid hormones are necessary to fulfill with the normal functions of the physical body. Thus, the alterations in the T3 and T4 secretion may be associated with changes in the stomatognathic system. Among the changes are included the condylar hypoplasia, the mandibular or maxillary atresia, the underdeveloped mandible, the hypoplasia of the enamel and the dentine, the taurodontism and the delay of dentition as well as the radicular development. Thus, it is essential that stomatologist know on the local or systemic manifestations associated with this endocrine disorder. The aim of present paper is to approach the systemic and oral changes in patients presenting with hypothyroidism, as well as the better management and care applied during the dental treatment. The data collection was thorough the selection of articles published on the oral manifestations in patients presenting with hypothyroidism in large databases like Bireme, Scielo and Medline. The hypothyroidism is a common system disease that occasionally have oral manifestations known by the stomatologists since they are patients needing special care during the stomatologic treatments. Also, must to be considered the drug interaction in these patients, since the drugs regularly prescribed in stomatology may to provoke adverse reactions. It is necessary that surgeon knows on the appropriate procedures in the treatment of hypothyroidism patients(AU)