Retrospective evaluation of traction time for impacted dilacerated maxillary central incisors in mixed dentition.

PURPOSES: This study aimed to contribute to understanding the factors affecting the time of traction treatment of impacted dilacerated maxillary central incisors. METHODS: This retrospective study included children aged 8 - 11 years with a history of trauma, who applied to the pediatric dentistry clinics of Marmara University, School of Dentistry, between December 2013 and December 2019, and were treated for unilateral impacted dilacerated maxillary upper central incisors. Children's age, sex, digital panoramic radiographs, cone-beam computed tomography, and intraoral photographs were retrieved from electronic dental health records. The effects of children's age, sex, the direction of impacted teeth, distance of the teeth to the top of the alveolar crest, and root dilaceration level on traction time were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient test. RESULTS: The inverse position of the incisors significantly increased the traction time (P = 0.012). However, the traction time did not differ according to the sex of the children (P = 0.707) or the level of root dilaceration (P = 0.429). No correlation was observed between the traction time and the age of children (P = 0.644) or the distance of the incisors from the top of the alveolar crest (P = 0.397). CONCLUSIONS: In cases of the forced eruption of for the impacted dilacerated maxillary central incisors, the direction of the teeth should be evaluated when deciding on the treatment plan, as it may affect the treatment time.

Self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and practice of final-year dental students in relation to child abuse: A multi-centre study.

BACKGROUND: The number of child abuse cases is increasing worldwide; therefore, it is important to educate individuals having contact with children about it. This includes dentists who play a pivotal role in detecting and reporting child abuse. AIM: To identify and compare the final- year dental student's knowledge, attitudes, and practice in relation to child abuse. DESIGN: A 38- item and four- part online questionnaire was distributed to students of 11 dental schools in 10 countries. SPSS and GraphPad Prism were used for data analysis. The levels of statistical significance were determined using a chi- square test. P ≤ .05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 660 students completed the survey. Fifty- six percent of the students received formal training on child abuse, and 86% wanted additional training. The knowledge of child abuse was significantly higher in Australia, the United States, and Jordan compared with other countries. Internet (60.3%) was commonly used as an information source for child abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that dental students lack knowledge and experience in recognizing and reporting child abuse. Most respondents indicated a desire for additional training; therefore, dental schools should review what they are currently teaching and make changes as appropriate.

Two-fold excess of fluoride in the drinking water has no obvious health effects other than dental fluorosis.

BACKGROUND: There is concern that fluorides in the drinking water is hazardous to health. METHODS: We conducted an observational study in the village of Hanliyenice (population 280), Turkey, which has 2.5 times higher than optimal levels of fluoride in the drinking water and evaluated all children 7-13 years of age (N = 30). We collected information on dental decay, fluorosis, daily water consumption and diet, child history and her family history of cancer, cardiovascular risks/diseases, and asthma, and obtained a blood sample for extraction of genomic DNA. We genotyped ten single nucleotide polymorphisms in aquaporins. RESULTS: As expected, a high number of children were dental caries free (19 out of 30) and had fluorosis (25 out of 30). Family history of cancer, cardiovascular events, and asthma was not different from the expected figures based on Turkey. One variant just upstream of AQP5 was associated with being fluorosis free. (G allele of AQP5 rs296763, p = 6.0E-6). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to levels of fluoride twice as high than the optimum in the drinking water increases the prevalence of fluorosis, dramatically decreases dental caries, and does not increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular events, and asthma.