Assessing the association between oral hygiene and preterm birth by quantitative light-induced fluorescence.

The aim of this study was to investigate the purported link between oral hygiene and preterm birth by using image analysis tools to quantify dental plaque biofilm. Volunteers (n = 91) attending an antenatal clinic were identified as those considered to be "at high risk" of preterm delivery (i.e., a previous history of idiopathic preterm delivery, case group) or those who were not considered to be at risk (control group). The women had images of their anterior teeth captured using quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). These images were analysed to calculate the amount of red fluorescent plaque (ΔR%) and percentage of plaque coverage. QLF showed little difference in ΔR% between the two groups, 65.00% case versus 68.70% control, whereas there was 19.29% difference with regard to the mean plaque coverage, 25.50% case versus 20.58% control. A logistic regression model showed a significant association between plaque coverage and case/control status (P = 0.031), controlling for other potential predictor variables, namely, smoking status, maternal age, and body mass index (BMI).

Factors affecting demineralization during orthodontic treatment: a post-hoc analysis of RCT recruits.

INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to determine predictors for the presence and degree of demineralization during orthodontic treatment. This study was a post-hoc analysis of recruits for a randomized controlled trial. Two hundred thirty patients were included in this study and assessed for demineralization at debond by using quantitative light-induced fluorescence to determine their eligibility for a randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of various toothpastes at reducing demineralization during retention. METHODS: Data about patients' demographics, treatments, oral hygiene, and pretreatment status of the first permanent molars were extracted from case notes. Data on the presence and severity of white spot lesions (WSLs) were obtained from the trial's data base. Univariate analyses and multiple regression were undertaken to assess for associations between the factors and the presence and severity of WSLs. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients (28.3%) had no WSLs, and 165 (71.7%) had 1 to 12. The mean number of WSLs per patient with demineralization was 2.9 (95% CI, 2.5 and 3.3). Patients with WSLs were significantly (P = 0.002) younger and more likely to have diseased first molars (P = 0.04). Participants with inadequate pretreatment oral hygiene developed more WSLs (P = 0.03). Boys (P = 0.001) and participants with diseased first molars (P = 0.06) had significantly greater demineralization. CONCLUSIONS: Sex, pretreatment age, oral hygiene, and clinical status of the first molars can be used as predictors for the development and severity of WSLs during orthodontic treatment.

Assessing caries removal by undergraduate dental students using quantitative light-induced fluorescence.

The purpose of this study was to compare detection of enamel and dentinal caries by dental students' and faculty members' visual inspection and by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). The overall aim was to determine whether QLF is an appropriate technique for use in clinical skills laboratories as a teaching aid for dental undergraduates to detect and assess the removal of enamel and dentinal caries. Sixty students who had no clinical experience with dental caries were asked to select . suitably decayed teeth and mount them in plaster. After recording baseline QLF images, students removed caries according to instructions given by the clinical tutor. On completion of the exercise, the teeth were visually determined to be caries-free by the student, then confirmed by the clinical tutor. A fluorescein in alcohol solution was injected into the cavity for two minutes, rinsed, and dried before QLF images were captured. The images were visually analyzed by two examiners for the presence or absence of caries. From seventy-four images recorded, seventeen were excluded due to exposure of the pulp chamber. The remaining fifty-seven teeth, which by clinical visual examination were judged to be caries-free, were examined using QLF. Fifty-three percent were found to be caries-free, while 47 percent were carious. In this sample of fifty-seven teeth judged to be caries-free by both dental students and faculty members, QLF thus detected caries in almost half of these teeth. These findings suggest that QLF is a useful, noninvasive, nondestructive technique for the detection of caries and can serve as an adjunct to chair-side diagnosis and management of dental caries, which is typically accomplished by visual inspection. QLF may be useful and appropriate as an objective clinical teaching aid for the assessment of dental caries.