Untreated Gross Dental Malocclusion in Adolescents: Psychological Impact and Effect on Academic Performance in School.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the psychological impact and effect on academic performance of untreated gross dental malocclusion in adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 366 (181 girls and 185 boys) adolescents with gross dental malocclusion were selected for the study group. A modified oral aesthetic subjective impact scale questionnaire was applied in face-to-face interviews. Similar data were collected from parents, schoolteachers and one friend of each adolescent selected for the study. Academic performance was evaluated from school records and compared with a control group of 400 adolescents (200 girls and 200 boys) having normal occlusion and an aesthetically pleasing facial appearance. The Kruskal-Wallis H and chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. The correlation between the academic performance of adolescents and the psychological impact of malocclusion was assessed using the Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS: Significant numbers of adolescents (81.1%) were concerned about the appearance of their teeth, with significant gender variation (0.02). 88.5% of the adolescents received comments from others about their appearance. The results differed significantly by gender for 'avoiding smiling' (p = 0.02) and 'participation in social activities' (p = 0.02). The evaluation of academic performance showed that 42.1% of the adolescents with gross dental malocclusion performed below average; this also differed statistically significantly by gender (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Untreated gross dental malocclusion significantly affects the psychosocial well-being of adolescents, who may avoid participating in social activities and tend to underperform in school.

Comparison of distraction techniques using salivary biomarkers during local anaesthesia administration in children aged 3-5 years: A clinical study.

Aim: In paediatric dentistry, pain is adversely influenced by a child's level of anxiety. Ironically, the most common form of pain control used in dentistry, local anaesthesia, can itself produce anxiety. One of the techniques to overcome a child's anxiety is using distraction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of distraction techniques, i.e. audio distraction (AD) and audio-visual distraction (AVD) by measuring salivary stress biomarker (salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase) levels in 3-5 year-old children. Materials and Methods: Forty children aged 3-5 years were divided randomly into two groups; (Group I = AD, Group II = AVD). Cotton pellets were placed in the lingual vestibule to collect a sample of saliva. Children were then asked to wear overhead phones in the AD group, connected to a phone, and rhymes were played. In AVD, a cartoon movie was shown to the children using AV glasses. Simultaneously, local anaesthesia was administrated to children, after which another saliva sample was collected. Biomarker estimation was done using ELISA. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Statistically significant results were seen with Group II compared to Group I (cortisol-P = 0.009; salivary alpha-amylase-P = 0.03). Conclusion: Both distraction techniques are effective in reducing stress but compared to AD, AVD is more efficacious.

Hypomineralized Primary Teeth in Preterm Low Birth Weight Children and Its Association with Molar Incisor Hypomineralization-A 3-Year-Prospective Study.

The present prospective study was conducted to assess the prevalence of enamel hypomineralization (EH) in primary dentition among preterm low birth weight (PT-LBW) children, incidence of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in the same cohorts, and to determine associations between PT-LBW, hypomineralization in primary second molars, and MIH. A total of 287 PTLBW study subjects and 290 control full-term normal birth weight subjects were followed up for 36 months. Enamel defects were recorded at baseline. The same cohorts were examined after 3 years for MIH using the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) criteria. Multiple variable logistic regression models were developed. A total of 279 children (48.4%) presented with EH in primary dentition and 207 (35.9%) children presented with MIH. Children with primary second molar hypomineralization had 2.13 (R2 = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.98-4.19, p = 0.005) times higher frequency of MIH. Children with PT-LBW had 3.02 times (R2 = 0.31, 95% CI = 1.01-5.94, p = 0.005) higher frequency of MIH incidence after adjusting for childhood infection, prenatal history, and presence of hypomineralized primary second molars. To conclude, the present study showed significant association between PT-LBW, hypomineralized second primary molars, and incidence of MIH.