International journal of paediatric dentistry最新文献

Probiotics have demonstrated Streptococcus mutans (SM) suppression. This in vitro study compared the SM inhibition capacity of bovine infant formula supplemented with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus Gorbach Goldin (LGG) probiotic to a plain formulation.

Methods

Two bovine-based infant formulas, Similac Advance Optigro (formula non-probiotic, FNP) and Enfamil Nutramigen LGG (formula with probiotic, FWP) were compared. The formulas were reconstituted at different concentrations (0.1×, 0.5×, 1×, and 2×). LGG (ATCC BAA-3227) suspensions were used as positive controls. All assays were inoculated with SM, spiral plated (n = 8) onto selective Mitis Salivarius Agar plates, and incubated at 37°C for 96 h. SM growth was enumerated in colony-forming units (CFU). Multivariate analysis of variance was performed to assess concentration-dependent effects and statistical significance (α = 0.05).

Results

FWP recorded less SM growth than FNP at the 0.5×, 1.0×, and 2.0× concentrations (ANOVA p < 0.001). FWP concentration was negatively correlated to SM growth (p < 0.001, r = −0.864), whereas FNP showed strong positive trends (p < 0.001, r = 0.821). MANOVA tests confirmed that both group and concentration affect SM growth (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Commercial probiotic-enriched infant formula effectively suppresses SM growth in vitro. The observed suppression of SM growth in this study provides evidence for this dietary intervention's anticariogenic potential.

Background

Children and adolescents with special needs are at elevated risk for oral diseases. This study examines factors contributing to dental caries among students attending special needs schools in Sydney to inform targeted preventive strategies.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using retrospective data from 320 individuals aged 5–19 years, obtained through school-based oral health assessments and parent/caregiver questionnaires.

Results

Autism was the most common condition (75%), particularly among younger children. Notably, 24% of children aged 5–12 had never visited a dentist. Chi-square analyses showed a higher caries risk in children with multiple medical conditions (χ² = 5.312, p = 0.021), but no significant associations were observed with autism, toothbrushing frequency, toothpaste type, or sweet drink intake. Logistic regression identified medication use (B = 6.421, p = 0.011) and frequent sweet snack consumption (B = 3.998, p = 0.046) as strong predictors, while autism remained non-significant. This suggests that broader behavioural or physiological factors may be more important determinants of caries risk than individual oral hygiene practices alone.

Conclusion

Reducing sugary snack intake may help lower caries risk. School-based oral health education and self-care support can promote better hygiene habits and long-term independence. Future research should evaluate the feasibility of these caries preventive strategies in children and adolescents with special needs.

Background

Regional odontodysplasia (RO) is a rare developmental dental anomaly with unknown prevalence. Current knowledge is largely limited to individual case reports.

Aim

This study aims to present epidemiological data, clinical features, and radiographic characteristics of pediatric and adolescent patients with RO in South Korea.

Design

In this multicenter cohort study, we prospectively and retrospectively recruited participants from 11 university dental hospitals. Patients aged < 19 years diagnosed with RO were included in this study. In prospective cases, epidemiological information, family history, and clinical and radiographic data were collected after obtaining parental consent. All data were anonymized and stored using a study-specific data management system.

Results

Age at diagnosis ranged from 2 to 12 years, with a higher incidence in males. RO was more commonly observed in the maxilla, and all patients exhibited delayed eruption and development. The treatment approaches vary widely and include observation, extraction, pulp therapy, crown restoration, prosthetic rehabilitation, and orthodontic treatment.

Conclusion

This multicenter study provides the first comprehensive dataset on RO in Korean children and adolescents. These findings will contribute to the development of clinical guidelines and inform future healthcare policies for the management of rare dental anomalies.

Background

The prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) continues to increase. It is recognised as a public health concern, particularly in developing countries. Early childhood caries has numerous adverse effects on children’s growth and overall well-being. Despite the global burden of ECC, data from Africa remain limited, varied and are based on inconsistent diagnostic criteria and study methodologies.

Aim

The aim was to perform a systematic review to ascertain the prevalence of ECC in children across Africa between January 2000 and March 2025.

Materials and Methods

A systematic literature search of peer-reviewed articles published in English between January 2000 and March 2025 was conducted using multiple databases, including PubMed, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, AFRICA-WIDE INFO, African Journals Online (AJOL) and CINAHL. Prospero Registration: CRD42018112161.

Results

A total of 70 studies, representing 58 644 participants from 13 African countries, were included in the review. The overall prevalence of ECC was 37.9% (95% CI: 31.2–44.6), with variations observed among countries and urban/rural settings. The mean dmft score was 1.98 (95% CI: 1.86–2.10).

Discussion and Conclusion

The prevalence of ECC varies considerably across the African continent. This could be due to differences in education, access to dental care and human resources among countries and regions.

Background

Clinical diagnosis of ankyloglossia and its therapeutic management through lingual frenotomy (LF) have increased in several countries. However, systematic reviews (SRs) and experts opinions show conflicting results on this topic.

Aim

To synthesize the available knowledge with a critical evaluation of SRs on LF in infants up to 1 year of age on breastfeeding-related outcomes.

Design

An umbrella review was carried out. Searches were conducted (seven electronic databases, gray literature). SRs of clinical trials involving infants up to 1 year of age undergoing LF to treat maternal self-efficacy related to breastfeeding, nipple pain, and/or weight gain were included. The articles were critically analyzed (AMSTAR 2).

Results

We identified 272 studies; 15 SRs were included. Confidence was classified as critically low (n = 14; 93.3%) and moderate (n = 1; 6.7%). Fourteen SRs had more than two critical aspects, indicating that the studies were not conducted properly.

Conclusion

The evidence on the efficacy of LF in infants remains inconclusive in relation to breastfeeding outcomes, especially maternal self-efficacy related to breastfeeding and weight gain. Evidence of benefit for the treatment of breast pain is weak. Overdiagnosis of ankyloglossia may lead to overtreatment of the condition, without high-quality evidence to support the benefits of this procedure.

Background

Regular follow-up after dental treatment is essential to prevent the development and progression of new caries lesions in children. However, there is no consensus on the optimal recall interval.

Aim

The aim of the present clinical trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of two different recall intervals for high caries risk children.

Design

A total of 224 preschool children (aged 3–5 years) with at least one active caries lesion were selected. After treatment, children were randomized into two different groups according to the recall interval: every 4 months or every 8 months. A single trained and calibrated examiner re-evaluated participants according to their group. The primary outcome was caries lesion progression into dentine (ICDAS 5–6). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the independent variables and primary outcome (α = 5%).

Results

Children in the 8-month recall group were 2.5 times more likely to develop new cavitated caries lesions when compared to those in the 4-month recall group, over 30 months.

Conclusion

High caries risk children on an 8-month recall schedule had a significantly higher risk of developing new cavitated caries lesions compared to those with a 4-month recall interval.

Background

Cemental tear (CeT), a detachment of the root cementum, is rarely reported in pediatric populations and often misdiagnosed as root fractures or endodontic-periodontal lesions.

Case Report

This is the first documented instance of CeT in a healthy 12-year-old female, likely a result of the extraction of a supernumerary tooth (mesiodens). The patient had a supernumerary tooth diagnosed at age 2 that was extracted at age 10. Radiograph after 1 year of supernumerary tooth extraction revealed a linear radiopacity adjacent to the left maxillary central incisor, diagnosed as CeT by specialists. Despite the radiographic signs, the tooth remained asymptomatic and vital, with no surgical intervention required. This case underscores the importance of including CeT in the differential diagnosis for pediatric patients with unexplained periodontal changes following surgical or traumatic events. Conservative monitoring was successful, likely due to children's enhanced regenerative capacity. The case also highlights the diagnostic value of angled periapical radiographs in detecting CeT.

Conclusion

Pediatric dentists should be aware of CeT as a potential diagnosis in young patients and consider less invasive management approaches. A revised decision-making algorithm for managing supernumerary teeth is proposed to reflect these findings.

Introduction

The pivotal role of self-reported measures in clinical caries data and children's oral health-related quality of life cannot be ignored.

Aim

This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Telugu-translated caries impacts and experiences questionnaire for children (CARIES-QC/Te) among 12-year-old schoolchildren in Hyderabad city.

Methods

The forward–backward translated CARIES-QC/Te was pilot tested in 30 children. The tested questionnaire was administered to 598 children, followed by a clinical oral examination to evaluate dental caries. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation. The factor structure of CARIES-QC/Te was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Furthermore, the questionnaire was correlated with a global rating question to assess its convergent validity. In addition, discriminant validity was evaluated based on the presence or absence of dental caries.

Results

The mean CARIES-QC/Te score was 0.43 ± 0.60, and the mean caries experience for the study population was 1.8 ± 0.81. Based on the global rating question, Cronbach's α score and intraclass correlation coefficient for overall CARIES-QC/Te were 0.934 and 0.881, respectively. The polychoric correlation matrix of the CARIES-QC/Te questionnaire ranged from 0.424 to 0.652. The EFA results of CARIES-QC/T suggested a one-factor solution and explained 51.7% of the total variance. Moreover, CARIES-QC/Te demonstrated good discriminant validity for those with and without dental caries.

Conclusion

The results indicate that CARIES-QC/Te exhibits good validity and acceptable reliability and could benefit public health research in Telugu-speaking populations.

Background

Multimodal large language models (LLMs) have potential for medical image analysis, yet their reliability for pediatric panoramic radiographs remains uncertain.

Aim

This study evaluated two multimodal LLMs (OpenAI o1, Claude 3.5 Sonnet) for detecting and counting teeth (including tooth germs) on pediatric panoramic radiographs.

Design

Eighty-seven pediatric panoramic radiographs from an open-source data set were analyzed. Two pediatric dentists annotated the presence or absence of each potential tooth position. Each image was processed five times by the LLMs using identical prompts, and the results were compared with the expert annotations. Standard performance metrics and Fleiss' kappa were calculated.

Results

Detailed examination revealed that subtle developmental stages and minor tooth loss were consistently misidentified. Claude 3.5 Sonnet had higher sensitivity but significantly lower specificity (29.8% ± 21.5%), resulting in many false positives. OpenAI o1 demonstrated superior specificity compared to Claude 3.5 Sonnet, but still failed to correctly detect subtle defects in certain mixed dentition cases. Both models showed large variability in repeated runs.

Conclusion

Both LLMs failed to achieve clinically acceptable performance and cannot reliably identify nuanced discrepancies critical for pediatric dentistry. Further refinements and consistency improvements are essential before routine clinical use.