Dental and radiological findings of a 5-year-old female patient show inverted impaction of the maxillary primary incisors. Family and personal histories of the patient were unremarkable. There were no abnormalities in general growth and development nor was there any history of trauma.
The purposes of this study were to determine the age at the initial acquisition of mutans streptococci (MS) and to determine the transmission of MS among children at day nursery by describing the occurrence of genotypes prepared by chromosomal DNA fingerprinting of the bacteria using restriction endonuclease EcoRI and HaeIII. The samples were 39 children (23 boys and 16 girls) aged 0-5 years old, 14 pairs of parents and 6 nursery caretakers of a day nursery in Hiroshima city, Japan. The children had no dental caries throughout the experiment. Plaque samples of the children were taken using toothbrushes at 1 month intervals for 30 months. The initial acquisition of MS occurred between the ages of 8 months and 52 months with a mean age of 24.2 months. The cumulative probability of initial acquisition of MS increased rapidly at the age of 12 to 25 months after 10 to 20 primary teeth had erupted. Transmission of MS was found between child and mother (33.3%), child and father (8.3%) and child and others including amongst the children (58.4%), but no evidence of MS transmission from nursery caretakers was found. Two children acquired MS from intra- and extra-familial transmission. This study suggests that the child's environment also plays a role in the initial acquisition and transmission of MS, in addition to the oral condition of the children.
The Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program was implemented in Washington State in 1995 to increase utilization of dental services for children enrolled in Medicaid. The program has increased utilization of services; nevertheless, only 54 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children in ABCD who received care were given a topical fluoride treatment. To gain a better understanding of why children may not be receiving topical fluoride treatment, we interviewed parents. Focus group research found strong parental support for preventive services. Parents were willing to take their children to regular dental visits, but lack of knowledge of benefits was common. This lack of knowledge translated into a failure to fully utilize the topical fluoride benefits. We recommend that the program continue to encourage participation of dentists, regularly update information about program benefits for both dentists and parents, and enhance the visibility of the program in the community.
The purpose of the study was to assess the preferences of parents and children regarding amalgam or tooth colored restoration material for the children's teeth and some associated factors. One hundred and 24 children aged 4 to 12 years of age (Mean age-7.3 +/- 2.4) who needed at least 1 dental restoration were selected for the study. After a dental examination, the parents were asked to complete a questionnaire requesting demographic information, preference of restoration material for their children's teeth, and influencing factors. The children were then asked to answer questions on which material they preferred and what influenced their decision. More parents preferred tooth colored restorations to amalgam restorations for their children's teeth. However, 12 percent of the parents preferred amalgam. For 40 percent of the parents, the restoration material did not matter. For most parents (76 percent), whether the tooth was primary or permanent did not influence their choice. The highest concern was given to the implications of a restoration material on the health of the body or the tooth. Half of the children preferred tooth colored restorations. For nearly 30 percent, the restoration material did not matter. Significantly, more younger children than older children noted the filling's visual prominence as an important factor (30 percent and 3 percent, respectively). Younger children were more influenced by their parents' preferences than older children. It is concluded that tooth colored restorations are preferred to amalgam by both parents and children.
The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the performance of a new laser method (DIAGNOdent, KaVo) by comparing it to the visual inspection, conventional bitewing radiography and digital bitewing radiography. Fifty fresh permanent teeth with clinically sound or suspicious fissures were selected. The teeth were submitted to the diagnostic tests by 2 examiners independently after calibration. The laser examination was repeated to assess the reproducibility. The teeth were sectioned right in the spot that showed the highest value by the laser device. Histological examination of sections (40x magnification) served as gold standard. The results showed that: 1) the intra and interobserver agreement for the DIAGNOdent was excellent (values over 0.87); 2) the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were very high; 3) and the Spearman correlation coefficient of DIAGNOdent was the best one (R = 0.81), followed by visual inspection (R = 0.68).
The mandibular second premolar (MnP2) tooth is one of the most commonly impacted teeth. Early loss of its deciduous predecessor has long been suggested to be a factor in the etiology of the MnP2 impaction. In this study, panoramic roentgenograms were used to measure the angular position of the unerupted MnP2 in 85 children. The study was carried out to test whether early loss of the lower second primary molar (dM2) correlates with MnP2 malpositions that are measurably greater than those from a control sample. The results show a small and statistically insignificant difference between the mean angles in cases with (79.6 degrees) and without (83.2 degrees) dM2. To eliminate individual factors, e.g., genetics, 2 sides of the same patient, with and without dM2, were compared. The group with the missing dM2 on one side showed higher angle differences, compared with the control group. However, the differences were still small (approximately 4 degrees) and statistically insignificant. Our findings do not show a significant influence of early loss of dM2 on the inclination of the unerupted MnP2, suggesting that environmental factors may be of less significance, compared with genetic ones.