One hundred and twenty primary maxillary and mandibular extracted teeth were collected to study the occurrence and nature of pulp calcifications. The teeth were serially sectioned, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, examined by light microscope. Pulp calcifications were observed in 31 (25.8%) teeth. Two types of pulp calcifications were noticed i.e., diffuse calcifications and free/attached type denticles. The occurrence of pulp calcification appears identical in all teeth except in the first primary molar which is statistically not significant (P greater than 0.05). The low prevalence of pulp calcifications in the primary teeth support the view that pulp calcification increases as the age advances.
Information regarding the prevalence of pulp calcifications in primary teeth is lacking. The occurrence of pulp calcifications in 120 primary maxillary and mandibular extracted teeth was evaluated radiographically. Twenty-five percent of second molars presented evidence of pulp calcifications; approximately 3% of central incisors were calcified. No other categories of teeth displayed pulp involvement. The low occurrence of pulp calcifications in primary teeth support the view that the occurrence of pulp calcification increases with age.
From the study of a sample of 460 children treated under general anesthesia, it was found that the patients could be divided into two main groups: under and over six years. Under six years, most children were non-cooperative healthy children, whereas most patients over six years were unmanageable handicapped children. The age of five years seemed, in this study, to be a pivotal age: handicapped patients appeared, while the number of healthy patients tended to decrease.
Caries reduction from tooth brushing with Remodent occurs according to age, from 37.8% to 83.7% during a two to three year follow-up. The highest reduction was gained when the program was started at the age of 2. When Remodent-solution and -varnish were tested in one to three year follow-up, reductions in caries occurred from 20% to 91%. These studies also showed that the effect was best when the preventive treatment was started early.
In one region in the state of Kuwait children in first grade have been offered a systematic dental health care program. The purpose of this study was to assess (1) dental knowledge, attitudes, and health behavior among the mothers of children in first grade, and (2) dental knowledge and attitudes of schoolteachers, and their involvement in health education. Before the children were enrolled in the program 187 mothers (response 76%) were interviewed. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on schoolteachers (n = 135, response 695). Most of the mothers (74%) answered that dental caries is caused by sweets/candy; the role of bacteria was mentioned by 9%. Half of the mothers were aware of the harmful effect of sugary drinks, and 50% knew about the preventive effect of fluoride. Knowledge about causes and prevention of periodontal disease was diffuse. According to the mothers, 68% of the children were in need for dental treatment; 37% were seen by a dentist once a year for symptomatic reasons, and 49% brushed their teeth at least twice a day. Sixteen-percent of the mothers helped their child in brushing every day. Sugar consumption among mothers and children was high, e.g. 66% of the children had chocolate bars and 44% had soft drinks several times a day. The level of dental knowledge was higher among teachers than mothers; the mothers were mostly informed through television/radio, while teachers had received information from various sources, including the dentists. The teachers responded positively to prevention of dental diseases among children and should be considered key persons in dental health education. For the Kuwaiti children and the mothers the active involvement principle, group presentations, and one-to-one communications are recommended for the school based dental health program.
Diet and sugar eating habits, in particular sweet preference levels, are gradually nurtured over time by culturally accepted dietary norms. The dietary habits of Malaysia's three main ethnic groups are distinctively different from each other and expectedly, many studies have discovered significant ethnic variations in caries experience. In order to guide further research work into the causes of these variations, this pilot study was designed to establish whether ethnic variations exist in sweet preference levels. This study found that although the difference in sweet preference between boys and girls in this sample was not statistically significant, the ethnic variation was statistically significant. The implications of this study and suggestions for further research in this field are discussed.
Twenty-four bottled waters were tested for fluoride ion concentration. The results showed the fluoride content of spring and mineral waters ranged from a low of 0.10 ppm to a high of 1.25 ppm. Knowledge of the fluoride content is important when recommending fluoride supplementation to avoid fluorosis of the dentition.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cleaning and polishing pretreatments and etching times on unground primary enamel smooth surfaces with respect to the quality of etching patterns. Labial surfaces of 117 extracted or exfoliated caries free primary anterior teeth were used. Various cleaning and polishing methods were used before etching. Etching times with 40% phosphoric acid gel were 10, 30 and 60 seconds and all specimens were washed with an air water spray for 30 seconds. The following observations were obtained using the SEM. 1. There was not a significant difference between the appearance of prism structures by etching and the pretreatment methods in the 60 and 30 seconds etching. 2. The shorter the etching time, the higher was the rate of the cases which did not show any prism structure after etching.
The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of Colorado pediatric and general dentists concerning attitudes toward and use of sealants. The survey results indicated that sealants were used in the following manner by pediatric vs. general dentists, respectively: 1) Routinely 73.4% vs. 40.1%; 2) Occasionally 15.6% vs. 32.6%; 3) Seldom 6.6% vs. 10.0%; 4) Do Not Use 4.4% vs. 17.3%. Reasons for limited or non-utilization of sealants by both groups included: 1) Not covered by insurance; 2) Inadvertent sealing in caries; 3) Do not last; 4) Not cost effective. Delegation of primary responsibility for sealant placement differed as follows between pediatric and general dentists, respectively: 1) Dentist 73.3% vs. 64.8%; 2) Hygienist 0% vs. 17.8%; 3) Assistant 26.7% vs. 17.4%. Continuing education courses on sealants had been attended by 62% of pediatric dentists and 16.9% of their auxiliaries and by 29.1% of general dentists and 6.3% of their auxiliaries. Approximately 50% of pediatric and general dentists expressed an interest in attending sealant courses. This study indicates that: 1) Colorado dentists report a relatively high sealant utilization rate. 2) Pediatric dentists place sealants more frequently than general dentists. 3) The most frequent reason for restricting sealant placement was lack of insurance coverage. 4) A need for continuing education of dentists and auxiliaries exists.
The usual symmetrical EMG recordings were disturbed in all 5 cases of asymmetrical dentofacial deformity. A marked electrical activity of the masseter and temporal muscles opposite to the site of the lesion was observed.
The purpose of this study conducted at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine is to investigate the possibility of limiting the development of an excessive vertical overbite and horizontal overjet during sleeping hours in young children prior to and during the eruption of the permanent incisors. A sample of 43 individuals, whose mean age was 6.17 years, wore a Preventive Eruption Guidance Appliance passively only while sleeping at night for 13 months (mean) to control the development of the overbite as the permanent incisors erupted and to correct the excessive overjet. The mean initial overbite of the sample was 3.4 mm and was reduced to 1.4 mm. The mean initial overjet was 3.0 mm and was reduced to 1.4 mm. Fourteen percent (6 cases) of the sample had an open bite of 1.84 mm (mean), which was reduced to a mean open-bite of 0.81 mm. As a result of the statistical comparison between the treatment sample to the control sample of 50 non-treated individuals, it was shown that the reduction of the overbite and overjet was accomplished solely by altering the problematic dentition without affecting the normal growth pattern or facial morphology as measured from nine lineal dimensions. It was also shown that the change in overbite and overjet was a significant improvement over what would have occurred if no intervention had been instituted, and that the overbite was corrected by restricting continued excessive eruption of the maxillary incisors with only nighttime passive use of the appliance.
Although the enamel defects of low birthweight prematurely-born children have been well investigated clinically the ultrastructure has not been studied in detail. Using scanning electron microscopy this investigation examined the enamel surface of 4 representative teeth from a group of exofoliated teeth from prematurely-born, very-low birthweight children compared to an equal number of control teeth from normal birthweight children. The results showed that all 4 teeth from the prematurely-born group had enamel defects at the ultrastructural level even though the defects were evident only macroscopically in 2 teeth. By contrast all the control teeth from normal children did not show abnormalities of surface structure. Thus this investigation further confirms that birth prematurity and low birthweight adversely affect the activities of ameloblasts. Previous clinical investigations have reported that prematurely-born children show high prevalences of enamel hypoplasia of around 20-100%. The etiological factors involved in the pathogenesis of enamel defects are unclear, but are likely to be related to many systemic illnesses occurring during the neonatal period. These include respiratory distress syndrome, hyperbilirubinemia, maternal diabetes as well as neonatal rickets. Furthermore, Seow et al. (1989) showed recently that deficiency of calcium and phosphate mineral in the neonatal period is related directly to enamel hypoplasia in very-low birthweight, prematurely born children. In addition to systemic factors, local factors such as laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation have also been implicated in the etiology of enamel hypoplasia in these children. While the enamel defects have been well studied at the clinical level, there is a paucity of information on the ultrastructural nature.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
