Nanosilver Fluoride—A Paradigm Shift for Arrest in Dental Caries in Primary Teeth of Schoolchildren: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackgroundDue to limited financial resources, poor access to basic oral care, and the high cost of restorative treatment, children of low-income nations have their general health, social well-being, and education opportunities affected by untreated dental caries. Arresting caries treatment (ACT) has been proposed to manage untreated dental caries in children of disadvantaged communities.Aims and objectivesThe purpose of the present controlled clinical trial is to investigate the effectiveness of a new anticaries agent, nanosilver fluoride (NSF), preventing and arresting caries in children.Materials and methodsA total of 100 deciduous molars both maxillary and mandibular are randomly selected from 60 children of 4–9 years of age group, which were randomly divided into NSF experimental group and saline control group. Teeth were clinically diagnosed and treated by one masked examiner and followed up at 7 days, 5 months and 12 months by another calibrated examiner who was blinded to the type of treatment. The criteria of the ICDAS II were followed to determine the activity of lesion and the diagnosis of caries. The Pearson's Chi-square test was used to compare the groups during different follow-up examinations.ResultsSeventy-eight percent of decayed teeth showed hard arrested dentine at 7 days; after 5-month analysis in the NSF group, 72.91% of the teeth showed arrested caries; and in the control group, only 34% of teeth showed arrest of caries. At 12-month analysis in the NSF group, 65.21% of teeth showed arrested cavities, and in the control group, 28.88% of teeth showed arrest of caries.ConclusionThe present study proves that NSF is an anticaries agent and presents a noninvasive option for caries arrest and treatment when applied directly to dentin caries lesions.How to cite this articleNagireddy VR, Reddy D, Kondamadugu S, et al. Nanosilver Fluoride—A Paradigm Shift for Arrest in Dental Caries in Primary Teeth of Schoolchildren: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2019;12(6):484–490.