Abstract

BackgroundThe burden of childhood dental caries amongst Indigenous Australians is higher than in other Australians. Because of differences in lifestyle and the evolutionary history of the oral microbiota, associated risk indicators may differ. Here, we evaluate associations between caries increment, salivary biomarkers and baseline caries among children aged 5–17 years residing in a remote rural Indigenous community.MethodsThis study was part of a trial assessing cost-effectiveness of an intervention to prevent dental caries among children. Baseline epidemiology and application of topical caries-preventive measures was conducted in 2015, followed-up in 2016 and 2017. Children who did not consent or failed to attend the prevention visits but did attend for follow-up epidemiology constituted a natural comparison group for evaluating the intervention. Saliva flow, pH, buffering and bacterial loads were measured at all visits. Caries was scored by the International Caries Detection and Assessment system. Outcome was caries increment. Explanatory variables were sex, being in experimental or comparison group, baseline caries, saliva flowrate and buffering, pH, and salivary loads of mutans streptococci (MS), Lactobacilli (LB), and yeast. Chi Square tests compared caries incidence in relation to explanatory variables and Generalised Linear Models explored associations between explanatory and outcome variables.ResultsOf 408 participants at baseline, only 208 presented at 2-year follow-up. Of caries-free children at baseline, significantly fewer had incipient (p = 0.01) and advanced (p = 0.04) caries after two years. Children in the experimental group experienced fewer tooth surfaces with advanced caries (p = 0.02) than comparison children. Having caries at baseline (p = 0.02) and low salivary flow-rates (p < 0.001) saw a significant increase in advanced caries after two years. Children with high salivary loads of MS (p = 0.03) and LB (p = 0.004) experienced more advanced carious surfaces. Multivariable analysis revealed 58% reduction (p = 0.001) in advanced caries among children with high salivary flow rates. Caries increment was 61% (p = 0.03) more for incipient and 121% (p = 0.007) more for advanced caries among children who harboured higher loads of MS.ConclusionAs with other ethnicities, children with low salivary flow and those with high MS had higher incipient and advanced caries increments after two years. Such risk assessments facilitate targeted preventive interventions for such communities.Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), No: ACTRN12615000693527: 3 July 2015.

Highlights

  • The burden of childhood dental caries amongst Indigenous Australians is higher than in other Australians

  • The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between dental caries increment and salivary load of bacteria (MS, LB), yeasts, salivary pH, flow rate and buffering capacity among children living in a remote Indigenous community in Far North Queensland

  • We found that having ≥ ­105 Colony forming units (CFU)/ml salivary loads of mutans streptococci (MS) was significantly associated with an increment of tooth surfaces with incipient and advanced caries after two years

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Summary

Introduction

The burden of childhood dental caries amongst Indigenous Australians is higher than in other Australians. Differences in prevalence of dental caries indicators (26% for decayed teeth, 20% for missing teeth and 9% for filled teeth [1]) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens were larger in Australia compared to Canada and New Zealand [7]. Recognising these historical disparities, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), committed to ‘close the gap’ in disease levels and in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians by 2030 [8]. In some parts of the country, there have been significant accomplishments in some key areas of health and education according to the most recent report from Queensland [10]

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