Cariogenic Risk Research Articles

History of dental caries and need for dental treatment of children with visual disabilities, Chile, 2014.

Objective: To determine the history of dental caries and the need for dental treatment among visually disabled children between 6 and 12 years old attending special Schools in Chile during 2014. Material and method: Descrip- tive and observational cross-sectional study. The target population was children with visual disabilities from special schools in Chile. A clinical examination was performed to obtain a dmft/DMFT index and know the need for treatment. Two calibrated examiners performed the visual clinical examination, according to the WHO criteria. Additionally, clinically detectable enamel lesions on cavitated and non cavitated surfaces were recorded. The recorded data were analyzed using des - criptive statistics. Results: Ninety-four children attending to seven special schools were examined. The average dmft index was 2.05 (SD±2.6) and DMFT index was 0.96 (SD±1.3). For 6 year olds, the dmft/DMFT index was 3/0, respectively. For 12 year olds, the dmft index was 0.17 and the DMFT index was 1.42. Caries pre- valence was 56.3%. From the total, 95% of children needed sealants, 50% needed at least one restoration of one face, and 29% restoration of 2 or more surfaces. As for enamel lesions, 34% of children had at least one non cavitated lesion and 48% of them had a cavitated lesion. Conclusion: History of dental caries is similar to that reported in the general population; however, there is a high need for preventi- ve treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct more research to clarify whether these patients have a higher cariogenic risk due to their visual impairment in order

Eficacia de una medida preventiva para el niño con riesgo cariogénico asociada a la estabilidad de pH salival

Un factor etiológico de caries es la saliva, que estabiliza el pH por su concentración de carbonatos y fosfatos. Cuando la higiene oral es deficiente, el pH es ácido y óptimo para desmineralizar las superficies dentarias. Si predomina una dieta rica en azúcares y harinas, se acidifica más y el riesgo de iniciar caries es inminente. Para determinar el comportamiento del pH salival y evidenciar la efectividad del cepillado como medida de prevención de bajo costo, eficaz y de fácil aplicación en niños con riesgo cariogénico se tomó muestras de saliva de 44 niños entre 6 y 8 años de San Martín de Porres, antes y después del desayuno, medidos con un potenciómetro; en GRUPO 1: con placa bacteriana antigua (sin cepillado previo) y GRUPO 2: con placa bacteriana reciente (con cepillado previo). Según la prueba t de Student, la variación del pH salival, en ambos grupos, fue estadísticamente significativa (p=0.000) pero al comparar el grupo 1 y 2 no existieron diferencias estadísticamente significativas. Se concluye que la remoción de la placa bacteriana tanto antigua como reciente es una medida preventiva esencial que no está relacionada a la variación del pH salival.

Recovering Streptococcus mutans over restorations by the tray technique: a randomized clinical study

AIM: To correlate the tray technique for isolation and counting of Streptococcus mutans over dental restoration with the toothpick technique. METHODS: Forty 18-50-year-old patients of both genders with high cariogenic risk were selected. Inclusion criteria were: occlusal restoration evaluated as alpha, according to the Ryge's criteria (examiner' Cohen-Kappa 0.8) and 2 years old maximum age. Each patient provided a saliva sample (control group S) and two samples of dental biofilm from amalgam or resin-based composite restorations in the same patient, one obtained with the toothpick technique (group TT), and the other from homologous tooth restoration with the tray technique (group TR). This method involves only a direct impression on the occlusal surfaces by a section of a fluoride tray with trypticase yeast extract cysteine sucrose with bacitracin (TYCSB) agar previously prepared and solidified. The samples were incubated at 37 ºC for 48 h and the colony-forming units (CFU) were counted. The results were statistically analyzed with SPSS software using the linear regression method at 95% confidence level. RESULTS: TR was able to isolate S. mutans, and there was a significant positive correlation (r=0.95) with TT. There was no significant correlation between TR and control group S (r=0.47). CONCLUSIONS: TR was able to isolate and count S. mutans from the dental biofilm of dental restorations with a significant correlation with the TT group.

Clinical nutrition update 2012.

Clinical nutrition update 2012.

Cariogenic bacteria and diet according to nutritional status in pre‐school children

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease, and diet, closely associated with nutritional status (NS), plays an essential role. However, the relation between these factors has not been thoroughly studied to date. To clarify the relationship between NS and cariogenic bacteria, eighty four children aged 59.2 ± 12.8 months, attending a day care center, were examined. They were classified by Body Mass Index Z‐scores (WHO, 2007) in adequate (A), overweight (OW) or obese (O). Carbohydrate consumption frequency between meals/day (CH), cariogenic risk (CR), and colony‐forming unit/ml saliva (CFU) of streptococci and lactobacilli were assessed.NS showed 46% of children A, 30% OW and 18% O. Although CH did not differ significantly among groups (p>0.05), O presented less children with high CR (A:62, OW:77 and O:50%, p<0.05). The number of CFU of Streptococcus mutans group did not differ significantly, but CFU of Lactobacillus acidophilus was reduced in O (O:2241±1586 vs A:3700±1710 and OW:2715±1793, p<0.05).Thus, these results suggest an association among NS, diet and microbiology composition of dental biofilm that leads to a negative relationship between obesity and caries risk.

Prevalencia de hábitos bucodentales saludables en la población infanto-juvenil residente en España

IntroductionOral health is integral to children's health. To achieve this, it is essential establishing healthy habits early on them, such as regular check-ups, proper and frequent tooth brushing and a non-cariogenic diet. Prevalence of these habits are investigated in Spanish children by age group (pre-school: 2-5 years and school: 6-15 years) and by maternal educational level. Material and methodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, based on the last Spanish National Health Survey (2006). A representative sample of 8042 subjects (2-15 years) was obtained. ResultsA total of 47.35% reported having gone to dental services during the last year and 69.09% having gone sometime during their lives. Only 22.68% of the sample reported daily tooth brushing three times or more and 89.03% reported eating a cariogenic risk diet. In the school group (6-15 years) 29.87% of children whose mothers were university level brushed their teeth three times or more compared to 25.83% and 20.89% of those whose mothers had secondary and even primary studies respectively. For the intake of cariogenic risk diet, the percentages were 87.05%, 91.11% and 90.44%. In both age groups, and except for the consumption of sweets, there was a statistically significant association between maternal educational level and healthy habits. ConclusionsThe prevalence of these healthy habits is far lower than the recommendations: a lower use of services and a lower frequency of daily tooth brushing and higher intake of a cariogenic risk diet. The outcomes are more favourable in both age groups when the mother are university level, wich may serve as a guide to the promotion of oral health.

Cheese with naturally decorated rind

The number of non-sugar sweeteners that are approved for use in foods and drinks is increasing and manufacturers are using these as alternatives to cariogenic sugar. These non-sugar sweeteners are generally classed as non-cariogenic. The most frequently used non-sugar sweetener is sorbitol, and concern has been expressed that the oral flora may adapt to sorbitol so that it looses its ‘safe for teeth’ property. The purpose of this review is to describe the mechanisms whereby oral microorganisms, and mutans streptococci in particular, might metabolize sorbitol and to summarize published research into changes in plaque acid production and changes in plaque flora after exposure to sorbitol. Finally, the possibility that some groups of people may be especially ‘at-risk’ from adaptation of oral microorganisms to sorbitol is considered. It is concluded that frequent or long-term use of sorbitol is unlikely to present any increased risk of dental caries in normal people, but that frequent use of sorbitol may present a small cariogenic risk in people with low salivary flow.

Elevation of serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in response to physiologic doses of vitamin D in vitamin D-deficient infants

mal dysplasia was present, and family histories were negative for significant dental disease. These children probably represent a group who are more susceptible to caries; in them, prolonged nocturnal exposure to human milk should be considered a risk factor. Unfortunately, the susceptibility of the teeth to decay cannot be clinically predicted, and susceptible children may develop extensive caries, especially on the lingual surface of the teeth, before the condition becomes evident to the parent or physician. As more women choose nursing over bottle-feeding, pediatricians are discovering significant, although infrequen t , side effects of inadequate milk composition and supply.6.7 Nursing bottle-type caries in breast-fed infants might be viewed as a problem of improper delivery. Patients 1 and 2 had anatomic findings identical to those in bottle-fed children who sustained nursing bottle caries; most impressive was the total sparing of the lower incisors. Patient 3 sustained the earliest and most rampant caries, with an all-night feeding pattern. Shelton et aL L suggest elimination of the all-night bottle or provision of water only in the bottle in order to prevent nursing bottle caries. In an analogous way, the continuous nocturnal nursing pattern should be discouraged to prevent early dental changes. In women who nurse for longer than one year, frequent intermittent night feedings might represent a risk as well, Weaning, as suggested by Gardner et al., 2 appears to be a drastic step. However, the elimination of nocturnal feeding in children of this age should be possible through adequate conditioning of the child. In this way, the nursing experience can be continued without cariogenic risk to the child.