Dendrite enlightenment

Conclusions These in vitro findings suggest that silver diamine fluoride treatment does not significantly affect the bond strength of glass ionomer cement to dentin lesions, and improved retention is obtained by allowing SDF solution to set for one week prior to GIC placement.Purpose Early childhood caries remains a worldwide disease and often requires treatment under sedation or general anesthesia, with long waitlists. Silver diamine fluoride has been shown to arrest caries lesions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether silver diamine fluoride (SDF) application reduces emergency visits by waitlisted patients with early childhood caries (ECC). Methods Waitlisted patients aged zero to 71 months with ECC who were treated with SDF were enrolled at the University of Florida's NCEF Pediatric Dental Center; their cumulative incidence of dental emergencies were compared with children who were waitlisted during the 16 months preceding the introduction of SDF. Data from patient records on demographics, dental visits, SDF placement, and caries arrest were abstracted. Bivariate analyses and multiple logistic regression modeling were performed. Results Participants included 97 patients treated with SDF and 216 not treated with SDF. The cumulative incidence of dental emergencies was approximately 80 percent lower in the SDF group than in the comparison group (4.1 percent versus 17.6 percent; adjusted odds ratio equals 0.18; 95 percent confidence interval equals 0.06 to 0.54); 81 percent of SDF-treated surfaces were arrested at a follow-up visit. Conclusions Silver diamine fluoride helps reduce emergency visits for children with early childhood caries while on treatment waitlists and confirms the effectiveness of SDF for caries arrest in primary teeth.Purpose Barriers to regular dental care may lead to children being hospitalized for dental problems. The purpose of this study was to examine trends related to pediatric hospital inpatient admissions for nontraumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) in Florida between 2006 and 2016. Methods Data were from the Florida Department of Health inpatient admission database and included zero- to 19-year-old patients. The authors calculated age-specific and age-adjusted rates of inpatient admission for NTDCs and the proportion of all hospitalizations they comprise. Results There were 6,217 inpatient admissions for NTDCs of zero- to 19-year-olds in Florida between 2006 and 2016. The median charge was $21,654 per admission, and total charges were $196,220,470. read more Medicaid was the primary payer. Admission rates increased in all age groups, and age-adjusted rates increased by 62 percent during that period. The two most common NTDC diagnoses were periapical abscess without sinus tract and cellulitis of the mouth. Conclusions The rate and cost for hospital inpatient admissions to treat nontraumatic dental conditions increased significantly for children and adolescents in Florida during the past decade. Establishment of a dental home at an early age and removing barriers to receiving regular and periodic dental care may result in more effective and efficient use of health care resources and better patient outcomes.Purpose The preferred epidemiological caries assessment method is the decayed, missing, and filled surfaces (dmfs) score, which records all crowned/missing primary teeth's surfaces as carious. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dmfs score's accuracy in capturing caries-affected (versus treated) surfaces of crowned/extracted teeth. Methods A high-caries risk cohort of children, eight to 18 months old at baseline, were recruited from a nonfluoridated, rural, minority, and low-income community. Oral examinations occurred every 12 months for five years, identifying children with at least one caries-related crown/extraction (N equals 45). Observed scoring counted all crowned/extracted surfaces as carious. Private dentists' clinical records were also reviewed to determine how many surfaces were carious at crown/extraction appointments (53 actual scores for n equals 19). Differences in actual and observed scoring were evaluated (sign test; α equals 0.05 with two-tailed P-values). Results Most children in the study group had more than one crown/extraction. Actual scoring revealed two to three fewer carious surfaces per tooth than observed scoring; cumulatively, observed scoring added two to 27 more surface counts per participant (P less then 0.001). Conclusions Observed scoring exaggerated early childhood caries burdens when crowns/extractions were prevalent. Modified dmfs scoring, individualized or population-corrected crown/extraction counts, could more accurately estimate disease.Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine national data for trends in pediatric patient visits to dentists and physicians that may inform future interprofessional practice. Methods Data for 95,677 children, aged zero to 17 years, captured between 2011 and 2012 from the National Survey of Children's Health were examined to compare the number of visits made to dentists and physicians at each year of age. Results The average age was 8.9±5.2 (standard deviation) years; 28.6 percent were receiving Medicaid. Comparisons showed that, while physician visits were more common than dentist visits at younger ages, children aged nine years and older had more dentist visits than physician visits per year (P less then 0.001). Stratified analyses showed similar patterns in the frequency of physician and dentist visits within boys (P less then 0.001), girls (P less then 0.001), English speakers (P less then 0.001), and non-English speakers (P less then 0.001). Conclusions Physicians have an opportunity to address oral health in younger children, and dentists have an opportunity to address systemic health for older children. For five-year-olds and younger, physicians should incorporate oral health evaluations and dentist-referrals. For nine-year-olds and older, dentists should provide counseling on healthy weight, nutrition, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination; monitoring for diabetes and asthma; and screening for smoking, vaping, and sleep apnea.