Factors affecting dental fear in French children aged 5–12 years

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2010; 20: 366–373 Background. While dental anxiety is often correlated with prior negative dental experience, prevention of dental anxiety should in theory include early exposure to the dental setting. Objective. We set out to evaluate factors affecting dental fear in French children. Methods. Dental fear was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (DF‐VAS) in a group of 1303 French children (681 boys and 622 girls) aged 5–11 years (mean: 8.12 years, SD: 1.42 years). Indicators of caries and oral hygiene were evaluated on dental examination. Indicators of well‐being related to oral health, dental experience, and oral health education were collected via a structured interview. Results. Dental fear was scored low in 75.7% (DF‐VAS 0–3), moderate in 16.7% (DF‐VAS 4–6), and high in 7.6% (DF‐VAS 7–10). DF‐VAS decreased statistically with experience of a prior dental visit. Children who had at least one decayed tooth presented a higher level of dental fear than those with no decay, while children with fillings were significantly less anxious than those without previous dental care. Conclusions. This study shows that for children aged 5–12 years, prior experience of the dental setting can act as a positive component of dental fear.     

Evaluation of microbiological screening systems using dental plaque specimens from young children aged 6-36 months

Using cotton swab specimens of dental plaque from children aged 6-36 months, four commercial chairside tests for oral bacteria were evaluated by comparison with conventional selective culture: mitis salivarius kanamycin bacitracin agar for mutans streptococci and Rogosa SL agar for lactobacilli. Representative colonies of all isolates were identified by commercial identification kits. According to qualitative evaluations, all chairside tests for mutans streptococci were effective in our population. Those for lactobacilli were not as effective, due mainly to a high recovery of yeast contaminants.     

Evaluation of the effects of orthodontic pacifiers on the primary dentitions of 24- to 59-month-old children: preliminary study.

This study was designed to compare the occlusions of 24- to 59-month-old children who used orthodontic or conventional pacifiers to the occlusions of a group of controls who had no sucking habits. Information on the habits was collected by parental questionnaires. Ninety-five children were examined for malocclusions involving overbite, overjet, canine, and molar relationships, and posterior crossbites. Users of orthodontic pacifiers had statistically significantly greater overjets, and there was a significantly higher proportion of subjects with open bite in the conventional pacifier group. There was a trend toward a greater number of subjects in the control and orthodontic pacifier group with overbites less than or equal to 50%. These differences were not clinically significant, however. There appeared to be only minor differences between the occlusions of the two pacifier groups.     

Ages of eruption: study on a sample of 204 Italian children aged 6 to 24 months.

AIM: The purpose of this study is the evaluation of the tooth eruption ages in a sample of children aged between 6 and 24 months. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample consists of 204 children aged between six and twenty-four months, followed up for a period of one year in collaboration with seven pediatricians in the province of Sassari (Italy). The visits were carried out at the paediatricians' practice in order to receive immediate feedback about the clinical conditions of children. RESULTS: Regarding the ages of eruption of all elements it was observed a shift more or less important, depending on the tooth considered.     

Life course dental caries determinants and predictors in children aged 12 years: a population-based birth cohort

Abstract – Objective: To investigate the main dental caries life course determinants and predictors of dental caries at age 12. Methods: This study was nested in a population‐based birth cohort started in 1993 in Pelotas, Brazil. A sample of 359 children was followed‐up. Dental examinations and interviews were performed at 6 and at 12 years old. Dental caries (DMFT) at 12 years old was the outcome. Exploratory variables included socioeconomic and demographic variables at birth, children’s nutritional and development characteristics, primary dental caries, oral health related behaviors and dental service use at age 6 and 12. Poisson regression was used in order to provide relative risk ratio estimates. Attributable risk or etiology fraction and population attributable risk for both main early life variables were calculated. Dental caries prediction (DMFT ≥ 1) at 12 years old was tested using logistic regression analyses. Results: Children who presented height‐for‐age deficit at 12 months (RR 1.50 CI: 95% = 1.03–2.18), children who showed a DMFT of 1–3 and 4–19 at 6 years (RR = 2.01; CI: 95% = 1.33–3.03, and RR = 2.66; CI: 95% = 1.81–2.53, respectively) and those children aged 12 in the highest tertile of proportion of teeth experiencing gingival bleeding (RR = 1.58; CI: 95% = 1.11–2.24) presented a higher level of dental caries at age 12. Attributable risk for dental caries at age 12 were 79.1% and 74.2% for deficit in height for age at 12 months and for primary dental caries at age 6 years respectively; population attributable risk for dental caries at age 12 were 3.1% for deficit in height for age at 12 months and 64.9% for primary dental caries at age 6. The level of accuracy in predicting dental caries at age 12 by using life course socioeconomic, behavioral and clinical data was modest. Conclusions: The results of this study support the hypothesis linking social, biological and behavioral exposures and dental caries at 12 years old. In addition, the findings reinforce the lack of accuracy of dental caries predictors therefore limiting the individuals high‐risk approach as a public health strategy.