The latest medical research on Paediatric Dentistry

To analyse the evolution of the oral health of 4-year-old children in nursery school between 2001 and 2018 as well as the early predictor and associated risk factors, in different school areas.

We compared (1) the prevalence of ECC (4 ≥ dmft ≥ 1) and S-ECC (dmft ≥ 5) of 4-year-old children and (2) data obtained by a structured questionnaire completed by their parents from two studies performed in 2001 and 2018. Data were analysed using the Chi2 test and odds ratio (OR).

A total of 322 children and of 425 children randomly selected among Moselle's public nursery schools in north-eastern France were, respectively, included in the study in 2001 and 2018. The prevalence of ECC was respectively 40.70% and 21.65% in 2001 and 2018 (p < 0.001; OR = 2.48; 95% CI = 1.78-3.47). We also observed a decrease of S-ECC prevalence (10.56% in 2001 vs 5.90% in 2018, p < 0.05, OR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.07-3.38). The intake of cariogenic food (sweet drink, biscuits, candies, milk, baby bottle) decreased but the knowledge of parents concerning cariogenic food did not improve. The proportion of parents helping their child has not changed in 17 years (82.33% vs 86.52%, p > 0.1) but tooth brushing was initiated earlier in 2018 than in 2001 (p < 0.01). Prescription of systemic fluoride decreased (39.14% vs 3.62%; p < 0.001).

The identification of the food consumption habits and the knowledge of parents concerning oral health should enable strengthening of preventive measures and the initiation of an oral health education programme for children and their family.

This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of reinforced zinc oxide-eugenol (rZOE) incorporated with different concentrations of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs).

The pastes of rZOE alone or mixed with AgNPs at concentrations of 1%, 2%, and 5% of weight were prepared. In vitro antimicrobial activity of prepared materials against Streptococcus (S.) mutans and Lactobacillus (L.) acidophilus were evaluated after 2, 4, and 6 h of contact times using direct contact test (DCT) and also following 24 h incubation by well-diffusion test (WDT). The cytotoxicity of the tested materials on human dental pulp stem cells was also determined by MTT assay.

The DCT demonstrated that the time-dependent reductions of the colony numbers of both bacteria by three different concentrations of AgNPs incorporated into rZOE were equal but steeper than the rZOE alone (P < 0.05). The increases in growth inhibition zones of S. mutans and L. acidophilus were associated with the increasing concentration of AgNPs mixed with rZOE in the WDT; however, statistical analysis did not show any significant differences (P = 0.092). The MTT assay revealed a significantly lower percentage of cell viability after 1 day of culture only with the rZOE + AgNP5% in comparison to the rZOE alone (P = 0.011) and the control medium (P = 0.001).

Since the antimicrobial activities of three different concentrations of AgNPs incorporated into rZOE were equal and AgNPs had lower toxicity at lower concentrations, using AgNPs at 1% concentration is suggested to be mixed with rZOE.

Neurotoxicity concerns have been raised over general anesthesia and sedation medication use in children. Such concerns are largely based on animal studies, historical anesthetic agents, and assessment tools, thus warranting further investigations. Blood biomarkers in detecting neuronal inflammation and apoptosis are novel methods for detecting neuronal damage. Therefore, the aim of this feasibility study was to assess the usefulness of the levels of four plasma biomarkers in dental general anesthesia (DGA) as surrogate markers of neurotoxicity in children. The secondary aim was to compare changes in motor manipulative skills pre- and post-anesthetic exposure.

This single-center prospective observational study included 22 healthy children aged between 3 and 6 years old who underwent DGA. Subclinical neurotoxicity was measured with a panel of four plasma biomarkers: Caspase-3, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neurofilament light chain, and S100B at three time points (1; at start, 2; end and 3; on recovery from DGA). The Skillings-Mack test was used to identify the difference in the biomarker levels at three time points. Motor manipulative score assessment, prior and two weeks after DGA was also performed.

A total of 22 study participants (mean age = 5 ± 1 years) were included with a median DGA duration of 106 ± 28 min. A reduction in Caspase-3 levels was recorded, with pairwise comparison over three time points, reporting a statistical significance between time point 2 vs. 1 and time point 3 vs. 1. Although fluctuations in NSE levels were recorded, no significant changes were found following pairwise comparison analysis. Among other biomarkers, no significant changes over the three periods were recorded. Furthermore, no significant changes in manipulative motor scores were reported.

Caspase-3 reduced significantly in the short time frames during day-care DGA; this might be due to the relatively short anesthesia duration associated with dental treatment as compared with more extensive medical-related treatments. Therefore, further studies on Caspase-3 as a potential biomarker in pediatric DGA neurotoxicity are required to further ascertain results of this study.

The purpose of the study was to determine the fluoride (F) and silver (Ag) ions levels in the saliva and urine of healthy children after silver diamine fluoride (SDF) application on dental carious lesions.

Sixty children (4-6 years with ≥ 3 caries lesions) were recruited from the outpatient department of Pediatric Dentistry. From each child, 3 ml unstimulated saliva samples were collected at baseline, one hour, and 24 h after SDF application. Similarly, 3 ml urine samples were collected prior to and after 24 h of SDF application. F and Ag ion concentrations were determined by fluoride ion-selective electrode (ISE) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), respectively.

The mean ± standard deviation (SD) baseline, 1-h, and 24-h salivary F concentrations (ppm) were 0.07 ± 0.07, 0.93 ± 0.48, and 0.19 ± 0.19, respectively, while the mean baseline and 24-h urinary F concentrations (ppm) were 0.33 ± 0.20 ppm and 0.43 ± 0.25 ppm, respectively. The mean baseline, 1-h, and 24-h salivary Ag concentrations (ppb) were 4.22 ± 3.15, 4198 ± 350, and 56.93 ± 37, respectively. The mean baseline and 24-h urinary Ag concentrations (ppb) were 2.80 ± 2.93 ppb and 4.72 ± 4.0 ppb, respectively. There were statistically elevated F and Ag ion concentrations at 1 h and 24 h after SDF application as compared to the baseline.

Salivary and urinary F and Ag ions concentrations elevated significantly at 24 h following SDF applications in children. A significant high recovery of these ions in urine indicates minimal systemic absorption, thus intermittent topical application of 38% SDF has a minimal risk of toxicity.