Sociodemographic and behavioural determinants of early childhood caries knowledge among expectant mothers in Kuwait

Social inequities in early childhood caries in Australia: A population-based study on statewide public dental services data

BACKGROUND

Social disadvantage leads to dental caries during childhood.

AIM

This study investigated whether dental caries occur earlier in children from households experiencing social disadvantage than those not experiencing social disadvantage.

DESIGN

The overall risk of, and relative time to, early childhood caries (ECC) according to sociodemographic characteristics in Victoria, Australia, was quantified. Records for 134 463 children in Victoria, Australia, from 2009 to 2019 were analysed. Time ratios (TR) and hazard ratios (HR) of carious lesion(s) in early childhood were estimated.

RESULTS

Compared with reference groups, Indigenous children had an adjusted TR of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.82), children from households with languages other than English had an adjusted TR of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.84), and dependants of concession cardholders had an adjusted TR of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.81); therefore, 20%, 17% and 19% reduced times to the first carious lesion, respectively. The estimated HRs were 1.57 (95% CI: 1.49, 1.67) for Indigenous children, 1.46 (95% CI: 1.42, 1.50) for children from households with other languages and 1.57 (CI: 1.53, 1.60) for dependants of concession cardholders.

CONCLUSION

Preventive oral health interventions must be targeted early in children from households experiencing social disadvantage to avoid social inequities in ECC.

Oral Health in the State of Kuwait: An Appraisal

BACKGROUND

Oral health issues have received significant attention from most global health agencies, which have integrated these issues into their noncommunicable disease, sustainable development, and universal health coverage objectives.

METHODS

This paper provides an update on the progress made in the last 2 decades and aims to highlight some of the challenges faced by the oral health care system in Kuwait.

RESULTS

Despite the nation's rising expenditure on oral health care, the prevalence of oral diseases remains high in Kuwait. The lack of reliable data on periodontitis and edentulism limits the ability of researchers to comment on the trends of these conditions. This emphasises the critical need for a nationwide household-level oral health survey in both pediatric and adult populations that would provide valuable information on the oral health status of these populations.

CONCLUSION

In the future, Kuwait must invest more in oral disease prevention programs, especially among children and the high-risk communities of the population.

Sociodemographic Factors Associated with the Level of Knowledge of Early Postpartum Women about Oral Health Prevention in Infants Aged 0 to 2 Years Old: A Cross-Sectional Study under a Multivariable Analysis

The objective was to evaluate the sociodemographic factors associated with the level of knowledge of early puerperal women about oral health prevention in infants. This cross-sectional and analytical study evaluated 303 early puerperal women from a hospital in the Peruvian capital. A validated 18-question questionnaire was used to measure the level of knowledge. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the influence of age, marital status, educational level, number of children, monthly income, and having a dentist as a family member. A significance of p < 0.05 was considered. A total of 46.86%, 30.36%, and 22.77% of the puerperal had poor, fair, and good knowledge, respectively. The risk of having poor knowledge was two times higher (OR = 2.43; CI: 1.26-4.70) in early postpartum women aged 18 to 25 years than in those older than 35 years. Early postpartum women with no education, primary and secondary education were 11 times (OR = 11.76; CI: 2.41-57.43), 6 times (OR = 6.61; CI: 1.72-25.45), and 5 times (OR = 5.50; CI: 1.52-19.89), respectively, more likely to have significantly poor knowledge compared to those with university education. In conclusion, only a small minority of early postpartum women had a good knowledge of oral health prevention in infants aged 0 to 2 years. Younger and less educated puerperal were at greater risk of having little knowledge on this topic. Finally, not having basic education was the main risk factor identified.

Trends in social inequalities in early childhood caries using population‐based clinical data

OBJECTIVE

To assess the longitudinal trends in social inequalities in early childhood caries (ECC) using collected population-based data.

METHODS

Clinical data on children were routinely collected from 2008 to 2019 in Victoria, Australia. ECC prevalence and severity (dmft) were quantified according to Indigenous status, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) status, concession cardholder status, geographic remoteness and area deprivation. The inverse probability weighting was used to quantify social inequalities in ECC. The weighted prevalence differences, and the ratio between the weighted prevalence of ECC and mean dmft and their 95% confidence interval, were then plotted.

RESULTS

Absolute inequalities in ECC prevalence increased for children by 7% for CALD status and cardholder status between 2008 and 2019. Likewise, absolute inequalities in ECC severity in this time period increased by 0.6 for CALD status and by 0.4 for cardholder status. Relative inequalities in ECC increased by CALD (ratio: 1.3 to 2.0), cardholder status (1.3 to 2.0) and area deprivation (1.1 to 1.3). Relative inequalities in severity increased by CALD (1.5 to 2.8), cardholder (1.4 to 2.5) or area deprivation (1.3 to 1.5). Although children with Indigenous status experienced inequalities in ECC prevalence and severity, these did not increase on the absolute (ECC: 0.1-0.1 Severity: 1.0-0.1) or relative scale (ECC ratio: 1.3-1.3 Severity ratio: 1.6-1.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Trends in inequalities in ECC were different according to sociodemographic measures. Oral health policies and interventions must be evaluated on the basis of reducing the prevalence of oral diseases and oral health inequalities between population sub-groups.

Oral Health and Knowledge among Postpartum Women

Oral health behavior and risks during pregnancy and after birth affect the oral health of babies and toddlers. We examined the oral and gingival health and caries prevalence of 150 postpartum women shortly after giving birth and assessed their knowledge of oral hygiene using a questionnaire. We also compared the oral health knowledge of nulliparous and multiparous women. Although most participants (98.0%) understood the importance of maintaining oral hygiene in children, their overall knowledge of oral health was medium-low, regardless of the number of previous pregnancies. Only 4.6% of women received oral health advice from their obstetrician during their pregnancy. Most participants had a high gingival index score, which correlated with dental pain during pregnancy. In contrast, the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth was significantly lower in first-time mothers. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between women who regularly visit their dentist and those who regularly take their children to the dentist. Expecting mothers should be educated about their own oral health and that of their developing fetus and children. Raising awareness among obstetricians with regards to this topic may be an effective way to achieve this.

Evaluation of Parents' Awareness about the Effect of Prolonged Exposure to Milk or Sugary Liquids during Bedtime in the Development of Rampant Caries in Preschoolchildren and Infants

Background

Nursing caries (NC) is a specific type of dental rampant caries with an infectious and transmissible potential that usually affect preschool children or infants that are still in the nursing phase. Prolonged exposure to milk or sugary liquids or other cariogenic substance during bedtime has shown to be the most common cause of rampant caries in preschoolchildren and infants which contributes to lowering of both functional and cosmetic appearance.

Aim and objective

This study aims to evaluate parents' awareness about the effect of prolonged exposure to milk or sugary liquids during bedtime in the development of rampant caries (NC) in preschool children and infants in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods

The research design is an observational quantitative cross-sectional with a sample size of 303 participants. The targeted subjects were Saudi parents' males and females, older than 20 and living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and those under 20 years old, non-Saudi without children, and not living in Riyadh were excluded.

Results

A sample of 303 parents was analyzed. Comparison between NC knowledge and gender showed that a higher percentage of mothers (71.0%) knew that bottle-feeding during bedtime can increase the incidence of caries compared to the fathers (51.9%), p value 0.003. The relation between NC awareness and previously heard about NC showed that those who heard about NC before knew more about bottle feeding during bedtime can cause NC, p value < 0.001. Most of the parents (88.7%) who previously heard about NC also knew that oral hygiene follow-up is important in preschool children, p value < 0.001. A significant difference in knowledge existed between those who heard about NC and those who are not in terms of the proper time to follow-up with a child's oral hygiene (p value < 0.001), and the proper time to visit a dentist (p value 0.012).

Conclusion

Our study showed that the parents are significantly aware of the incidence of NC during childhood (90.4%). In addition to the significant awareness among the parents who have previously heard about NC. However, (61.7%) of the parents acknowledged the most common leading cause of early childhood caries.

How to cite this article

Fatani B, Fatani OA, Kalantan R. Evaluation of Parents' Awareness about the Effect of Prolonged Exposure to Milk or Sugary Liquids during Bedtime in the Development of Rampant Cariesin Preschoolchildren and Infants. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(2):227-232.

36 Months' Clinical Performance of Primary Incisors Restorations Depending on the Type of Restorative Technique Used: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Depending on the stage of the disease and the child’s age, different types of interventions can be used to treat early childhood caries. As a result, there is not enough clinical evidence to show that one kind of restoration is better than another. The objective of this longitudinal study was to compare the results of 36 months of clinical performance of primary incisors restorations using an incremental layering technique with the ceram.x^® SphereTECTM nanoceramic composite (Dentsply) or a full coverage technique with transparent strip crowns (Frasaco GmbH) with the same composite in children with or without biological caries risk factors. Methods: 80 patients (females 42/52.5%) were included in the study. A total of 160 restorations were performed. Restorations were evaluated at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months, according to modified Ryge criteria. Conclusion: Restorations with both techniques were clinically highly successful and showed similar clinical performance at postoperatively regardless of the presence of biological factors of caries risk.