Management preferences of deep caries in permanent teeth among dentists in Saudi Arabia

Deep carious lesions management in children and adolescents: a questionnaire survey among dentists practicing paediatric dentistry in France

INTRODUCTION

While many questionnaire surveys have been undertaken worldwide to investigate practices toward deep carious lesion (DCL) management in adults, very few are related to children and adolescents. The present cross-sectional study aimed to assess DCL management in children and adolescents among dentists practicing paediatric dentistry in France (Fr-DPPDs). The secondary objective was to compare practices between Fr-DPPDs and dentists registered in the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD).

METHODS

A questionnaire was electronically administrated to members of the CEOP (Collège des Enseignants en Odontologie Pédiatrique), the SFOP (Société Française d'Odontologie Pédiatrique), and the EAPD. Descriptive analyses, Chi-square and McNemar tests, ANOVA, crude and adjusted binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 99 Fr-DPPDs and 146 EAPD members answered the questionnaire. Among the Fr-DPPDs, the preferred caries removal (CR) methods were the complete CR in one step for primary teeth and mature permanent teeth (respectively, 70% and 48%) and in two steps for immature permanent teeth (39%). EAPD members were more likely, than Fr-DPPDs, to choose selective CR versus complete CR in primary teeth (odds ratio = 2.60; 95% CI 1.39-4.85). Moreover, for primary or immature permanent teeth, general practitioners were less likely to choose selective CR than specialists and exclusive practitioners in paediatric dentistry, (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Tooth type [primary, permanent (immature or mature)] seemed to influence DCL management. Fr-DPPS should prioritise pulpal vitality when managing DCL.

An Evaluation on Deep Caries Removal Method and Management Performed by Undergraduate Dental Students: A Malaysia Experience

OBJECTIVES

 The aim of this study was to investigate the current knowledge and attitude of deep caries removal method among dental students in Malaysia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

 A total of 303 students (n = 303) responded to the online questionnaire. The first part of questionnaire was to evaluate the demographic data of the respondents and focused on the technique and management approach used for deep caries lesion. The second part investigated the preferred treatment used for deep caries based on the designated clinical case, while the third part assessed the factors that affected the decision on deep caries management.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

 Independent t-test was used to compare difference between the two groups.

RESULTS

 Seventy four percent of the students have the knowledge of the different methods of caries removal, while 25.8% were only familiar with complete caries removal. The preferred method for deep caries removal in permanent teeth was partial caries removal (53%). For primary dentition, 45.6% of the students prefer to perform pulpotomy as compared with other techniques. There was no significant difference in caries removal method for permanent teeth between undergraduate year of study (p > 0.05), which was partial caries removal at 52.7 and 53.5%, respectively. For primary dentition, the preferred caries removal method was pulpotomy for year 4 (39.8%) and year 5 (52%) students. The popular material to restore deep caries was resin composite (42%) followed by glass ionomer cement (23.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

 This study showed that partial caries removal was the preferred method despite partial understanding on the identification of the clinical indicators of the technique.

Dentists' decisions for deep carious lesions management in primary teeth

BACKGROUND

Questionnaire surveys have been undertaken worldwide to investigate practices and knowledge related to deep carious lesion (DCL) management in permanent teeth, and there is a lack of data in primary teeth.

AIM

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken to describe the management strategies for DCL of vital primary teeth, focusing on the different caries removal techniques, among dentists practicing pediatric dentistry (DPPDs) in France. Their behavior was compared to members one registered to European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (EAPD).

DESIGN

A questionnaire was electronically administrated (2018-2019) to members of the Collège des Enseignants en Odontologie Pédiatrique (CEOP), the Société Française d'Odontologie Pédiatrique (SFOP), and the EADP. Descriptive and statistical analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Response rate was, respectively, for CEOP, SFOP, and EAPD about 74%, 29%, and 15%. About half of the respondents (53%) would perform a complete caries removal into one step when 12% would indicate a stepwise technique: 68% of the DPPDs practicing in France would perform complete caries removal in one step when the preferred option in the other EAPD members was the selective excavation (44%) (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Complementary education of French dentists in the domain of caries management appears necessary regarding current recommendations.