Morphological Characteristics and Prevention of Tooth Enamel Demineralization during Orthodontic Treatment with Non-Removable Appliances

Despite the large number of studies on the effect of braces on teeth, there is no information on the dynamics of the state of the ultrastructure of the hard tissues of teeth during orthodontic treatment. The purpose of this study is to examine the state of the hard tissues of the teeth and carry out preventive measures to reduce the risk of complications in the process of orthodontic treatment using a non-removable device. Methods: For the in vitro study, 68 teeth were randomly divided into group A-no prophylactic treatment, and group B-treated with the fluorine varnish Tiefenfluorid. After 35 days, all the teeth were prepared for microscopic examination. The clinical study included 59 patients aged 12-17 years with orthodontic brackets. The split-mouth technique was used. The areas around the bracket of one-half of the oral cavity were treated with Tiefenfluorid every 6 months during the entire treatment period. The teeth of the second half of the oral cavity served as the control group. The data were processed in the SPSS19 package. Results: In vitro and clinical study results showed a statistically significant difference between the prophylactic and control groups of teeth in favor of the prophylactic group, where the statistical significance was p ≤ 0.01.

Oral health status and indicators in children of Armenia based on the national surveys

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine the dynamics and the structure of dental morbidity of the children population of the Republic of Armenia, in order to improve the system of methods of therapeutic and preventive measures.

METHODS

In recommended children's key age groups, 5879 WHO assessment forms (1997) were analyzed. Calculated prevalence and intensity of dental caries, the Significant Index of Caries (SiC) and European dental health indicators, and the condition of periodontal tissues were determined with the help of the community periodontal index (CPI) and oral hygiene by OHI-S. The statistical analysis was performed within the SPSS 19 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The obtained data were statistically processed in the STATISTICA 6.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA) for Excel program (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA).

RESULTS

The prevalence of caries of temporary teeth was 91.7% on the average. In 12-year-old schoolchildren the average prevalence of caries of permanent teeth rate was 87.5%. The prevalence of periodontal lesions in children was 47.8% on the average.

CONCLUSIONS

In Armenia there was an increase in dental morbidity during the 2009-2019 period, which presumably would be continued unless the factors affecting the development of diseases will be changed. To improve dental health at the population level not only specialists but also health authorities should make efforts introducing appropriate prevention programs.

Knowledge, opinions, and practices related to oral cancer prevention and oral mucosal examination among dentists in Moldova, Belarus and Armenia: a multi-country cross-sectional study

Introduction

Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia are post-Soviet countries with a high rate of heavy smokers and a relatively high age-standardized incidence of oral cancer. However, to our knowledge, there is lack of available information on dentists’ knowledge on prevention of oral cancer in the countries in question. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, opinions, and practices related to oral cancer prevention and oral mucosal examination among dentists in Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia.

Methods

This was a multi-country, cross-sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 3534 dentists (797 in Chisinau, Moldova, 1349 in Minsk, Belarus, and 1388 in Yerevan, Armenia). Dentists' knowledge about risk factors for oral cancer development and its clinical picture, current practices and opinions with regard to oral mucosal screening and oral cancer prevention, and their consistency to perform oral mucosal examination were assessed. A knowledge score ranging from 0 to 14 points was generated based on each dentist’s answer to the questionnaire.

Results

A total of 1316 dentists responded, achieving an overall response rate of 37.2% (34.5% in Moldova; 52.3% in Belarus; 24.2% in Armenia). Most dentists in the three countries correctly identified tobacco (83.8–98.2%) and prior oral cancer lesions (84.0–96.3%) as risk factors for oral cancer. Most dentists correctly identified leukoplakia as a lesion with malignant potential (68.7% in Moldova; 88.5% in Belarus; 69.9% in Armenia), while erythroplakia was identified by much fewer in all three countries. Less than 52% of dentists identified the tongue, rim of tongue, and floor of mouth as the most common sites for oral cancer. The mean knowledge score for all countries combined was 7.5 ± 2.7. The most commonly reported barriers to perform oral mucosal examination were lack of training, knowledge, and experience.

Conclusions

This study highlights the need for improved oral cancer-related education and training on oral mucosal examination for dentists in Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia. Such skills are essential to enhance oral cancer prevention and to improve the prognostic outcome by early detection.