Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 61, Issue 4, July–August 2016, Pages 205-206
Dental Abstracts

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Progression on surfaces with inactive caries

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2016.03.031Get rights and content

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Background

Caries activity is determined by lesion characteristics that indicate if net mineral loss is occurring. The assumption has been that inactive lesions will have higher risk of caries progression than sound surfaces. The truth or inaccuracy of this assumption will impact treatment decisions for caries-inactive surfaces. A clinical trial was done in low caries prevalence children who underwent a nonoperative occlusal caries treatment program. No caries progression was noted in 80% of the children

Methods

The 200 subjects ranged in age from 7 to 15 years and were considered caries inactive. Over the course of 1 year, stage of eruption, occlusal plaque, and occlusal caries were recorded for their permanent molars. Caries incidence and progression were compared between sound occlusal surfaces and surfaces with inactive enamel lesions. The risk of caries incidence and progression on occlusal surfaces was calculated.

Results

For most children between 4 and 8 molars were evaluated, with a total of 533 having sound occlusal surfaces and 539 having inactive occlusal enamel lesions. Fifty-eight percent of the sample were permanent first molars and 42% were second molars.

After 1 year 89% of the children had no change in their molar teeth and 11% had progression, which was defined as having at least one active lesion on a site classified as sound or inactive at baseline. Surfaces that had been filled between the baseline

Discussion

A high number of children (89%) remained caries inactive after 1 year. In addition, 96.8% of the sites on occlusal surfaces remained inactive from the initial examination to the 1-year check-up.

Clinical Significance

If caries incidence, progression, and risk on sound occlusal sites remain the same, dentists can confidently give these surfaces the same attention that sound occlusal surfaces receive for 1 year. Having inactive caries lesions does not increase the risk of progression over that for

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Zenkner JEA, Carvalho JC, Wagner MB, et al: One-year evaluation of inactive occlusal enamel lesions in children and adolescents. Clin Oral Invest 20:133-139, 2016

Reprints available from JEA Zenkner, School of Dentistry, Federal Univ of Santa Maria, Rua Floriano Peixoto, 1184, Centro 97015-370, Brazil; e-mail: [email protected]

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