Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 61, Issue 4, July–August 2016, Pages 206-207
Dental Abstracts

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Arresting dentin caries in preschool children

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2016.03.032Get rights and content

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Background

Early childhood caries (ECC) is more prevalent in children from lower socioeconomic groups, with lesions often left untreated from preschool age on. Providing restorative approaches for these children will be an enormous task for dentists to undertake. Progression of dental caries can be arrested using silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution, with common frequencies of application of every 6 months or yearly. With repeated applications, it is expected that the proportion of arrested caries

Methods

At baseline, 304 children (mean age 41 months) had 1670 tooth surfaces with dentin caries treated with one of three interventions, specifically, (1) application of 30% SDF solution every 12 months (100 children), (2) three applications of 30% SDF solution weekly (97 children), or (3) three applications of 5% sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish weekly (107 children). Follow-up evaluations were done every 6 months to determine if lesions had become arrested. After 18 months, 275 children were assessed

Results

The caries arrest rates at 18 months were 40% for group 1, 35% for group 2, and 27% for group 3. Lesions treated with the NaF varnish had lower caries arrest rates than those treated with SDF regardless of the protocol followed. After 6 and 12 months, lesions that had 3-weekly applications of SDF solution at baseline had higher caries arrest rates than lesions receiving a single SDF application.

Factors associated with the time to arrest of active caries included treatment group, presence of

Discussion

Preschool children at high risk for caries but living in a fluoridated area benefited from applications of SDF solution annually or for 3 weeks straight. Their lesions were arrested more effectively than when NaF varnish was used for 3 consecutive weeks.

Clinical Significance

The use of SDF solution for children with ECC proved successful for arresting active dentin caries lesions in primary teeth. An intensive program of NaF varnish use was not as effective. SDF can be used in a 3-weekly or a

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Duangthip D, Chu CH, Lo ECM: A randomized clinical trial on arresting dentine caries in preschool children by topical fluorides—18 month results. J Dent 44:57-63, 2016

Reprints available from ECM Lo, 3/F, Prince Philip Dental Hosp, 34 Hospital Rd, Hong Kong; fax: +852 28587874; e-mail: [email protected]

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