OBJECTIVES Asthma is a common chronic disease. Asthma and anti-asthmatic medications have been suggested as risk factors for increased susceptibility to caries. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different types and forms of antihistaminic medications and the duration of drug consumption on the severity of dental caries in asthmatic children. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-...

PURPOSE In order to investigate the suitability of Streptococcus mutans species biotyping by measuring the activity of selected enzymes from a commercial test, criteria were established for biotyping clinical strains from children with dental caries. In addition, the relationships between the selected biotypes, sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics, and early childhood caries were determined...

and severity of dental caries among children in the Republic of Ireland has declined dramatically since the 1960s. Much of this decline has been attributed to the availability of fluoride, through water fluoridation and also through the home use of fluoride toothpastes. 1,2 However, in spite of the overall improvement in dental health, caries remains a very common disease among Irish children, ...

OBJECTIVES To determine whether there is a socioeconomic status (SES) disparity in caries experience (i.e., DMFT) in an adolescent sample from Pennsylvania and to determine whether differences in oral hygiene behaviors and preventive interventions account for this disparity. METHODS A cross-sectional clinical assessment was conducted on a representative sample of 9th grade and 11th grade stud...

This report presents the results of an evidence-based approach to obtaining the best available information on the natural history, prevalence, incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of root caries. Searches of electronic databases produced 807 references; from these and from citations in the selected articles, a final 161 references were used. We found that the information on the natural history o...

OBJECTIVES To determine trends in dental caries prevalence, severity and unmet treatment need levels amongst South African children. METHODOLOGY Data obtained from three National Oral Health surveys (1982, 1988/89, 1999/2002) was used. RESULTS Prevalence of caries amongst 12-year-old children decreased from 64.4% (1982) through 54.9% (1988/89) to 41.7% (1999/2002) and the DMFT decreased sig...

Dental caries has a polymicrobial etiology within the complex oral microbial ecosystem. However, the overall diversity and structure of supragingival plaque microbiota in adult dental health and caries are not well understood. Here, 160 supragingival plaque samples from patients with dental health and different severities of dental caries were collected for bacterial genomic DNA extraction, pyr...

Early childhood caries (ECC) affects children all over the world and has high prevalence and severity in preschool children. Different social, biological and behavioral factors compose a network of causal factors for ECC. The aim was to evaluate the association between socioeconomic variables and caries at baseline, and the presence of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp. microorganisms ...

Feeding practices during early childhood play an important aetiological role in early childhood caries (ECC). The role of feeding practices in causation of ECC is debated. The objective of this study was to assess the aetiological role of feeding practices on ECC. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at a paediatric unit in Sri Lanka. Two hundred and eighty-five children between 36...