ORO‐DENTAL STATUS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 7‐12 YEARS, IN THE RURAL AREAS OF DOLJ COUNTY

Introduction: The World Health Organization has a long tradition on the methodology and monitorization of oral health epidemiological investigations, even in the field of dental caries. According to the targets to be attained in 2020, at the age of 6 years, 80% of children should be cavity‐free and, at the age of 12, DMFT should be no more than 1.5. Based on WHO targets for 2020, an epidemio‐ logical study was performed on school children affected by dental caries, aged between 7‐12 years, from the rural areas of the Dolj County. Methodology: The study protocol included conventional and meticulous visual clinical examination of students, according to WHO methodology, in the Pedodontic Clinics of Craiova ‐ Faculty of Medical Dentistry. Also calculated was the DMFT index, by analy‐ sis of the DT, MT, FT components, as well as the dmft index, by analysis of the dt, mt, ft components. Results: The mean indices of carious experience in temporary den‐ tition decrease with age, due to the progressive disappear‐ ance of milk teeth. The DMFT index values are given, in particular, by components that indicate the number of teeth affected by caries and not of the blocked ones. Con‐ clusions: The results obtained emphasize the need for den‐ tal health education programs at national and community level, the kindergartens and schools having a great poten‐ tial to influence dental health care habits in children. Also emphasized was the need for regional prevention pro‐ grams, as part of an overall national program, which has to consider the socio‐economic and cultural factors

Applications of Optical Coherence Tomography in the Diagnosis of Enamel Defects

Developmental defects of enamel (DDEs) are deviations from the normal appearance in terms of the quantity and quality of tooth enamel. They may be genetic or acquired. The most important DDEs are hypomineralization and hypoplasia. The aim of this study was to produce “in vivo” DDE in Wistar rats by administering amoxicillin to pregnant females and to highlight these lesions after sacrifice of the pups by macroscopic and microscopic examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Amoxicillin (100 mg/kg) was administered to two pregnant Wistar female rats for the production of DDEs. When the pups were 2 months old, they were sacrificed, and their jaws were harvested together with their teeth. The jaws were examined macroscopically, microscopically, and by OCT. Following the macroscopic and microscopic examination, it was established that four pups had a total of 42 DDE lesions. At the OCT examination, the hypomineralization was characterized by an intense, inhomogeneous OCT signal, and the hypoplasia was characterized by the absence of the signal. Administration of amoxicillin to pregnant females of Wistar rats resulted in DDEs in their offspring. The OCT examination confirmed the presence of these lesions in the teeth of rat pups

Contributions to the study of the prevalence of oral breathing associated with angle class II/1 malocclusion

The obstruction of nasal passages determines the disturbance of the function of normal breathing, once the oral breathing is settled. The aim of the present paper is to bring a contribution to the analysis of the prevalence of oral breathing in the etiology of Angle Class II/1 malocclusion. 1,735 children aged 6 to 14/15 from the area of Craiova were part of the present study. The research has revealed a prevalence of 7,24% in the urban area and 6,47% in the rural one. The result is that, once the oral breathing is permanently settled, there may appear disorders in the cranio-facial development, sometimes leading to the appearance of Angle Class II/1 malocclusion