Dental Caries in Disabled Children

The aim of the study was to evaluate oral health conditions and dental caries status in disabled and healthy children. Two groups of randomly selected children 3–17 years old were examined. The first group comprised 80 children with disabilities (cerebral palsy, mental retardation, Down syndrome, autism and hearing-speaking disorders) and the second (control) group included 80 healthy children. Examined children were selected from several institutions which take care of disabled persons, kindergardens and four elementary schools. Clinical examination was performed by using a mirror and a probe and revealed the presence of dental caries, missing (extracted) and filled teeth. All clinically detected cavitations were registered as dental caries. The degree of oral hygiene was evaluated according to the OHI-S index values, which was determined by marking the plaque with 1% eozine solution. The values of OHI-S index ranged from 3.8–4.53 in disabled children and 2.73–2.84 in healthy children. In disabled children, the average dft values were 3.42 in deciduous teeth and 5.24 in mixed dentition. In healthy children, the average dft values were 1.43 in deciduous teeth and 5.1 in mixed dentition. The average DMFT index in disabled children was 1.41 for mixed and 6.39 for permanent dentitions. In healthy children, the average DMFT values were 1.23 in mixed and 4.76 in permanent dentitions. In general, the results revealed significantly poor level of oral hygiene and quite high level of caries prevalence in both disabled and healthy children, accentuating the need to reorganize preventive care measurments and improve dental care, particularly in disabled children in Croatia

Postupci prve pomoći u hitnom zbrinjavanju ozljeda zuba – znanje među učiteljima u gradu Rijeci, Hrvatska

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude regarding emergency treatment of dental trauma among elementary school teachers in the city of Rijeka, Croatia. A total of 144 teachers answered a four-part questionnaire which comprised questions regarding demographic data, role and responsibility at the working place, knowledge about dental trauma, and motivation for further education on the topic. Nearly half of the participants (47.2%) reported having seen at least one dental trauma in their professional careers. They chose to contact the child’s parent first (54.1%) and only 11.1% chose to contact a dentist instead. The majority of teachers (81.9%) were not aware of the meaning of the term avulsio dentis. As to treatment of avulsed tooth, 17.3% of teachers knew the appropriate management, while 14% of them would not even touch it. With regard to transport of avulsed tooth or fractured tooth fragments, only 2% responded correctly. The majority of the responders (87.5%) had never been educated about dental trauma, but were willing to be informed through lectures (53.4%), basic life support courses (15.2%) and brochures (9.7%).Planning teachers’ education through advanced training on the topic is suggested to be part of teachers’ lifetime education.Cilj ovoga istraživanja bio je procijeniti znanje i stav prema hitnom zbrinjavanju ozljede zuba među učiteljima osnovnih škola u gradu Rijeci, Hrvatska. Ukupno 144 učitelja ispunilo je upitnik podijeljen u 4 dijela, koji se odnosio na opće podatke, vrstu i odgovornost radnog mjesta, stečeno znanje o dentalnim traumama i želju za daljnjom izobrazbom o tom pitanju. Gotovo polovica ispitanika (47,2%) susrela se s barem jednom ozljedom zuba tijekom svog radnog staža. U trenutku nezgode 54,1% ispitanika pozvalo je prvo roditelje djeteta, a samo 11,1% učitelja kontaktiralo je doktora dentalne medicine. Većina (81,9%) ispitanika nije nikada čula za termin avulsio dentis. U slučaju potpunog izbijanja zuba 17,3% učitelja primjereno bi zbrinulo zub, dok 14% njih ne bi ni dotakli zub. U vezi transporta izbijenog zuba ili slomljenog fragmenta samo 2% ispitanika odgovorilo je točno. Većina ispitanika (87,5%) nisu nikad prošli nikakvu izobrazbu o ozljedama zuba, ali su izrazili želju za izobrazbom putem predavanja (53,4%), tečajeva o hitnim postupcima (15,2%) i letaka (9,7%). Planiranje izobrazbe učitelja o dentalnim ozljedama putem tečajeva trajnog usavršavanja predlaže se kao dio njihovog cjeloživotnog obrazovanja

Dental Status as a Quality Control Health Care Parameter for Children with Disabilities

The aim of this study was to determine the level of dental health condition in children with disabilities and to find out weather dental health status might be used as a quality control parameter regarding overall health care for disabled children. Disabled and healthy children from 3 to 17 years old were examined. There were 86 boys and 34 girls in each group. Dental health status was evaluated using the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for decayed, missing and filled teeth. The relations between mean decayed, missing and filled teeth index for primary, mixed and permanent dentition showed no statistically significant differences among groups. Our results showed that disabled children have evenly level of dental caries as their healthy peers. One can conclude that organized health care for disabled children have positive influence on dental care, too. Furthermore, dental status as an indicator of dental care level might be used as a parameter for quality control regarding overall health care for disabled children

Dentalni strah u djece s ponovljenom traumom zuba

Tooth injuries are serious clinical conditions. Some children experience dental trauma only once, while others are more prone to repeated tooth injuries. Repeated dental trauma occurs in 19.4% to 30% of patients. Pain and dental trauma are the most common reasons for fear and anxiety. The main objective of this study was to investigate how dental trauma, as well as repeated dental trauma affects the occurrence and development of dental fear in children. The study was conducted on a random sample of 147 subjects (88 boys and 59 girls) aged 5-8 and 9-12 years. Subjects in both age groups were divided into subroups without dental trauma, with one dental trauma and with repeated dental trauma. The validated Children’s Fear Survey Schedule – Dental Subscale was used on fear assessment. Results showed that only 12.2% of children without trauma, 33.3% with one trauma and 51.7% with repeated trauma were not afraid of injection. Older children had a significantly lower fear of injections, touch of an unknown person, choking, going to the hospital and people in white uniforms. Dentist was not the cause of fear in 65.5% of patients with repeated trauma. With each repeated injury of teeth, the degree of their fear of dental treatment was lower.Ozljede zubi su ozbiljno kliničko stanje. Neka djeca doživljavaju dentalne traume samo jednom, dok su druga sklonija ozljedama i ponavljanju trauma zubi. Ponovljene traume zuba javljaju se u 19,4% do 30% bolesnika. Bol i trauma zuba su najčešći razlozi straha i tjeskobe. Glavni cilj ovoga istraživanja bio je ispitati kako zubna trauma utječe na pojavu i razvoj dentalnog straha. Istraživanje je provedeno na slučajnom uzorku od 147 ispitanika (88 djevojčica i 59 dječaka) u dobi od 5-8 i 9-12 godina. Ispitanici u obje dobne skupine podijeljeni su u tri poskupine: bez dentalne traume, s jednom dentalnom traumom i s ponovljenom dentalnom traumom. U procjeni straha korišten je validirani test Children’s Fear Survey Schedule – Dental Subscale test. Starija djeca su imala značajno niži stupanj straha od injekcija, dodira nepoznate osobe, gušenja, odlaska u bolnicu i ljudi u bijelim uniformama. Strah od stomatologa nije imalo 65,5% djece s ponovljenom traumom. Samo 12,2% djece bez trauma, 33,3% s jednom i 51,7% s ponovljenom traumom se ne boje injekcije. Sa svakom ponovljenom ozljedom zuba stupanj njihovog straha od stomatološkog liječenja je manji

Injuries in the primary dentition

Traumatske ozljede mliječnih zuba zbog svoje visoke pojavnosti počele su predstavljati stvaran i relativno čest javnozdravstveni problem. Većina trauma zuba događa se u dobi između druge i treće godine života. Kao razlog tome navodi se pojačano razvijanje motorike u tom razdoblju života, kretnje djeteta postaju sve samostalnije, ali zbog još uvijek neusklađene motoričke koordinacije povećava se učestalost padova, a time i mogućnost ozljeda. U usporedbi s dječacima, djevojčice su za otprilike 50 % manje izložene ozljedama mliječnih zuba. Pregledom razne literature još se uvijek nailazi na podatke i na poražavajuću statistiku da se za traume mliječnih zuba puno rjeđe traži pravovremena, odgovarajuća stomatološka skrb nego kada se radi o traumama trajnih zuba, te je upravo stoga vrlo važno govoriti i o traumama mliječnih zuba. Njihove ozljede mogu imati ne samo negativnu psihološku i emotivnu komponentu, već mogu dovesti i do oštećenja zametka trajnog zuba, pa se takve ozljede mogu reflektirati tijekom čitavog života. Kako bi se to izbjeglo vrlo je važno znati koje sve ozljede mliječnih zuba postoje te kako ih liječiti.Due to their high incidence, traumatic injuries of primary teeth begin to pose a real and relatively common public health problem. Most dental traumas occur between the ages two and three because this is the period when motor coordination develops, children are increasingly begin to move independently, so falls are quite common. Girls experience approximately twice as less traumatic injuries of primary teeth than boys. An extensive literature review reveals that the timely and adequate dental care of primary teeth traumas is still much less often sought after when compared to permanent teeth traumas, and it is for this very reason important to talk about the traumas of primary teeth, especially because they do not only cause psychological and emotional distress , but can also lead to damage of developing permanent tooth, which can have lifelong consequences. In order to aviod this, it is essential to closely familiarise with different types of primary teeth traumas and timely treatment methods, so that even extensive traumas may have a positive outcome and prognosis

Structural Analysis of Dental Fear in Children with and Without Dental Trauma Experience

The aim of the study was to evaluate dental fear in children with and without dental injuries in a randomly selected children in Croatia (59 girls and 88 boys). Children were divided into three groups depending on dental trauma experience. They were also divided into two age groups: 5–8 and 9–12 years. Only dental trauma to the permanent teeth was included in the study. The CFSS–DS, CDAS and CMFQ were used for evaluation of dental anxiety and the ISP Hollingshead Index of Social Position was calculated for evaluation of social status. The mean values of CDAS, CFSS-DS and CMFQ tests revealed that the anxiety level decreases with increasing experience of dental injury. The analysis of variance performed for CDAS showed a significant difference between children with and without dental trauma (p= 0,010). Regarding the groups, the analysis of variance for CMFQ (p=0,021) and CFSS-DS (p=0,001) showed a significant difference, as well as regarding age (CMFQ; p=0,001 and CFSS-DS; p=0,016). Cronbach’s alpha coefficients revealed the highest reliability for CFSS-DS (a=0,910). Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed significant correlations between the anxiety scores, age and ISP values for children without dental trauma, and between the anxiety scores and age for children with repeated dental trauma. The results of the ISP Hollingshead Index exhibited the highest frequency in children with dental injuries who belonged to the families with poor social background (ISP=44–60). No significant difference was obtained between children with and without dental injuries depending on either gender or the ISP value

Probiotics in dental medicine

Probiotici su živi mikroorganizmi koji primijenjeni u adekvatnoj količini imaju povoljne učinke na zdravlje domaćina. Riječ probiotik znači „za život”. Probiotici pridonose mikrobnoj ravnoteži, štite organizam od štetnih mikroorganizama, pojačavaju imunološki sustav do- maćina te tako imaju važnu ulogu u održavanju oralnog zdravlja. Kao probiotici se najčešće koriste bakterije. U usnoj šupljini bolesti koje nastaju djelovanjem bakterija su dentalni karijes i parodontne bolesti. Probiotici koje se koriste u liječenju oralnih promjena su u obliku pastila, tableta, kapsula, tekućina za ispiranje, jogurta i sira.Probiotics are live microorganisms which administered in adequate quantities have beneficial effects on the health of the host. The word probiotic means “for life”. Probiotics contribute to the microbial balance, protect the body from harmful microorganisms, enhancing the immune system, and play an important role in maintaining oral health. Bacteria are commonly used as probiotics. Dental caries and periodontal disease the most common dis- eases in oral cavity caused by bacterial activities. Probiotics used in the treatment of oral changes are in the form of lozenges, tablets, capsules, liquids, yogurt and cheese