Oral Health Literacy among Caregivers in Bangalore City, India

Purpose: To assess caregiver’s oral health literacy of children aged 3-6 years in Bangalore city. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 635 child/caregiver dyads from a sample of children aged 3-6 years who were selected from anganwadis and preschools in Bangalore city. Demographic details were collected using structured questionnaire. Caregiver literacy was measured using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-30). Results: Among 635 child/caregiver dyads, caregiver’s and children’s mean ages were 33.45 years(SD = 3.36) and 5.28 years (SD =0.67), respectively. The mean literacy score was 14.25 (SD= 7.67). The results also indicated that there was an association between socio-demographic variables such as age, education, income, occupation, socioeconomic status and caregivers’ oral health literacy. Conclusion: Caregiver’s oral health literacy is influenced by sociodemographic factors. Oral health literacy is potential determinant and as impact on oral health outcomes in young children

Evaluation between flowable composite and conventional pit-and-fissure sealant among school children in Bengaluru City: Randomized controlled trail

Introduction: Restorative dentistry has achieved remarkable developments in halting caries predominantly seen in pit and fissures. Flowable composite resin is predominantly used as pit-and-fissure sealants in recent years. The aim of our study was to compare the retentive properties of a flowable composite resin compared to a conventional sealant in 6–9 years school children over 18 months’ period. Materials and Methods: The study was a randomized controlled trail and conducted over a period of 18 months. Forty participants were randomly selected for this study from the private school. Flowable composite resin was used to seal the mandibular 1st molars on one side and conventional resin sealant was used on the other side. Results: The differences in the retention status between the sealants after 12 and 18 months were found statistically significant with P = 0.02 and P = 0.03, respectively. When the retention status was compared within the materials at different intervals, it was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Conventional resin-based sealants had better retention rate at 12 and 18 months’ duration than the flowable composite resin