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August - 2008
Children with diabetes mellitus exhibited accelerated tooth eruption in the late mixed dentition stage
 Cross-sectional study of 6-to-14-year-old New York City children, 270 children with diabetes mellitus and 320 children without diabetes mellitus. “Teeth were evaluated and categorized into 1 of 6 stages of eruption.”
 The authors found that “children with diabetes exhibited accelerated tooth eruption in the late mixed dentition period (10 - 14 years of age) compared to healthy children.” They also found that “as expected, girls were more advanced in their dental development than boys.” The authors report that intra-osseous tooth movement was similar for both diabetic and non-diabetic children; however, supra-alveolar axial movement of clinically visible tooth crowns was accelerated for children with diabetes.
July - 2008
Occlusal cavitated dentin lesions should not be sealed over
 In vitro study comparing “microleakage and penetration depths of sealants applied in caries and sound fissures, using different adhesives and curing methods.” The experimental teeth consisted of 80 extracted third molars “selected on the basis of the presence of a small occlusal cavitated dentin lesion.” Control teeth consisted of “16 molars with sound non-discolored fissures.”
 Teeth were cleaned with pumice and “all occlusal surfaces were etched for 15 seconds with 37% phosphoric acid, rinsed thoroughly with water for 10 seconds, and gently air-dried until the surface appeared frosted.” The teeth were assigned to one of six treatment regimens. Following completion of treatment, teeth were thermocycled, sectioned, and microleakage and sealant penetration into the fissures evaluated.
 The authors concluded that “sealed caries fissures showed significantly more microleakage and insufficient sealant penetration depth than sound fissures. Neither the use of an adhesive nor its intermediate curing influenced the microleakage score and the penetration ability of sealants.”
 Reviewer's note: This study reinforces the viewpoint that only sound or questionable fissures with incipient caries lesions can be sealed. Fissures with cavitated lesions should receive a restoration.
June - 2008
Extirpation of primary canine tooth follicle (Ebinyo) is a form of infant oral mutilation
 Case report on five siblings, immigrants to the United States from Africa.
 The authors define that infant oral mutilation “is a crude form of dental ablation or “germectomy” in which the healer removes the developing primary canine tooth follicles from below the alveolar process in infants aged 1 month to 1 year.”
 The authors reviewed previous reports on this cultural practice and noted that the follicles of the mandibular primary canines are removed preferentially though maxillary canine tooth follicles are also removed.
 The authors conclude that “findings that should alert the clinician to a possible history of infant oral mutilation include the absence of primary and succedaneous canine teeth or lateral incisors and malformed permanent canine teeth.”
May - 2008
“Sealants can be used effectively to prevent the initiation and progression of dental caries”
 Evidence-based clinical recommendations for the use of pit-and-fissure sealants developed by the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs. Four clinical questions were addressed.
 “Under what circumstances should sealants be placed to prevent caries?” Sealants should be placed in pits and fissures of primary or permanent teeth when it is determined that the tooth or the patient is at risk of developing caries.
 “Does placing sealants over early (non-cavitated) lesions prevent progression of the lesion?” Yes, sealants should be placed on early (non-cavitated) carious lesions as they reduce the percentage of lesions that progress.
 “Are there conditions that favor the placement of resin-based versus. glass ionomer cement sealants in terms of retention or caries prevention?” The recommendation was that “resin-based sealants are the first choice of material for dental sealants. Glass ionomer cement may be used as an interim preventive agent when there are indications for placement of a resin-based sealant but concerns about moisture control may compromise such placement.”
 “Are there any techniques that could improve sealants' retention and effectiveness in caries prevention?” Use of a bonding agent on acid-etched enamel surface prior to sealant placement may enhance sealant retention. Four-handed technique should be used for sealant placement when possible. “Routine mechanical preparation of enamel before acid etching is not recommended.”
April - 2008
“Sealing non-cavitated caries in permanent teeth is effective in reducing caries progression”
 Meta-analysis of six sealant studies examining the effectiveness of sealants in preventing caries progression in the pits and fissures of permanent teeth. All six studies were rated as being of “fair” quality and comprised a total of 384 individuals, 840 teeth, and 1090 surfaces. The investigators “classified baseline caries as non-cavitated if the study described caries as incipient or restricted to the enamel, or if there were no apparent defects in the enamel, or the lesion did into permit explorer penetration.” They “classified caries as cavitated if the study stated that cavitation was visually detectible, or the lesion allowed for explorer penetration.” The investigators defined their outcome measure as “the percentage of caries lesions progressing, where progression was defined as demineralization or loss of tooth structure.”
 “The median annualized progression rates for sealed and unsealed lesions were, respectively, 5.0% and 16.1%.” The rate of caries progression was greater in not-sealed lesions as compared to sealed lesions, irrespective of whether the lesions were cavitated or non-cavitated.
 The authors “found that sealing caries lesions reduced the probability of lesion progression. The summary prevented fraction was more than 70%.” They noted that “the evidence supporting the sealing of non-cavitated lesion was stronger than that for the sealing of cavitated lesions. The median annualized probability of progression for non-cavitated lesions was very low, 2.6%.” The authors observed that “another notable finding of this review was the low annualized probability of progression (12.6%) for not-sealed, non-cavitated lesions. This finding suggests that immediate surgical treatment of such lesions may not be necessary.”
 The authors concluded that their “findings not only support the placement of sealants to manage and arrest lesions determined to be in the early carious stages, but also, just as importantly, support their placement for surfaces where caries status is uncertain.”
March - 2008
Caries activity test can be a useful armamentarium in dental care for preschool children
 Longitudinal study of 1206 Japanese children. The children were examined at 18 months, 2 years, and 3½ years of age. The caries activity test was administered at the 18-month and 2-year examination visits. Parents also completed questionnaires regarding their child's dietary and oral health practices.
 The caries activity test (Cariostat) is a colorimetric test that measures pH decrease upon exposing microorganisms from dental plaque to sucrose. The investigators obtained plaque samples using sterile cotton swabs in the maxillary buccal cervical surfaces. Following sampling, the Cariostat test medium was incubated at 37 oC for 48 hours.
 The authors found “positive correlations between caries activity test results and mean number of carious teeth at 18 months and 2 years of age.” They also noted that “the 18-month-old caries activity test results predicted 2- and 3½-year caries incidences more strongly than the 2-year caries activity test results predicted the 3½-year” caries incidence.
 Reviewer's note: The investigators likely under-estimated the number of caries lesions as they did not record white spot lesions as a caries lesion. Also, there was no standardization of the dental examinations done by multiple examiners.
February - 2008
Variation in the timing of emergence of the primary incisors is under strong genetic control
 Longitudinal study of dental development and oral health in 98 pairs of Australian twins. Parents were provided with instructions to record emergence of teeth in their children. The investigators found high “concordance of parental report with clinical examination for the presence and type of individual incisors.”
 The sequence of eruption of primary incisors was as follows: lower central incisor, upper central incisor, upper lateral incisor, and lower lateral incisor. The authors noted that the pattern of variation in timing of emergence observed among primary incisors supported the field model of dental development [“the most mesial tooth in each tooth class, apart from the mandibular incisors, is the most stable in terms of size, morphology, and timing of emergence;” the model “has been applied mainly to the permanent dentition”].
 The authors concluded that the “variation in timing of emergence of the primary incisors was under strong genetic control, with a small but significant contribution from the external environment.”
January - 2008
A randomized trial shows no deleterious effect of breastfeeding up to and including 12 months of age on dental caries experience at six years of age
 Randomized controlled trial of 13,889 Belarussian children enrolled in the Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (PROBIT). Dental examination was done at six years of age.
 The experimental intervention increased the prevalence of breastfeeding at all ages up to and including 12 months. There were no differences in caries experience between the children in the control and experimental groups. The authors concluded that their results “based on the largest randomized trial ever conducted in the area of human lactation, provide no evidence of beneficial or harmful effects of prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding on dental caries at early school age.”
 Reviewer's note: The findings of this study must be interpreted with caution. The dental caries prevalence is likely to have been under-estimated since no prior cleaning was undertaken before the dental examination, and no dental radiographs were taken. Further, there was no standardization undertaken to ensure consistency in the dental examinations conducted by multiple dentists at various sites. In addition, the study population had high caries experience in both experimental and control groups with more than four teeth showing caries experience on average in each child. Also drinking water in Belarus is not fluoridated and fluoride concentrations in drinking water were not monitored and might have varied across the different geographic regions.
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