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Background: Supervised toothbrushing (STB) significantly reduces the incidence and progression of dental caries. School years present a favorable age for introducing such healthy habits for a lifetime. Aim: To estimate the cost‐effectiveness of implementing a STB program in India in preventing dental caries incidence. Design: An operational framework of a national STB program was devised. A mathematical model was then developed to evaluate this program's clinical effectiveness and economic impact in the Indian scenario. This study considered a hypothetical cohort of the Indian population aged from 6 to 75 years. Two groups were compared: no intervention and STB in government schools. The health outcomes assessed were a number of tooth caries incidences averted and quality‐adjusted life years gained. Results: The STB program in the government schools of India would prevent at least one tooth from developing caries in an individual's lifetime. Considering the current treatment‐seeking behavior, the STB program saves INR 153 (US$ 1.95) per carious tooth incidence averted and INR 22 202 (US$ 283) per QALY gained. Conclusion: In India, the school‐based STB program is expected to be a cost‐effective strategy for reducing the dental caries burden and its associated treatment costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: People with hearing impairment (HI) prefer visual learning strategies in daily activities owing to their reliance on vision. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of visual learning as a communication strategy in improving oral hygiene and dental care of children and adolescents with HI. Methods and Results: Four electronic databases were searched and complemented by hand searching for original intervention studies published till December 2021. Eligible studies were screened, data was extracted as per priori data collection form and analyzed by thematic content analysis. The quality of studies was assessed as per the validated tools appropriate for study designs including ROB2, ROBINS‐I, and NIH quality assessment tool. Out of 4159 records identified and 1302 duplicates removed, 24 original studies were identified and the visual learning strategies were classified into sign language, visual aids with or without sign language, customized educational demonstrations and the interim role of training the teachers. These strategies helped in improving oral hygiene status, oral health‐related knowledge and attitude as well as dental anxiety during treatment. Participants were found to be satisfied with these strategies, however, significant heterogeneity in the included studies precluded meaningful meta‐analysis. ROB2 and ROBINS were rated as high and serious in all included trials, respectively, and NIH Quality Assessment Tool for Pre‐Post Studies With No Control as fair in five studies and poor in three. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the significance of visual learning, however, long‐term rigorously designed trials are needed to better understand effective and patient‐centered communication methods for people with HI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to assess the impact of raising the price of sugar and/or sugar‐sweetened beverages (SSBs) on caries incidence in the Indian population. Methods: A tooth‐level decision‐analytic model was developed to evaluate a change in caries increment after increasing the price of Sugar and SSBs. The transition of a tooth from a caries‐free state to the state of tooth loss in both scenarios was modelled with the help of a Markov model for a time horizon of 63 years, ranging from 2021 to 2083 for the 12‐year‐old population cohort of India. A conceptual framework was designed to implicate the possible effects of an increase in sugar prices on the reduction of caries incidence. Health effects were estimated in terms of the number of carious lesions and tooth‐loss in both the scenarios and modelled as a product of the dose‐response relationship between sugar intake and caries incidence. The model was thus used to establish the number of caries lesions prevented, and tooth‐loss avoided. Uncertainties in the parameters were assessed using probabilistic sensitivity analysis. The Monte Carlo method was used for simulating the results 999 times. Results: A 20% rise in the price of sugar is expected to result in the prevention of an average of 1.32 teeth in a lifetime of an individual and prevent 27.96 million tooth‐loss incidents among the population cohort of India that will eventually lead to a saving of INR (₹) 3116.32 billion (US$ 42.69 billion) on account of dental caries treatment. Similarly, increasing‐price of SSBs by 20% will lead to a 0.86% reduction in carious teeth incidence in an individual's lifetime. Conclusion: Increasing the cost of sugar and/or SSBs will reduce the daily intake of sugar, which will reduce caries incidence and subsequent progression, thereby preventing caries‐attributed tooth‐loss and saving treatment costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the remineralization potential and caries preventive efficacy of CPP-ACP/bioactive glass/xylitol/ozone and topical fluoride (TF) combined therapy versus TF mono-therapy. Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched. 4457 records were screened and 26 trials were included. Data from 16 trials was pooled using Review Manager 5.4. Level of significance was p <.05. The certainty of the evidence was evaluated using GRADE. Pooled analysis of two trials for white spot lesions (WSLs) regression (SMD −0.6, 95% CI: [−1.07 to −0.14], p =.01) and three trials for post-intervention DIAGNOdent values (SMD −1.24, 95% CI: [−1.96 to −0.52], p =.0007) significantly favoured CPP-ACP-TF combined therapy over TF mono-therapy. The sub-group analysis for caries increment (SMD −0.14, 95% CI: [−0.21 to −0.07], p <.0001) and the post intervention S mutans count (SMD −0.42, 95% CI: [−0.62 to −0.23], p <.0001) significantly favours 'xylitol-TF' and 'CPP-ACP-TF' combined therapy respectively. The high/unclear risk of bias, imprecision and indirectness of the included trials presented a low certainty of evidence. CPP-ACP-TF exhibits superiority over TF monotherapy in remineralizing existing lesions and demonstrates better antibacterial effect, whereas it is not more effective for preventing caries incidence. However, Xylitol exerts an added benefit over fluoride alone in preventing caries increment. The low-certainty evidence highlights the need for more good quality trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over many years, numerous products have been suggested for the relief of dentin hypersensitivity (DH). Calcium sodium phosphosilicate is one desensitizing agent that has remineralizing potential. Available in toothpaste and mouthwash delivery vehicle, this study was carried out to compare the effectiveness on dentinal hypersensitivity (using the Airblast test and Cold test) and on tooth remineralization (using DIAGNOdent pen) in a 4-week period. Materials and Methods: Out of the 45 patients screened, 28 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and who willingly signed the consent form were selected and were randomly allocated into two groups – toothpaste and mouthwash. The tooth numbers and specific site of dentinal hypersensitivity for every patient were noted and the air blast test, cold test, and DIAGNOdent scores were recorded at baseline visit. The patients were instructed about the use of the product and were asked to come on the 30th day for re-evaluation. Results: Within-group comparison showed a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in the air blast score (toothpaste – 68.53% and mouth rinse – 48.52%), cold test score (toothpaste – 56.38% and mouth rinse – 38.87%), and DIAGNOdent score (toothpaste – 20.35% and mouth rinse – 9.49%). In-between group comparison showed no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Desensitizing mouthwash is as effective as toothpaste in reducing DH with a fair remineralization potential comparable with that of the toothpaste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]