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Background Although dental treatment under general anaesthesia ( GA) remains the long-established approach for treating anxious children, treatment under GA presents with increased risks, costs and parental acceptability issues. Interim therapeutic restoration ( ITR) has been proposed as an alternative approach. Aim To compare the incidence and types of failures between children managed with the ITR approach and those managed under GA within 12 months of treatment completion. Design A retrospective cohort study of children who received dental treatment utilizing the ITR approach was compared to children treated under GA. Age, gender and dental disease matching was done. Statistical analyses were carried out with Independent t-test and chi-square analyses. Results A total of 132 children ( GA = 66, ITR = 66) were included, and the groups did not differ in terms of initial age, sex, dmft and initial behaviour score. ITR group had a significantly higher rate ( P < 0.001; 95% CI: [0.21 to 0.97]) of restorative failure and visits required when compared to the GA group. There were no difference for incidence of pain ( P = 0.55; 95% CI: [−0.074 to 0.10]) and behaviour scores ( P = 0.46) between the two groups at the 12-month visit. Conclusions ITR approach may be a viable alternative to the GA approach when treating paediatric dental patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental caries, although preventable, remains one of the most prevalent chronic disease worldwide. Most studies focused on the relationship between sugar intake and caries. However, examining multidimensional dietary patterns is becoming increasingly important. Here, we examined the relationship between dietary patterns from ages 6 to 12 months and early childhood caries (ECC) at age 2 to 3-years. Infant dietary data was collected from caregivers and dietary pattern trajectories from 6 to 12 months derived. Oral examinations were carried out by trained calibrated dentists at ages 2 and 3 years. Associations between dietary pattern and ECC were estimated using generalized estimating equation. We found a 3.9 fold lower prevalence of decayed surfaces among children with high Guidelines dietary pattern scores at 6-months (IRR 0.26; CI [0.12-0.53]; p-value < 0.001) and 100% reduction of decayed surfaces with increased intakes of Guidelines dietary pattern foods from 6 to 12-month (IRR 2.4 × 10 -4 ; CI [4.2 × 10 -7 -0.13]; p-value = 0.01). Suggesting that following the Guideline dietary pattern, which corresponds most closely to current World Health Organization weaning guidelines, at 6 months and an increase in pattern score between 6 and 12 months were protective against ECC development compared to Predominantly breastmilk, Easy-to-prepare foods and Noodles (in soup) and seafood dietary patterns.

Background: Infective endocarditis is a serious complication that results in significant morbidity and mortality in susceptible patients. The guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis have been updated by the American Heart Association and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The antibiotic prophylaxis prescribing practices among dentists in Singapore are unknown., Aim: To determine the specific infective endocarditis antibiotic prophylaxis prescribing practices of dentists in Singapore., Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent through an email link and by postal mail. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 19.0., Results: Responses were received from 458 dentists (34.3% response rate), of which 278 (65.9%) were general practitioners. The majority of respondents (39.8%) followed the American Heart Association 2007 guidelines and 30.2% followed cardiologists' recommendations. The accuracy of prescriptions for 13 cardiac conditions and 12 dental procedures were evaluated. The median number of accurate answers for cardiac conditions was eight for the American Heart Association 1999 guidelines, and four for the American Heart Association 2007 and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, respectively. The median number of accurate answers for dental procedures was generally high, both for dentists who followed the American Heart Association 1999 guidelines (median = 10) and American Heart Association 2007 (median = 9) guidelines. Majority of respondents (82.8%) felt that developing a local guideline would be beneficial to the local dental community., Conclusion: Dentists were accurate in their prescriptions of antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures, but not for cardiac conditions. It may be helpful to attain a consensus among local cardiologists and dentists to unify the antibiotic prophylaxis prescription practices in Singapore., (© 2014 FDI World Dental Federation.)