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Objectives: Correct identification and management of Developmental Defects of Enamel (DDEs) are essential to provide the best possible treatment. The present survey aims to investigate Italian dentists' knowledge of DDEs, their ability to recognise the different clinical pictures, and to choose the most appropriate clinical approach., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was planned based on a questionnaire including 27 closed-ended questions, and that proposed 4 clinical pictures, molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), amelogenesis imperfecta (AI), dental fluorosis (DF), and an initial caries lesion (ICL). It was distributed by e-mail to all Italian dentists (N = 63,883) through the Italian Federation of Doctors and Dentists. Discrete variables were expressed as absolute and relative frequencies (%). A multivariate analysis assessed whether socio-demographic variables correlated with the answers' truthfulness., Results: About 5017 questionnaires were included and analysed. Although 90.19% of the sample stated that they had received information on DDEs, a significant percentage did not recognise MIH (36.36%), AI (48.34%), DF (71.50%), and ICL (46.62%). Only 57.07% correctly classified enamel hypomineralisation as a qualitative defect, and even fewer, 54.45%, classified enamel hypoplasia as a quantitative defect. According to the logistic regressions, female dentists, dentists who treat mainly children and received information about DDEs, were more likely to recognise the 4 clinical pictures (P < .01)., Conclusions: Italian dentists showed many knowledge gaps on DDEs that need to be filled; those who received formal training were more capable of correctly identifying the defects and were more likely to prescribe an appropriate management approach for the defects., Clinical Significance: Increasing university courses and continuing education on diagnosing and managing DDEs seems reasonable to fill the knowledge gap on DDEs., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None disclosed., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The present systematic review and meta-analysis (Prospero registration number: CRD42023472016) aims to assess the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel (DDEs), qualitatively and/or quantitatively, in childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and evaluate, when possible, these data in comparison with those found in healthy children., Methods: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus) were searched from January 2003 to January 2024 for studies reporting on DDEs in children with a mean age not exceeding 16 years at the time of the study who underwent antineoplastic therapy. The ROBINS-I and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tools were used to assess the risk of bias. Included studies with comparable outcomes underwent random effects models meta-analysis using Stata®18., Conclusion: CCS showed a higher prevalence of DDEs, both qualitative and quantitative, compared to healthy children. The meta- analysis showed higher odds of developing qualitative defects over quantitative defects in CCS. Conclusions regarding the association between the type of therapy administered, age of therapy initiation, and prevalence of DDEs could not be drawn due to insufficient data. A lack of a standardized method of detecting enamel defects posed a challenge in the qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects approximately 5-20% of pregnant women and is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. This review aimed to assess whether the oral microbiota of infants and their mothers with GDM had a different composition from that found in unaffected women and offspring. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched in December 2023 after protocol registration in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42023406505). Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools. Overall, 1113 articles were identified; after evaluating the full texts, 12 papers were included in the qualitative analysis. In six studies of the eight included, significant differences in microbiota between M-GDM and M-nGDM were found. In four studies, a depletion of Firmicutes and an enrichment of Proteobacteria was found in the microbiota of infants. Since all included studies were judged to have high risk of bias, a quantitative synthesis of the results was not carried out. In conclusion, although the oral microbiota of infants from mothers with GDM could be different from that of infants from mothers without GDM, there is insufficient evidence to clarify this aspect so far.

Background: Life-long healthy behaviors are established during pregnancy and the first years of life. In this cross-sectional survey, new mothers with a high level of schooling living in Northern Italy (Lombardy Region) were interviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes towards their and child oral health., Methods: A questionnaire (27 items) was developed to assess socio-demographic factors, knowledge, and attitudes towards maternal and child oral health. The questionnaire was disseminated in perinatal courses, private gynecological clinics, and via social media. Mothers aged ≥18 years, with at least a child aged 0-36 months, with a high school diploma or higher, were included in the survey., Results: A total of 1340 women completed the questionnaire, 1297 of whom had a child aged 0-36 months, 792 lived in Lombardy, and 600 had a high level of education and were finally included. About half of the sample (44.67%) was aged between 31 and 35 years, 76.50% were employed, and the majority had only one child (81.50%). During pregnancy, 28.33% of the sample reported problems with teeth and gums, while only 36.00% visited a dentist. More than 40% of the sample said they were not aware of a possible link between oral health and pregnancy, and 73.17% had not received any advice about their oral health or the future health of their baby's mouth. Less than 20% of women were aware of the increased caries risk associated with prolonged or night-time breastfeeding. Better knowledge/attitude was associated with the age of the child (p < 0.05), the number of children (p < 0.05) and whether the mother had received advice during pregnancy (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: The results of this survey show a lack of dental care during pregnancy, a lack of information about oral health from health professionals during and after pregnancy, and consequently gaps in the knowledge needed to care for the oral health of the woman and her child. There is a need for training in oral health for pregnant women and new mothers, but also a need for behavioural change among health professionals who care for pregnant women., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic success of partial pulpotomies in deep caries processes or post-eruptive defects in young, vital permanent teeth. Four electronic databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar, were searched, followed by a manual search in the reference lists. Randomized controlled trials evaluating partial pulpotomy with a follow-up period of ≥12 months were included. A meta-analysis using a random effects model was performed. A total of 3127 articles were retrieved, and after duplicate removal, 2642 were screened by title and abstract; 1 additional article was found during the manual search, and 79 were identified. Finally, six papers were included in the review. Regardless of the partial pulpotomy modalities or material used, there were no significant differences between clinical and radiographic success rates (cumulative success rate 91.8-92.3%). Five studies were included in the meta-analysis that did not indicate any statistically significant differences in success rates when mineral trioxide aggregate was compared to other materials (95% confidence interval: 0.239 to 1.016; p = 0.055). The present research systematically evaluates the evidence and summarizes the available data on partial pulpotomy in young permanent teeth. Given its high clinical and radiographic success rate, partial pulpotomy should be considered when vital pulpal therapy needs to be performed in highly damaged young permanent teeth, as this procedure provides a biological benefit and allows more invasive endodontic treatments to be postponed.

Telemedicine is becoming a standard method of consultation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased its need. Telemedicine is suitable for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the pediatric population, as these are chronic conditions that affect many children worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze the bibliometric parameters of publications on the use of telemedicine for the most common NCDs in children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the electronic search, 585 records were selected. "Metabolic diseases" was the most frequent topic before and after the pandemic, accounting for 34.76% in 2017-2019 and 33.97% in 2020-2022. The average IF of the journals from which records were retrieved was 5.46 ± 4.62 before and 4.58 ± 2.82 after the pandemic, with no significant variation. The number of citations per reference averaged 14.71 ± 17.16 in 2017-2019 (95% CI: 12.07; 17.36) and 5.54 ± 13.71 in 2020-2022 (95% CI: 4.23; 6.86). Asthma, metabolic diseases, and neurodevelopmental disorders were the most explored topics. A relevant finding concerns the increasing number of observational studies after the pandemic, with a reduction of the interventional studies. The latter type of study should be recommended as it can increase the evaluation of new strategies for the management of NCDs.

Background: Pediatric dentistry shares many skills with pediatrics. This review evaluates the amount of literature on pediatric dentistry in the first 30 pediatric journals classified by the Web of Science in 2019. The aim was to perform a quantitative analysis of the main dental topics addressed., Methods: A scoping review with the PRISMA-ScR criteria was performed. The Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Report was consulted for journals ranked in the category "Pediatrics" in 2019. Papers were searched in PubMed using an ad hoc prepared string., Results: A total of 504 papers were included. Papers on dental hard tissues were the most prevalent (45.6%), followed by dental public health (23.2%), orofacial development (15.3%), soft tissues related conditions (12.3%), and orofacial trauma (3.6%). Increasing trends have been observed for total papers published (R 2 = 0.9822) and total dental papers (R 2 = 0.8862), with no statistically significant differences (χ 2 (6) = 0.051 p > 0.05). The majority of papers ( n = 292, 57.9%) were cited between 1 and 10 times, whilst less than 7% of papers received more than 40 citations., Discussion: It is desirable that papers on pediatric dentistry increase in the pediatric scenario, allowing the two related disciplines to intertwine more in the future.

A retrospective study was performed to verify if the number of admissions for urgent dental care in the Urgent Dental Care Service of San Paolo Hospital in Milan (Italy) was directly related to the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Different periods were analyzed: 25 March-5 April 2019 (pre-COVID); 23 March-3 April 2020 (lockdown); 8 June-19 June 2020 (reopening); and November 9-November 20 (second wave). Raw data regarding admissions, diagnoses, and treatments were extracted. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed. The survey included 901 admissions, 285 in pre-COVID, 93 during lockdown, 353 in reopening, and 170 in the second wave. In each time period, statistically significant differences were found in the prevalence of each kind of diagnoses (χ 2 (3) = 20.33 p = 0.01 for endodontic emergencies, χ 2 (3) = 29.05 p < 0.01 for cellulitis/phlegmon, χ 2 (3) = 28.55 p < 0.01 for periodontal emergencies, Fisher's Exact Test p < 0.01 for trauma, and χ 2 (3) = 59.94 p < 0.01 for all other kinds of diagnosis). A remarkable increase in consultations (+186.36%) and other treatments (+90.63%) occurred during reopening. Tooth extraction was the most frequently delivered treatment, but suffered the largest reduction during lockdown (-79.82%). The COVID-19 pandemic has highly affected dental activity in north Italy, underling the weaknesses of a private dental system in a pandemic scenario.

The association between vitamins and oral health have recently been discussed, yielding increased attention from medical and dental perspectives. The present review aimed to systematically evaluate and appraise the most recently scientific papers investigating the role of vitamins in the prevention and treatment of the main oral diseases as hard dental pathological processes and gum/periodontal disease. Randomized controlled trials, cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, comparative studies, validation studies and evaluation studies, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, reporting associations between vitamins and oral diseases or the use of vitamins to prevent or treat oral diseases in patients of any age were included. PubMed, Embase and Scopus were searched to November 2019 using an ad hoc prepared search string. All the papers meeting the inclusion criteria were subjected to a quality assessment. The search identified 1597 papers; 741 were selected after removing duplicates. A total of 334 articles were excluded after title and abstract evaluation; 407 were assessed and 73 papers were full-text assessed; other 14 papers were discharged after full text evaluation, leaving finally 58 papers included. In general, there is weak evidence supporting the association between vitamins and both gingival/periodontal disease and hard dental pathological processes.

This report presents a case of an eightyear- old girl affected by a progeroid syndrome of unclear genetic origins. The patient's dental history included oligodontia, premature deciduous exfoliation and roots abnormalities. She was treated with comprehensive oral rehabilitation using dentures. Oral health instructions were given during the whole treatment and follow- up period. The goal of improving the masticatory function and the esthetic was achieved, allowing the patient to increase her social abilities and self-confidence., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: the authors declare no potential conflict of interest.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of sugar-free snacks on caries-related factors in 6- to 9-year-old schoolchildren., Materials and Methods: Two hundred seventy-one children at risk for caries as measured through the Cariogram were randomly assigned to three groups consuming twice-daily snacks containing Stevia, maltitol or sugar for 42 days. Parents filled out a standardised questionnaire regarding personal, medical and oral behavioural information. Bleeding on probing, plaque pH and salivary mutans streptococchi (MS) and lactobacilli (LB) were assessed at baseline (t0), 42 days of snack use (t1) and 120 days after the end of use (t2). The Cariogram calculation was repeated at t1. Treatment effects were estimated using linear mixed-effects regression models., Results: At t2, a decrease in cariogenic bacteria (MS X2 = 8.01, p < 0.01 and LB X2 = 4.60, p = 0.03) and an increase of the minimum pH (F = 4.48, p < 0.01), maximum pH (F = 2.88 p < 0.01) and pH drop (F = 2.95 p < 0.01) was recorded in the Stevia group compared to baseline. In the maltitol group, an improvement effect was noted: LB concentration decreased (p = 0.04) and maximum pH (F = 3.16 p < 0.01) increased. Subjects classified by the Cariogram as have a low probability of developing caries increased in the Stevia and maltitol groups (X2(4) = 25.44, p < 0.01, C*sV = 0.38 and X2(4) = 12.85, p = 0.01, C*sV = 0.27, respectively). Regression analysis underlines the effect of Stevia snacks on the cariogenic microflora, mainly on MS and plaque pH variations., Conclusion: The short-term administration of Stevia or maltitol snacks improves some important factors related to caries. This preventive strategy might be an additional means of combatting this common childhood disease.

Objectives: Oral diseases affect a large number of people in the world and have a great influence on their quality of life. Nevertheless, oral health promotion and prevention initiatives are lacking. The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of individuals in Italy who renounce dental care in order to better support institutional prevention campaigns., Methods: Using data from the Italian National Institute of Statistic (ISTAT) survey "Health condition and use of health services", we divided the sample into two groups: individuals who renounced dental care even when needed and those who accessed dental healthcare. We then compared information about socio-economic and oral health profile of the two groups., Results: People who renounced dental treatments are mostly young adults, smokers, belonging to the middle-low socioeconomic level, not married and unemployed. Economic resources are often the main reason behind renouncing dental treatments., Conclusions: Our study underlines that economic conditions play a leading role in renouncing dental care. In order to avoid additional costs to the Italian healthcare system, our proposal is to implement a specific prevention campaign for oral diseases, targeting young adults living in Italy.

Background: The pH strip method has been proposed for use in a clinical setting for the evaluation of dental plaque pH. The aim of this in-vivo study was to compare the reliability of the pH-indicator strip method to the microelectrode technique in plaque pH measurement., Methods: 136 subjects (7-9 years) were enrolled and, for each subject, measurements of plaque pH were made at two interproximal sites; a total of 272 sites were analyzed. Plaque pH was assessed in triplicate using pH-indicator strips (pH range: 4.0-7.0) and an iridium microelectrode with a diameter of 0.1 mm. The caries status of 544 proximal surfaces between two primary molars, in proximity at the plaque pH sites, was assessed. All measurements were performed before and 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes after a mouth rinse with water solution of sucrose (10%). One-way ANOVA was performed to analyze statistically significant differences between the two techniques. Instrument reliability was measured by assessing the intraclass correlation coefficient., Results: Comparable, not statistically significant pH values (P values range from 0.98 to 1.00) were obtained by the two methods for AUC5.7, AUC6.2, maximum pH fall and minimum pH. High intraclass coefficients were recorded (Pearson's r=0.96, Yule's Q=0.99), implying an almost perfect association when the measurements were grouped as a carious lesion being present or not on the surface near the site of measurement., Conclusions: The use of the pH strip method has high validity and may replace the traditional microtouch electrode technique for clinical use.

The study evaluated oral hygiene knowledge among a group of 12-year-old students in Lombardy, Italy (n=182). Two different questionnaires were administered, respectively to adolescents and to their parents. Results indicate a low level of general knowledge on this topic. Factors influencing knowledge include the number of learning sources and yearly access to a dental clinic. The described situation highlights the need to implement school-based educational interventions.