Objective: To assess the caries experience and periodontal status of a group of Sri Lankan children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to correlate it with caregivers’ knowledge on oral hygiene/diseases. Materials and methods: Ninety-three children with CP aged between 3 years and 18 years were included in the study. An oral examination was carried out to assess the dental caries and periodontal status by calibrated, trained dental surgeons. An interviewer-administered questionnaire comprising 10 questions was used to assess the oral health-related knowledge of caregivers. The results were analyzed statistically using Chi-square test (p < 0.05). Results: The prevalence of caries in permanent and primary dentition was 10.75% and 55.91%, respectively, while 100% showed gingivitis in varying severities. Dental history revealed that only 6% of the children brushed their teeth alone. When the knowledge was tested, majority of caregivers (93.5%) knew that children should visit a dentist even without any complaint at least once in every 6 months; in contrast, 62% had never visited a dentist. Caregivers’ level of knowledge is significantly correlated with poor oral health, as children with high level of caries in permanent dentition (p = 0.025) and severe gingivitis (p = 0.013) were most often accompanied by individuals with poor/moderate oral health-related knowledge. Conclusion: Although majority of caregivers have moderate level of knowledge related to oral health, it does not invariably mean that they apply this knowledge to maintain good oral health in children. As gingivitis was observed in all patients, caregivers require instructions on how to perform good plaque control to maintain good periodontal health and reduce caries. Therefore, more educational programs are required to motivate caregivers to effectively practice oral health-related habits.

Purpose: The oral health status in special children is a major problem due to the lack of manual dexterity and inability to understand the importance of oral health. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to check the oral health status of special children with hearing and speech problems. Materials and methods: A total of 360 hearing and speech impaired children aged 6–16 years attending three special schools in Delhi, India, were included in the present study. Various oral health parameters, viz., dental caries, dental traumatic injuries, gingival health, developmental defects of enamel, malocclusion, caries activity, and unmet treatment needs were recorded. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was found to be 73.7% with a mean Decayed missing filled teeth (DMFT) and decayed missing filled teeth (dmft) of 1.15 ± 1.71 and 1.38 ± 2.27, respectively; the differences between gender were statistically not significant (p value > 0.05). Around 68% of children were in need of preventive care, and 52.5% children needed one surface filling. Around 84% of children had moderate gingivitis. The mean gingival index score was 1.20 ± 0.15; the difference between gender and age groups was statistically not significant (p value > 0.05). Dental traumatic injuries were observed in 2.8% of children. Developmental defects of enamel were observed in 13.8% of children. Angles’ class I malocclusion was prevalent in 28.1% of children. High caries activity was observed in 61.4% of children. Conclusion: A high prevalence of dental caries, high caries activity, poor gingival health, and extensive unmet oral health needs were observed in hearing and speech impaired children, thus emphasizing the need of educating parents/caretakers to prevent and treat dental diseases in these special children.

Aim: To evaluate the acceptance of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) among parents of pre-cooperative children. Materials and methods: This was a questionnaire-based study. Prevalidated questionnaires were distributed to the parents of pre-cooperative children with dental caries. The response rate was 100%. Data were statistically analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: Of 105 parents, 71.42% were mothers, 21.90% were fathers, and 6.66% were other caregivers. In relation to noncooperation of the children in the past, 22.85% of the parents of the children above 36 months chose SDF, whereas only 4.76% of the parents of children 36 months of age and below chose SDF (p = 0.047). Discoloration of front teeth was acceptable to 33.33% of the parents below the income of 25,000 INR and was not acceptable to 14.29% (p = 0.033). For front teeth, 33.33% of the parents above the income of 25,000 INR did not accept SDF treatment when there were behavioral barriers, whereas 13.33% accepted it (p = 0.003). Also, acceptance of SDF for back teeth was 32.38% to the parents below the income of 25,000 INR in contrast to 15.24% of who did not accept it (p = 0.001). Conclusion: SDF is acceptable to parents and potentially useful in patients who are unable to obtain traditional restorative treatments due to cooperation, access, costs, and apprehension of general anesthesia.

Aim: To study the various types of pit and fissure morphology in young permanent first molars and their relationship with caries prevalence arch-wise and quadrant-wise. Materials and methods: Four hundred young permanent first molars in 100 patients between 8 years and 10 years were examined. Teeth were examined using dental caries diagnostic index, decayed missing filled surfaces of permanent first molar (DMFSM1) index per the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines (2013), and pit and fissure morphology index (Symons, 1996). Results: It was found that intermediate type of fissures was most prevalent followed by shallow type of fissures. Deep fissures had significantly more caries than intermediate, and shallow had the least incidence of caries, irrespective of the jaw type and arch side. Also, in general, the left side of arch had lesser caries than that in the right side. Conclusion: It is recommended to seal off the intermediate and deep pits and fissures in children with high risk of caries, and appropriate preventive measures should be taken. Tooth morphology can be used as an indicator to identify the children at high risk, especially in settings where resources are not adequate.

Inflammatory cysts of jaw found at apices of teeth with diseased and necrotic pulp are known as radicular cysts. These cysts originate from proliferating cell rests of Malassez subsequent to necrosis of pulp in a nonvital tooth. Such a condition is commonly asymptomatic but may develop in gradual growth in the altered region. Radiographically, the lesion may be observed as a round or oval well-circumscribed radiolucent expanse including the apex of the affected tooth. Certain authors recommend that radicular cysts must be surgically enucleated to eliminate all remnants of the epithelium. However, surgical enucleation of an extensive cystic lesion can cause damage to other adjoining teeth or anatomic structures. Thus, remedy should be initiated by more conservative procedures of decompression, to curtail the size of the lesion. This case report focuses on fruitful surgical management of a large infected radicular cyst treated only by marsupialization.

Odontomas are asymptomatic bony lesions that often lead to delayed eruption/impaction of the associated tooth and are detected as an accidental finding on radiographic examination when there is delayed eruption of the permanent tooth, usually in the second decade of life. Most frequently impacted teeth by odontomas are canine, maxillary central incisors, and wisdom tooth. This is a case report of a female patient aged 12 years, with a chief complaint of painless swelling in the left maxillary anterior region, associated with the retained primary canine. On radiographic examination, multiple denticles were found hindering the path of eruption of the permanent canine. The treatment protocol involved surgical removal of the odontome to facilitate the unhindered eruption of the permanent canine into its normal position in the oral cavity. Early identification of odontomas enables simple management, cost-effective treatment, and better prognosis.

There is a rise in demand for pediatric dentists in pediatric settings to look into not only the physical but also the psychological health of their child and adolescent patients. Brief interventions (BIs), and in particular motivational interviewing (MI), offers an ideal means of changing behavioral, developmental and social problems within the scenario of dental practice in pedodontics. Motivational interviewing is a well-established and tested method of counseling made by Miller and Rollnick and thought of as a useful modification strategy in treatment of lifestyle diseases. This makes the patients motivated and helps them to the process of change. Once the healthier behavior is learned, it can increase or decrease the likelihood for sustained behavior change. Motivational interviewing is a psychological instrument developed in recent times with main objective of providing patients, including children with low motivation to achieve and retain behavioral changes. Motivational interviewing can be used in pedodontics for increased capability in proper brushing, flossing, and application of fluoride varnish. Thus, this review is aimed to know the role of MI in pediatric dentistry as a whole.

Dental caries remains a severe oral health problem in children and its impact in terms of pain, impairment of function, and oral health-related quality of life of the population is high, especially the disadvantaged individuals and communities. Despite the widespread use of fluoride dentifrice, preschool children, compared to the other age groups, still show a high number of untreated caries lesions. Minimal and noninvasive approaches for the management of dental caries are preferred currently, in lieu of the conventional approaches. Though not new, silver diamine fluoride (SDF) had recently gained attention by clinicians globally due to its effectiveness in arresting the progression of carious lesions. Silver diamine fluoride allows a more conservative tooth preparation as it has been shown to arrest remaining decay, remineralize, and harden leathery dentin leading to the dark color change. Silver diamine fluoride is applied directly to carious lesions to arrest and prevent dental caries. Since the management of dental caries with SDF is noninvasive and much comfortably performed, it can be a favorable means to treat dental caries in children. The present review is an insight into the use of SDF in pediatric dentistry and its clinical significance based on the published literature.

The transitional period between puberty and maturity is known as adolescence. Due to hormonal changes during this age, teenagers undergo a lot of physical, emotional, and psychological changes. There is a variety of oral afflictions that are seen during adolescence. Behaviors related to peer pressure, substance abuse, bad oral habits make dental management a challenge in this age. This article discusses the dental problems commonly seen in adolescents and the preventive methods available for the same.