Severe untreated dental caries with clinical consequences had a negative impact on the children's OHRQoL, regardless of toothache and socioeconomic factors.

Objective: To investigate the two-year survival rate of primary molars treated with non-instrumentation endodontic treatment with mixed antibiotic paste containing chloramphenicol, tetracycline, zinc oxide and eugenol (CTZ pulpotomy), and compare it to the conventional root canal treatment with calcium hydroxide paste. Material and Methods: Thirty-six children, mean age 6.2 years old (standard deviation, SD=1.5), presenting at least one primary molar with irreversible pulpitis or necrotic pulp, were included in this prospective clinical study. Teeth were assigned to CTZ pulpotomy (Group I) or calcium hydroxide pulpectomy (Group II) and assessed clinically and radiographically for up to 26 months. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Log-rank test. Results: Fifty-three primary molars were treated in Group I (n=37) or Group II (n=16). Children were followed up for 1 to 26 months (mean=12.0; SD=7.1). Treatment failure rates were 73.0% in Group I and 31.3% in Group II. Overall, mean survival time was 15.2 months (95% confidence interval, CI 12.6-17.9); Group I (mean 13.2; 95% CI 10.2-16.3) had a lower survival rate than Group II (mean 18.9; 95% CI 14.5-23.2) (p=0.02). Necrotic pulp treatments had significantly lower survival rates (p=0.01) than pulpitis treatments. Conclusion: Non-instrumentation endodontic treatment of primary molars with CTZ paste resulted in a low survival rate in a two-year follow-up; its radiographic ineffectiveness discourages its use instead of conventional root canal endodontic treatment.

The relationship between early childhood caries (ECC) and obesity is controversial. This cross-sectional survey investigated this association in children from low-income families in Goiania, Goias, Brazil and considered the role of several social determinants. A questionnaire examining the characteristics of the children and their families was administered to the primary caregiver during home visits. In addition, children (approximately 6 years of age) had their height, weight, and tooth condition assessed. The primary ECC outcome was categorized as one of the following: caries experience (decayed, missing, filled tooth: “dmft” index > 0), active ECC (decayed teeth > 0), or active severe ECC (decayed teeth ≥ 6). Descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted. The participants in the current study consisted of 269 caregiver-child dyads, 88.5% of whom were included in the Family Health Program. Caregivers were mostly mothers (67.7%), were 35.3 ± 10.0 years old on average and had 9.8 ± 3.1 years of formal education. The mean family income was 2.3 ± 1.5 times greater than the Brazilian minimum wage. On average, the children in the current study were 68.7 ± 3.8 months old. Of these, 51.7% were boys, 23.4% were overweight or obese, 45.0% had active ECC, and 17.1% had severe ECC. The average body mass index (BMI) of the children was 15.9 ± 2.2, and their dmft index was 2.5 ± 3.2. BMI was not associated with any of the three categories of dental caries (p > 0.05). In contrast, higher family incomes were significantly associated with the lack of caries experience in children (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.01–1.50), but the mother’s level of education was not significantly associated with ECC.

Background: The Dental Discomfort Questionnaire (DDQ) is an observational instrument intended to measure dental discomfort and/or pain in children under 5 years of age. This study aimed to validate a previously cross-culturally adapted version of DDQ in a Brazilian children sample. Methods: Participants included 263 children (58.6% boys, mean age 43.5 months) that underwent a dental examination to assess dental caries, and their parent that filled out the cross-culturally adapted DDQ on their behalf. Exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis form) and psychometric tests were done to assess instrument's dimensionality and reliability.

Many parents rely on emergency services to deal with their children’s dental problems, mostly pain and infection associated with dental caries. This cross-sectional study analyzed the factors associated with not doing an oral procedure in preschoolers with toothache attending public dental emergency services. Data were obtained from the clinical files of preschoolers treated at all nine dental emergency centers in Goiania, Brazil, in 2011. Data were children’s age and sex, involved teeth, oral procedures, radiography request, medications prescribed and referrals. A total of 531 files of children under 6 years old with toothache out of 1,108 examined were selected. Children’s mean age was 4.1 (SD 1.0) years (range 1–5 years) and 51.6% were girls. No oral procedures were performed in 49.2% of cases; in the other 50.8%, most of the oral procedures reported were endodontic intervention and temporary restorations. Primary molars were involved in 48.4% of cases. With the exception of “sex”, the independent variables tested in the regression analysis significantly associated with non-performance of oral procedures: age (OR 0.7; 95% CI 0.5–0.8), radiography request (OR 3.8; 95% CI 1.7–8.2), medication prescribed (OR 7.5; 95% CI 4.9–11.5) and patient referred to another service (OR 5.7; 3.0–10.9). Many children with toothache received no oral procedure for pain relief.

Background: Dentists need training in the management of children's anxiety (DA), fear (DF) and behaviour management problems (DBMP) but little is known of their competence on this topic. Aim: To report dentists' opinions and attitudes about protective stabilisation and pharmacological techniques for the management of children with DA/DF/DBMP; to propose a postgraduate curriculum focussing on DA/DF/DBMP. Design: A survey of 301 Brazilian dentists and later a modified Delphi process to outline the curriculum in two phases: (a) face-to-face discussions with 33 early career researchers mentored by six researchers, both from UK and Brazil; (b) online discussions by eight early and senior researchers on the knowledge, experience, and competencies necessary for a specialist in paediatric dentistry in Brazil that should be included in the core curriculum of postgraduate courses. Results: Almost all (99.0%) of the survey respondents provide treatment to children with DA/DF/DBMP, and 91.2% do not systematically diagnose these conditions; 94.3% use protective stabilisation, and 20.0%-30.0% have training in pharmacological | 557 COSTA eT Al.

BackgroundUncooperative children may need to receive dental treatment under sedation, which is indicated when nonpharmacological behavior guidance is unsuccessful. There are randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing different sedative protocols for dental procedures; however, the evidence for superiority of one form over another is weak. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of intranasally administered ketamine plus midazolam for the dental treatment of children.MethodsWe have designed a three-armed, parallel RCT to assess intranasal sedation using ketamine/midazolam in terms of the following measures: efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness. Two- to 6-year-old healthy children, referred for dental treatment in a dental sedation center in Brazil due to uncooperative behavior and requiring restorative dental procedures, will be recruited. Each child will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups: A – Intranasal administration of ketamine (4.0 mg/kg, maximum 100 mg) and midazolam (0.2 mg/kg, maximum 5.0 mg); B – Oral administration of ketamine (4.0 mg/kg, maximum 100 mg) and midazolam (0.5 mg/kg, maximum 20 mg); and C – Oral administration of midazolam (1.0 mg/kg, maximum 20 mg). The primary outcome is the child’s behavior assessed through an observational scale using digital videos of the restorative dental treatment under sedation. The secondary outcomes are as follows: acceptance of sedative administration; memory of intraoperative events; the child’s stress; adverse events; the child’s pain during the procedure; the parent’s, dentists’, and child’s perceptions of sedation; and economic analysis. Measures will be taken at baseline and drug administration and during and after the dental procedure. The necessary sample size was estimated to be 84 children after a blinded interim analysis of the first 30 cases.DiscussionThis study will provide data that can substantially add to science and pediatric dentistry as it examines the effect of sedative regimes from different perspectives (outcomes).Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02447289. Registered on 11 May 2015, named “Midazolam and Ketamine Effect Administered Through the Nose for Sedation of Children for Dental Treatment (NASO).”Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-1919-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Community-based educational activities have been introduced into health education programs across the world. However, research on students' perceptions of their experiences in these settings has been limited. The objectives of this study were to assess a group of Brazilian dental students' views of their experiences in a service-learning program focusing on pediatric dental care and to explore changes in their perceptions over the course of the program. Data were collected from ifty-ive fourth-year dental students, who submitted a total of 185 reports at four points in time. The students spent sixteen of the 128 hours of their pediatric dentistry course in community-based education developing activities linked to pediatric dental care. Two professors rated each report as a positive or negative experience (Kappa 0.7) and recorded whether the students' reports relected one or more of ive types of response. The response types concerned dental treatment practice, multidisciplinary activities, observation of infant/toddler consultations, commitment of the outreach health team, and change of plans due to technical problems. The data showed that the students had a positive irst impression after a short stay in a community-service program, but there was a decrease in the students' positive experiences over time (p<0.001). The students' perceptions of the outreach health team as "being not committed" (OR 6.82, 95 percent CI 2.12-21.90) and experiences of a "no change of plans due to technical problems" (OR 0.09, 95 percent CI 0.04-0.20) associated with negative student experiences.Ms. Daher is a doctoral student,