• Caries is the main reason for the extraction of first permanent molars in children.• Children who are attending dental hospitals for extraction of first permanent molars tend to be older than the optimal age for achieving space closure.• There is a need for guidelines advising primary care dentists when to refer children for the extraction of fi rst permanent molars.• This study highlights the need for extensive prevention programmes targeted at those children with high caries risk.Extraction of first permanent molar teeth: results from three dental hospitals The main reason for extraction was caries with poor prognosis (70%); molar incisor hypomineralisation was the reason for extraction in 11% of cases. General anaesthesia was the main anaesthetic method used in 77%, 55%, and 47% of cases in Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffi eld respectively. Sixty-eight percent of cases had not received previous treatment for the FPMs and 5% had fissure sealants detected. Forty percent of children had had previous extractions. Conclusion The children who are attending the hospitals for extrac tion of FPMs tend to be older than the recommended age for achieving spontaneous space closure. This study highlights the need for extensive prevention programs targeted at those children with high caries risk.

Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a common enamel condition, presenting with incisor opacities, which may be of psychosocial concern to children. This clinical study sought to determine whether minimally invasive treatment, aiming to improve incisor aesthetics, would also improve children’s oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). 111 MIH patients, aged 7–16 years, referred to a UK Dental Hospital, were invited to complete the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (C-OHIP-SF19) prior to any intervention (T0) and again at one-month following the intervention (T1) for MIH. Treatment regimens included one or more of the following: Microabrasion; resin infiltration; tooth whitening; resin composite restoration. Data were obtained for 93 children with a mean age of 11 years. Mean total C-OHIP-SF19 score at T0 was 47.00 (SD = 9.29; range = 0–76) and this increased significantly at T1 to 58.24 (SD = 9.42; range = 0–76; p < 0.001, paired t-test), indicating a marked improvement in self-reported OHRQoL. There were no statistically significant differences according to gender. This is the first study to show that simple, minimally invasive dental treatment, to reduce the visibility of enamel opacities, in MIH, can have a positive impact on children’s wellbeing.

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Determinants of children's oral health-related quality of life following aesthetic treatment of enamel opacities