Introduction: Often people responsible for the oral care of children feel or believe that since primary teeth will eventually shed, it is not worthwhile to spend time/money on providing good oral health to children. Parents are the ones who take care of their children and make decisions for them. Hence, they should have knowledge about primary teeth, their health and caring in order to build confidence in their children through tiny teeth.Aim: To assess the knowledge of primary teeth and their importance among parents with children below 12 years.Materials and methods: A total of 1,000 questionnaires containing questions written both in English and in the local language (Kannada) were prepared for data collection and were personally distributed to parents visiting dental clinics for their children’s dental treatment.Statistical analysis: Both descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used.Results: Complaints related to dental caries constituted 82% of children visiting dental clinics among children in Bengaluru city. Only 39% of respondents were aware of all functions of primary teeth.Conclusion: The present study revealed that the parents of Bengaluru city had superficial or partial knowledge of primary teeth and that there is a need to improve this awareness.How to cite this article: Setty JV, Srinivasan I. Knowledge and Awareness of Primary Teeth and Their Importance among Parents in Bengaluru City, India. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(1):56-61.

Background An inability to cope with threatening dental stimuli, i.e., sight, sound, and sensation of airotor, manifests as anxiety and behavioral management problems. Behavior modification techniques involving pre-exposure to dental equipment will give children a first-hand experience of their use, sounds, and clinical effects. The aim of this study was to compare the techniques of Tell-Show-Play-doh, a smartphone dentist game, and a conventional Tell-Show-Do method in the behavior modification of anxious children in the dental operatory. Methods Sixty children in the age group of 4-8 years, with Frankl's behavior rating score of 2 or 3, requiring Class I and II cavity restorations were divided into three groups. The groups were Group 1: Tell-Show-Play-doh; Group 2: smartphone dentist game; and Group 3: Tell-Show-Do technique and each group comprised of 20 children. Pulse rate, Facial Image Scale (FIS), Frankl's behavior rating scale, and FLACC (Face, Leg, Activity, Cry, Consolability) behavior scales were used to quantify anxious behavior. Operator compliance was recorded through a validated questionnaire. Results The results showed lower mean pulse rates, lower FIS and FLACC scores, higher percentage of children with Frankl's behavior rating score of 4, and better operator compliance in both the Tell-Show-Play-doh and smartphone dentist game groups than in the conventional Tell-Show-Do group. Conclusion The Tell-Show-Play-doh and smartphone dentist game techniques are effective tools to reduce dental anxiety in pediatric patients.

Background Dental anxiety in children is a major barrier in patient management. If dental anxiety in pediatric patients is assessed during the first visit, it will not only aid in management but also help to identify patients who are in need of special care to deal with their fear. Nowadays, children and adults are highly interested in multimedia and are closely associated with them. Children usually prefer motion pictures on electronic devices than still cartoons on paper. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate a newly designed scale, the animated emoji scale (AES), which uses motion emoticons/animojis to assess dental anxiety in children during their first dental visit, and compare it with the Venham picture test (VPT) and facial image scale (FIS). Methods The study included 102 healthy children aged 4–14 years, whose dental anxiety was measured using AES, VPT, and FIS during their first dental visit, and their scale preference was recorded. Results The mean anxiety scores measured using AES, FIS, and VPT, represented as mean ± SD, were 1.78 ± 1.19, 1.93 ± 1.23, and 1.51 ± 1.84, respectively. There was significant difference in the mean anxiety scores between the three scales (Friedman test, P < 0.001). The Pearson's correlation test showed a very strong correlation (0.73) between AES and VPT, and a strong correlation between AES and FIS (0.88), and FIS and VPT (0.69), indicating good validity of AES. Maximum number of children (74.5%) preferred AES. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that the AES is a novel and child-friendly tool for assessing dental anxiety in children.

BACKGROUND: Local anaesthetic injections are one of the most feared or anxietyinducing stimuli in dental operatory. Due to the fear of pain attributed to injection of anaesthetic agents providing appropriate dental care in children is difficult. Various methods have been investigated to decrease pain perception during injection. Hence, the present study was directed towards reducing pain perception in pediatric patients by comparing the effect of cooling the injection site and use of local anaesthetic gel. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To compare the effect of topical cooling and the use of local anesthetic gel before infiltration anesthesia in reducing pain in pediatric patients undergoing dental extractions in the maxillary anterior region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A clinical trial was used to investigate pain perception in 100 healthy pediatric patients in the age group of 8 to 12 years who required infiltration anaesthesia for bilateral maxillary primary anterior teeth extraction. Before infiltration anaesthesia precooling was done on right side, whereas on the left side local anaesthetic gel was applied. The patients were asked to individually rate their pain experience on each side using the visual analogue scale. Scores were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis using Student's t test. Statistical significance was defined at P<0.001. RESULTS: The results of the present study, showed a statistically significant differences between the two groups (P<0.001), with greater pain reduction in the ice group. CONCLUSION: Pre cooling injection site before infiltration anaesthesia significantly reduced the pain perception in pediatric patients when compared to local anaesthetic gel. Pre cooling of the injection site before infiltration anesthesia is an easy, reliable, and effective technique with no additional cost and can be beneficial to apply to all pediatric patients to reduce discomfort and facilitate clinical management.

It is important to create more awareness among the populace of our country about the significance of maintaining a healthy primary dentition and attendant sequalae if not done so.