Seventy children with chronic renal failure (CRF) aged 4-13.6 years were recruited from the Renal Unit of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Indices were recorded for dental caries, dental plaque, gingival inflammation, gingival enlargement, and enamel defects. Salivary urea, buffering capacity, and the oral streptococcal flora were determined for 25 of the children. A significantly greater proportion of the CRF children was caries free, 40% compared with 8.5% of the controls. The mean plaque score was significantly greater in the CRF group for both the primary 12.7 (16) and permanent dentition 22.0 (18.2) compared with the controls, 5.3 (7.6) and 15.5 (13.3), respectively. Eight CRF children had gingival enlargement. Enamel defects affecting the permanent teeth were observed in 57% of the CRF children compared with 33% of the controls. The buffering capacity was significantly greater in the CRF group, pH 6.4 (0.5) compared with the controls pH 5.6 (0.8). The mean salivary urea level (mmol/l) was significantly greater in the CRF children, 11.6 (5.9) compared with 3.6 (1.4) for the controls. The isolation frequency of Streptococcus mutans was significantly greater from controls compared with the CRF children ( P=0.002). An integrated dental service needs to be developed with emphasis on tooth brushing to prevent gingival hyperplasia and periodontal disease after puberty.

Treating CSHCN under GA, with 3-month recall visits for the patients, had a significant long-term effect on their OHRQoL extending up to 12 months postoperatively.

Objective To determine anxiety in relation to gender, Grade Point Average (GPA), level of education and academic and clinical situations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Also, to identify academic and clinical anxiety levels among postgraduate pediatric dentistry students. Methods A cross-sectional study at governmental training hospitals was conducted. All registered postgraduate students in pediatric dental programs during the year 2015-2016 were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed electronically to 60 postgraduate pediatric dentistry students aged between 25 and 45 years old. The questionnaire is composed of 55 questions that investigated demographic data, academic and clinical related situations including investigations, diagnosis, treatment, and complications in treatment. Results The study showed a higher anxiety level in younger age dental students (76.7% compared to 23.3%) and Saudi board residents (60%). Comparing gender differences in anxiety revealed that a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) was found and anxiety seems to be more among female dental students (2% very anxious, 64% slightly anxious, and 34% not anxious) as compared to male dental students (8% very anxious, 69% slightly anxious, and 23% not anxious). Conclusions There was increased awareness, detailed understanding, and handling of the patients by senior postgraduate pediatric dentistry students compared to junior students.

The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of parafucntional oral habits including breathing disorder, bruxism, thumb-sucking, clenching and some of the related factors among a group of Saudi dental patients ranging from 6 to 16 years of age. The sample of this study comprised 1032 Saudi children (712 boys and 320 girls) collected from the screening clinic, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University. Standardized questionnaire form, information about the presence or absence of different parafunctional oral habits and the participant's oral health knowledge was obtained. Age, sex and number of siblings were collected. Descriptive statistics, t test and Chi square test were used as appropriate. The prevalence of breathing disorders, bruxism, thumb-sucking and clenching habits were 20.2%. 30.2%, 16.7% and 13.6%, respectively. Bruxism was more prevalent in boys (33.1%) than girls (23.7%), while girls had a significantly higher prevalence of thumb-sucking and clenching (p=0.001). The number of siblings had a significant effect on bruxism and thumb-sucking (p=0.04), but not on breathing disorder (p=0.44) or clenching (p=0.22). Oral health knowledge had insignificant effect on breathing disorders, bruxism, thumb-sucking and clenching (p=0.88, 0.71, 0.28 and 0.31, respectively).