The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) by comparing intraoral factors, body mass index (BMI), and medical history with pediatric sleep questionnaire (PSQ) findings.Seven hundred eighty-seven subjects aged between 7 to 11 years old were included. Their caregivers were asked to complete questionnaires. Oral manifestations including Angle’s classification, overjet, and Brodsky tonsil grade were examined. Children with PSQ scores of more than 0.33 points were classified into the SDB high-risk group.Among the 787 subjects, 34 (4.3%) were classified into the SDB high-risk group. Children with allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, excessive overjet, or large tonsil size had a significantly higher risk for SDB versus those without. Also, there was a significant difference in SDB risk according to BMI status. Gender, gestational age, breastfeeding, and Angle’s classification were not associated with SDB.Children at high risk for SDB were predisposed to tonsillar hypertrophy, allergic rhinitis, obesity, and atopic dermatitis. Children with these factors could be candidates for early intervention to prevent the progression of SDB.

The purpose of this study was to investigate pediatric emergency department visits patterns and characteristics of children and adolescents under the age of 20 in South Korea from 2002 to 2015 due to dental conditions. This study used a stratified sample of approximately 1 million people from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Database. The age, region, household income, and treatment cost were included for the patient characteristic analysis. Pediatric patients were compared to the adult group (over 20 years old).In children and adolescents, the rate of emergency department visits due to dental conditions was higher for traumatic conditions than for non-traumatic conditions. Children and adolescents with higher household income visited the emergency department more often than those with lower household income. The region with the highest number of children and adolescents visiting the emergency department for dental conditions was Busan (per 100,000 population).Although this study could not confirm the annual trend of children and adolescents’ dental emergency visits due to the sample size limitation, the characteristics of children and adolescents’ dental emergency visits were compared with those of adults using a stratified sample.

The objective of this study was to investigate trends in ankyloglossia and its surgical treatment among pediatric patients in South Korea from 2011 to 2020. Data from Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)’s Healthcare Bigdata Hub were used for analysis of the ankyloglossia diagnosis rate and frenum surgery rate. Considering annual population change, crude rates per 100,000 were calculated and analyzed. To investigate other factors of frenum surgery incidence besides gender and age, pediatric patient sample data from HIRA were used. The diagnosis rate of ankyloglossia increased from 204.4 in 2011 to 356.6 per 100,000 people in 2020, while the frenum surgery rate increased from 26.8 to 34.3 per 100,000 people. Males were more likely to receive frenum surgery than females. Surgeries were more likely to be done at a hospital instead of a clinic or a general hospital. In the age group of 0 - 4 years, the largest number of frenum surgeries were performed in pediatrics, and in the age group of 5 - 9 years, the largest number of surgeries were conducted in pediatric dentistry. In the older age groups, the largest proportion of frenum surgeries were performed in the departments of conservative dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The diagnosis of ankyloglossia and the operation of frenum surgery among South Korean children increased during the last decade. Since the function of the tongue can affect maxillofacial development in many aspects, pediatric dentists should pay more attention to the functional management of intraoral soft tissue in growing children.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of slow maxillary expansion (SME) on the dentoalveolar, skeletal, upper airway, and maxillary sinus using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Twenty-three orthodontic patients (mean age 8.93 ± 1.61 years) who were treated with maxillary expansion using banded hyrax in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Jeonbuk National University Dental Hospital were included. According to the expansion speed applied, they were divided into two groups: SME (12 subjects, mean age 8.92 ± 1.45 years) and rapid maxillary expansion (RME, 11 subjects, mean age 8.94 ± 1.84 years). CBCT were obtained before (T0) and after (T1) the treatment and were analyzed with InVivo5 software (Anatomage, San Jose, CA, USA). Descriptive statistics showed no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex, or skeletal maturity. There were significant increases in maxillary width at the dentoalveolar and skeletal levels for both groups. Upper airway volume revealed a significant increase of 38.59% in the SME group and 28.72% in the RME group. However, there was no significant difference between SME group and RME group in all measurements. This study suggested the efficacy of SME in growing patients. SME was effective in increasing not only dentoalveolar and skeletal measurements but also airway volume. Therefore, pediatric dentists should select an appropriate expansion method considering the physiological aspects of periodontal tissues and discomfort in growing children.

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease influenced by interactions between teeth, biofilm, dietary factors, and various biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and genetic factors. Recent research has shown that dental caries results from dysbiosis, an imbalance in the oral microbial community, shifting the concept from an infectious disease to a non-communicable disease (NCD). Dental caries shares similarities with other chronic NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, as they all relate to dietary intake, lifestyle habits, and environmental factors. Considering the high prevalence of dental caries and its impact on people’s health and quality of life, it is important to understand dental caries as an NCD and develop effective oral health management strategies. Ecological prevention methods and efficient public health policies should be provided to reduce risk factors associated with dental caries.