Objectives: CBCT exposes the paediatric patient to a higher X-ray dose and risk than normal dental radiographs. This study has two components: an audit and service evaluation. The audit aims to assess whether the use of CBCT in a Paediatric Dentistry department at a London hospital complies with European guidelines (SEDENTEXCT). The service evaluation aims to explore the influence of CBCT on treatment planning. Methods: Two 6 month audit cycles were completed, where CBCT requests were audited to check whether image justifications comply with SEDENTEXCT. For the service evaluation, a total of 50 patient records were examined for the effect of CBCT on definitive treatment plans. Results: The first audit demonstrated 94% compliance with SEDENTEXCT. After instituting staff training in CBCT, compliance improved to 100%. In the service evaluation, 100% of CBCTs were found to provide information that impacted on the clinicians’ treatment planning, diagnosis and/or management. Of most significance, 44% of treatment plans were changed because of new information provided by CBCT. Conclusions: There are few studies investigating the use of CBCT in paediatric dentistry and the impact of this investigation. This service evaluation shows that CBCT can play an important role in optimising paediatric patient outcomes. The need for robust staff training in CBCT referrals to prevent over prescription is demonstrated in the audit cycles.

Peri-implantitis remains the major impediment to the long-term use of dental implants. With increasing concern over the growth in antibiotic resistance, there is considerable interest in the preparation of antimicrobial dental implant coatings that also induce osseointegration. One such potential coating material is fluorapatite (FA). The aim of this study was to relate the antibacterial effectiveness of FA coatings against pathogens implicated in peri-implantitis to the physicochemical properties of the coating. Ordered and disordered FA coatings were produced on the under and upper surfaces of stainless steel (SS) discs, respectively, using a hydrothermal method. Surface charge, surface roughness, wettability, and fluoride release were measured for each coating. Surface chemistry was assessed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FA crystallinity using X-ray diffraction. Antibacterial activity against periodontopathogens was assessed in vitro using viable counts, confocal microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM showed that the hydrothermal method produced FA coatings that were predominately aligned perpendicular to the SS substrate or disordered FA coatings consisting of randomly aligned rodlike crystals. Both FA coatings significantly reduced the growth of all examined bacterial strains in comparison to the control. The FA coatings, especially the disordered ones, presented significantly lower charge, greater roughness, and higher area when compared to the control, enhancing bacteria–material interactions and therefore bacterial deactivation by fluoride ions. The ordered FA layer reduced not only bacterial viability but adhesion too. The ordered FA crystals produced as a potential novel implant coating showed significant antibacterial activity against bacteria implicated in peri-implantitis, which could be explained by a detailed understanding of their physicochemical properties.

This article aims to highlight the preventative role of dental nurses and describes the use of the Basic Erosive Wear Examination in screening for non-carious tooth surface loss